Millipede or "Thousand Legger"
Characteristics
- 1/2 - 1 1/2 inches long
- Brownish, oval and elongated animals
with 2 pairs of legs attached to most segments
- Millipedes apparent segments consist of 2 segments
which are fused together and appear as one
Habitat
- Millipedes normally live outdoors in damp
places such as in decaying leaves and mulch around outdoor plantings
- In dry weather they will migrate out
of the dry leaves and may enter buildings in large numbers
- This behavior may also occur in lawns that have
thick thatch layers, or yards where there are large piles of leaves or compost
Diet
- The Millipede feeds on decaying vegetable matter
and new roots and green leaves
Milipede Terminology
- Class Diplopoda
Parajules venestus (Wood)
Millipedes commonly known as thousand leggers are 15-25mm long brownish, oval, elongated, slow crawling animals with two pairs of legs on each body segments except for the first three segments that have only one pair of legs on each. These travel very fast & cover several feet in a minute. These live outdoor in damp areas & decaying wood & vegetable matter as well as on tender roots & green leaves on the ground, commonly in lawns & yards around homes. At certain stage these leave ground & enter homes swarming over basements & ground floor areas. At times they crawl up the walls & fall from ceilings. Heavy rains also forces them to move indoor. Certain species possess glands containing a mixture of iodine, quinine & hydrocyanic acid emitting unpleasant odour, which is probably toxic to small animals, At times it also causes blisters on human skin.
Eggs are deposited in clustered capsule in the soil. First larvae have three pairs of legs, undergoing 7-10 molts with number of legs increasing with each molt. Molting is stopped when sexual maturity is attained usually in two years & having 4-5 years in larval stages & several years after that in adult stage.
Milipede Pest Control Management and Measures
- A very effective non chemical control programme includes closely mowed & edged lawns, removal of debris & early morning watering & drying the grass during day thus reducing moisture in the night & lawn ending barriers of 15 to 20cm high alluminium lawn edging.
Chemical control involves application of dust or sprays in 4-5 meter areas around building. Spray should thoroughly soak the soil. It is important to use insecticides that produce kill after a few minutes exposure.
Carbamate insecticides in (WP) Wettable powder formulaltion provide better control outside while (EC) Emulsion concentrates are useful inside.
Granular formulation are also very useful in exterior areas…….