Which are you? The kind of person who believes that anything with more than four legs should be squished, or the kind of person who will delicately trap a fly and release him back into the wild? I used to be the second one--and I guess I still am, to a certain extent. Just yesterday I caught a stink bug with a tiny glass and escorted him off my property. But flies don't live long in my house. I get what my little daughter used to call "the bug swapper" and I squish them flies real good. I'm not exactly sure what she thought I was swapping those flies for… dead ones, maybe? Anyway. No matter who you are, most of us can agree, millipedes and centipedes do not belong in the house. They are nasty!
If you've searched this article out, it is probably because you have millipedes crawling on your walkway, floors, walls, and even ceiling. Or you've been freaked out by centipede in the bathroom. These bugs prefer to be in moist dark places, like the soil around your house, under rocks and other objects that block the sun. If they are in your house, it is because the soil outside is either too dry, over saturated, or freezing cold. Once inside your home they will look for moist dark areas to live. If your home is dry, they won't live long. But that doesn't make them any less disgusting. Here is a quick guide to keep these and other bugs out of your home.
- These bugs climb under doors, so to keep them out, make sure you have door sweeps, and that those door sweeps are in good working order. That means they are not damaged and they make contact with the ground all the way across.
- Cracks in foundations are an entry point for both of these critters. To keep them out, you'll need to seal your basement walls with a liquid cement product.
- They can climb walls and go across ceilings, so keeping these bugs out can be tricky. Seal holes in exterior walls where wood has rotted and use a caulking gun to fill in gaps around windows, fixtures, pipes, outlets, air conditioning units, and other objects that pass through your exterior walls.
- Make sure all your window and door screens are in good working condition.
- Check windows closely for any gaps. If you can't fix those tiny gaps, cover them with tape. Millipedes can get through a very small opening.
- If you don't want these bugs in your house or on your walkway, get a professional pest management company to treat for them. Routine visits can exclude these and other invasive pests from your home.
- If you have a moist basement, or a moist attic, both of these bugs will thrive. Use fans or a dehumidifier to create a dry environment. This will kill those bugs good.
You don't have too much to worry about with millipedes and centipedes, but they are gross. Get plugged in to a pest prevention plan. Not only will you not have to worry about these little nasties, your home and family can be protected from termites, cockroaches, carpenter ants, rodents, bed bugs, and a whole host of other harmful pests. Make bugs and rodents something you used to have to deal with. And, make 2015 pest free.