Pest Library
Millipede
Millipedes are cylindrical, slow-moving arthropods with two pairs of legs per segment that coil into a tight spiral when disturbed. They live in damp leaf litter and mulch, and they migrate indoors in numbers when heavy rain saturates the soil — a familiar event along the Gulf Coast.
Profile
- Scientific name
- Diplopoda class
- Identification
- Rounded, hard-shelled, dark brown to black, many short legs, coils when touched.
- Typical size
- Commonly 1/2 to 2 inches depending on species.
- Behavior
- Feeds on decaying plant material and moves to drier ground when soil floods, then dies quickly indoors.
- Habitat
- Mulch, leaf litter, compost, under stones and boards; garages and crawl spaces during migrations.
- Diet
- Decaying plant material.
- Lifecycle
- Develops in soil over months; adults live one to several years.
- Why it matters
- Millipedes do not bite or damage structures. Some secrete a defensive fluid that can stain and irritate skin, so sweep rather than handle them.
- DIY considerations
- Migrations are weather-driven and temporary; exclusion and mulch management do most of the work.
- Professional considerations
- Perimeter service ahead of and during wet periods reduces entry, paired with drainage and landscape recommendations.
Signs of activity
- Many millipedes appearing in a garage or entryway after heavy rain
- Dead millipedes accumulating along baseboards and thresholds
- Activity concentrated on one side of the house near heavy mulch
Prevention
- Reduce mulch depth and pull it back from the foundation
- Improve grading and drainage so soil is not saturated against the house
- Install and maintain door sweeps and seal threshold gaps
- Remove leaf litter, boards and debris resting on soil near the structure
Sources
Related information
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