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In nature millipedes are scavengers and feed mainly on decaying organic matter.
They occasionally feed on young plants but the damage inflicted is seldom
significant. Millipedes have high moisture requirements and tend to remain
hidden under objects during the day.
Around buildings they are common under mulch, leaf litter, compost, boards,
stones, flower pots, and other items resting on damp ground. Another frequent
hiding place is behind the grass edge adjoining sidewalks and foundations. Adult
females lay up to a few hundred eggs in soil, leaf litter, etc., and the
immatures pass through a series of molts, gradually increasing in size.
Millipedes often leave their natural habitats at night and crawl about over
sidewalks, patios, and foundations. At certain times of the year, especially
during autumn, they may migrate into buildings in great numbers. In the Fall
movement into structures appears to be accidental, occurring in the course of
searching for humid overwintering sites. Migration into buildings also is common
during spring and summer, in conjunction with periods of excessively wet or dry
weather.
Millipedes often invade crawl spaces, damp basements and first floors of houses
at ground level. Common points of entry include door thresholds (especially at
the base of sliding glass doors), expansion joints, and through the voids of
concrete block walls. Frequent sightings of these pests indoors usually means
that there are large numbers breeding on the outside in the lawn, or beneath
mulch, leaf litter or debris close to the foundation. Because of their moisture
requirement, they do not survive indoors more than a few days unless it is very
moist or damp.
Haley Pest Control offers Pest
Control and Termite Control in Lawrence, KS and in Topeka, Kansas, Baldwin,
Eudora, Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Leawood, Shawnee Mission, Stanley,
Ottawa, Kansas City, Basehor, Linwood, Tonganoxie, Mclouth, and Perry-Lecompton.
We offer Pest Management and Exterminator services for the following counties:
Douglas, Johnson, Jefferson, Franklin, Shawnee, Wyandotte and Leavenworth, KS.
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