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Centipedes, Millipedes, and Sow Bugs

Centipedes, millipedes, and sow bugs are arthropods related to insects. They are not harmful to food, clothes, furniture, or other items within homes. They prefer to live in areas that are moist with decaying leaf litter or other organic material found around building foundations.

Millipedes and sow bugs will leave the soil and leaf litter to crawl into homes, sometimes in very large numbers. They are attracted to the heat escaping through cracks in the foundation, around ground-level windows, and under doors. Typically, they can be found in basements, although they may also be found in ground-level rooms as well. There are two primary reasons for them to enter; first, in the fall, millipedes and sow bugs look for protected areas to over-winter. The second reason is due to excessive rainfall or ground moisture, which may force them out of their natural environment in the soil to areas with less moisture. Millipedes and sow bugs can also be found indoors in early spring as they emerge from cracks and crevices where they spent the winter. Sow bugs and millipedes are rarely seen indoors during the winter. It is common for centipedes to enter the inside of a building from outdoor harborage areas during spring and summer when it is warm.

Centipedes

The house centipede is the most common centipede. They can grow to more than an inch long. They have 15 pairs jointed legs, one pair per body segment. There body ranges in color from brownish to grayish-yellow. Centipedes can move quickly and prefer dark and damp locations. They are predators that feed on small living creatures such as insects, spiders, and other arthropods, like sow bugs, and millipedes. They use their poison-filled jaws to help subdue their prey. Because of their predaceous habits, centipedes are beneficial arthropods. Bites by a centipede are rare because it is very shy. Its jaws are also small and cannot break through human skin easily unless the centipede is pressed or squeezed. In the rare event of a bite, some swelling may be expected, but the pain should not be severe.

Millipedes

The millipede is a dark brown, worm-like creature with up to 400 very short legs. It possesses two pairs of legs per body segment. Despite all these legs, a millipede moves slowly. It grows to be about 1 to 1 ½ inches long and has a characteristic habit of curling up tightly when touched, handled, or after it dies. Millipedes are most active at night and commonly hide beneath objects where it is dark and damp. Like the sow bug, the millipede normally feeds on decaying organic matter.

Sow bugs

Sow bugs are a land crustacean related to lobsters, crabs, and crayfish. They are brownish-gray in color and may reach ¾-inches in length with fourteen legs. Their oval shaped bodies with overlapping plates on the back resemble a tiny armadillo. Sow bugs feed on decaying organic matter and prefer a damp environment.

Control

Sealing the holes and cracks in the foundation is the first step to controlling these pests. We recommend removing leaves and other decaying vegetation around the perimeter of the exterior to reduce their food source. We apply a preventative barrier treatment around the exterior to stop them from coming back. Our products break down quickly to minimize any long-term threat to the environment. In ideal conditions the products will maintain effectiveness for up to three months.

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