CENTIPEDES & MILLIPEDES

Getting rid of centipedes or millipedes that have infested your home is a job best left to the experts. Although neither of these species are harmful, centipedes pose an occasional threat to man because they have poison glands and will bite. Their venom is not dangerous to humans, but the bite is somewhat painful, similar to a bee sting.

Centipedes and millipedes are distant relatives of lobsters, crayfish and shrimp. Unlike their marine cousins, centipedes and millipedes are land dwellers, but they do prefer moist habitats or areas of high humidity.

Centipedes and millipedes do not carry diseases to man or to his animals and plants. They are usually considered nuisances rather than destructive pests. Millipedes occasionally damage seedling plants by feeding on stems and leaves.

Centipedes are long, thin insects, with bodies stretching between 6mm and 50mm (1/5" to 2") in length. They are light brown in colour, and have many spotted legs. Centipedes are typically found in areas of high moisture, especially beneath loose bark or piles of leaves, grass, or mulch. They typically winter over outside, and lay their eggs in the soil in the summer, but will occasionally enter the house.nbsp;Centipedes feed on other insects, including other household pests.

Control of centipede infestations includes the removal of any breeding areas at the exterior of the house, and the treatment of both the exterior perimeter and the interior baseboards, window frames, and door frames. If you have a centipede problem in your home or place of business, call York Pest Control and we will look after it for you.

Millipedes are long, thin insects, between 4mm and 30mm (1/8" & 1") long. Their bodies are dark brown or black in colour, and when disturbed, they curl in on themselves, forming a protective ball. Millipedes prefer to make their homes in areas of high moisture around the exterior of a building, and lay their eggs either in the soil or in deposits of decaying organic matter.

The control and treatment of a millipede infestation is usually an exterior process, performed just outside the home at the perimeter soil line, up the walls, and along the door frames.