The black Portuguese millipede, Ommatoiulus moreleti, is a native of Portugal and was accidentally introduced to Australia, first appearing in South Australia in 1953. They have since invaded all the southern mainland states.
They are attracted to light and will enter buildings at night, although once inside they do not breed and will eventually die.
While there is no evidence they affect human health, they can occur in plague numbers, and can contaminate food and infest carpet and bedding.
Portuguese millipedes are herbivorous, which means in plague proportions they may also destroy seedlings and fruit and vegetable crops.
When disturbed a millipede may release a pungent and distasteful yellowish secretion which discourages predators, such as birds. Note: the secretion may stain skin or clothes and is extremely irritating if rubbed into the eyes. However as it is composed of organic chemicals called quinones, it quickly breaks down in water.
Mature black Portuguese millipedes are smooth and cylindrical, 20-45 mm long and slate-grey to black in colour. Juveniles are light brown and striped. Juveniles hatch from eggs in the soil and reach maturity in two years.
During hot dry weather they will hide in the soil, however rain in spring and particularly in autumn will stimulate activity and breeding.
What can be done?
Lighting
Portuguese millipedes are attracted to light. If you are able to do so, turn off any external lights which are close to your house or other buildings and minimise any escape of light by closing curtains and blinds. Use weather-strips on doors as good door seals will also help prevent entry into the home.
Compost/Mulch
While compost is good for gardens, it also allows higher populations of millipedes to breed. If you can, reduce the area covered by organic matter such as compost, leaf litter and mulch as it decreases a source of food and shelter. Don’t forget your gutters.
Natural predators
While some spiders, beetles and scorpions will eat millipedes, they will not significantly reduce numbers.
Physical barriers
A smooth vertical or rounded barrier can stop millipedes from entering buildings as they are unable to gain a foothold. The barriers can be fixed to walls, below doorsteps, window ledges and vent bricks (make sure you keep them clean and free of vegetation). A barrier must be continuous with no breaks (unless placed under doorways).
Plate glass, 7.5 cm wide and 4.5 mm thick, can also be fitted around the base of a house.
Chemical control
Chemical barriers can be applied to kill the millipedes before they are able to enter your house. Note: Pesticides usually have a limited active life and must be re-applied for ongoing control.
Appropriate chemicals can also be applied to outside walls, paths or garden beds and other areas where millipedes may breed.
Chemicals registered for use against millipedes are available from your local supermarket or hardware store.
Note: Chemicals must always be used in accordance with the instructions on the label.
Light-traps
Method 1 – A simple light trap can be made with a piece of PVC stormwater pipe or a box with holes in it. Place it at ground level near a low voltage garden light or weather-proof fluorescent light to attract the millipedes at night. If you can, place the trap along an outside wall near where the millipedes are entering.
The pipe or floor of the box is then treated with an appropriate insecticide to kill the millipedes after they enter.
Method 2 – A container with smooth and vertical sides i.e. a yoghurt tub is buried flush with the ground away from the house. Place a low voltage garden light or weather-proof light above or as close to the container as possible. As the millipedes are attracted to the light they will fall into the container and not be able to climb out.
Note: You may need to check the traps daily, depending on numbers.
A Guide to Managing Black Portuguese Millipedes,
I am in bulls brook hills and this season I am experiencing two to three times as many as last session, I’ve swept thousands off my front porch, and 24 hours later same again, its hard for me to spread poisons around the home with three young children all under 5 years of age and two dogs. I turn all outside lights of and still they come up to the walls of the home. I have noticed them bunching up in the corrugations of the walls ,which are color bond sheets, and tunneling threw the sand in there , which is pave lock sand product,,, to get inside the home ..,,there is no visible light for them to see so I am wondering why they are doing that, must be more than light that attracts them.. any help to relieve the onslaught would be very much appreciated as I have hundreds inside with babies loving to put things in there mouths we are constantly having to watch out for this…
note the part that says mulch etc, the mulch you can buy especially the stuff councils make from waste timber and general garden rubbish is the worst thing you can buy, in fact unless you make it yourself dont buy any mulch, this is where the sudden increase in infestations is coming from once they are at your place you have tem forever ,try all suggtions but you wont get rid of them, as i saydo not buy any mulch at all , they hve been up in the hillsproperties for years ,i suppose leaf litter for mulching has brought them to all over perth and outer areas, have no answer to how to control them,even ants dont eat them ?
We only have a small problem with millipedes so far inside the house, but I have discovered that by spraying them with eucalyptus it is effective, they drop straight away.
We are being inundated by them both inside and outside our home. South of Perth metro. They are everywhere. Why are they getting worse?
Hi all,
The best way to control millipede numbers naturally without using toxic and harmful chemicals is to use nematodes: http://www.bugcentral.com.au/products/millipede_control.php
Mike
Since the first rains last week I have swept up hundreds every morning, metro area south of Perth. They just keep coming. How effective are the nematodes?
Hi Dean
with regard to the nematodes you can follow Sue’s comments – Sept 10; Oct 10, 22 & 30! I would love to use them but we are only renting short term so cannot see the value for us, however going by what Sue states I would definately look into them if this was OUR Millipede infested house!! I have noticed them in all our pot plants so am going to have to re-pot everything before we leave to make sure none of the little buggers come with us.
Ooooops that should be DON’T come with us!
We’ve had 16mm of rain in the past 24 hrs & I have not had one Portuguese Millapede!!! A Miracle….
Last week I took advantage of the hot weather & with my backpack spray loaded with Coopex I sprayed all the house eaves , house perimeter ,entryways etc.Then I sprayed the soil in the flower beds, the decking & timber stumps. I will have to wait & see how long this lasts however after someone on this site recommended Coopex last year I use it regularly. I make sure my domestic pets are confined while I am spraying and for a short while afterwards so that the chemical has time to dry off before the cats & dog walk over the area.
Operating a 4.5 star B&B it is imperative that these disgusting creatures are eliminated !!
I am well south of Perth and 2012 was the first time they appear in our street. They are spreading faster than cane toads. Already, after the spell of rain last Thursday, they are back. It is going to be a long autumn! I have remove all flower beds and mulch from the front of the house, their entry point, replaced lawn with paving or the artifical lawn. Next it will have to be a spray or light trap. Anyone had success with the solar operated light traps.
Our infestation (Padbury, beside Gibson Park) began in April 2012…they may have pre existed in our garden, but in numbers so small that we never noticed them, and there were NEVER any in the home until that April. Once the rains began this year, they were back in full force- though MANY more juveniles than full grown black millipedes. Some only as big as my pinky nail. Their numbers are greatly increased from last year (I noticed that other posts mention an increase in numbers too). As soon as we saw them on the move this year, we bought Coopex (again) from Bunnings and sprayed all garden beds and the complete perimeter of our home ( requiring 4 packets of Coopex). Our brick paving around the pool is alive with them- seemingly hatching (and re hatching) out of triangular pockets of soil where the bricks curve around the pool. We sweep up dustpans of them every morning (dead and dying)- surely our effort will be rewarded next year with reduction in numbers. Wish everyone would do something- I suspect the renters next door are not too concerned.
Heads up for anyone interested, bugcentral is currently taking orders for April/May Season release of nematodes. If you are interested you can read about it at http://www.bugcentral.com.au/
Remind me not to stay at you poisoned B&B, Pearl. Is dying of cancer yourself worth it? Get some nematodes!!
I agree with Bee. You will never get rid of the millipedes Pearl, you can only reduce their numbers to a tolerable level. I had a great deal of success with nematodes last year – I have ordered another round just to be sure this year – and I have also spread diatomaceous earth around the house. This is completely safe and available in dusts for vegie gardens – just check the labels and ask the staff! Since doing this I have barely seen a live millipede, but I am not sure what will happen when it rains again, which is why I’m doing the nematodes a second time. Whatever happens, safe natural methods have got to beat chemicals any day.
Has anyone any experience with nematodes in the bush? Our house is surrounded by bush – which is full of millipedes also. At $175 a time, I cant afford to be constantly redoing them. My concern is that as soon as I reduce the numbers around the house with the nematodes, a new lot of millipedes just move in from the bush and it takes another 6 months to knock that lot down – then the next lot move in from the bush . . .
But dont feel too bad Pearl, about using permethryn (synthetic pyrethroid) if you must – just maybe not so much of it. Remember it will kill the beneficial bugs in your garden as well. We have a chalet and for every 1 person who is concerned about the chemical (not such a bad one), you get many, many more who are far more concerned about all the millipedes. I use the dust around the outside of the house and cabin when the millipedes are bad – my mental health is as important as my physical health and I was going nuts collecting hundreds a night from INSIDE the house before I started using it..Now I feel a certain satisfaction when I see about 3000 deadies OUTSIDE the house in the morning. I do feel bad about the other insects, etc that are affected by it tho and would be glad if the nematodes would work, so would appreciate some feedback on that. I will certainly try the diatomaceous earth
Hi,
Using nematodes is very much like using a type of biological warfare. To use an analogy, it is similar a flu virus within a human population. The more people in a confined area, the faster the virus spreads – the more millipedes in a small area, the more the nematodes spread to, infect and kill them. It is important to realise that if you couple nematodes with poisons you are effectively killing off the nematode carriers and this will limit their effectiveness. If you follow the nematode instructions properly you will succeed in controlling them naturally.
Regards
Mike
Hi All
What Mike said! Remember the key word here is “control” not “eradicate”. Once you have them eradication just isn’t possible.
I am only doing a second round of nematodes because my first round was at the end of the season. Another dose at the beginning should really knock them down to a level I can live with, and make sure there are enough nematodes to go around.
Also, if you want to buy diatomaceous earth in a bulk size, go to http://www.fossilpower.com.au, based in QLD. They sell it in 2, 3, 5 10 and 20kg bags.
For those in SW WA – I just got some in Donnybrook at CMP ($10/kg).
Also Wight and Emmet in Bunbury have it. May be cheaper there.
Thanks Sherry, I get my chook food from Wight and Emmet, I’ll pick some up while I’m there. I’ve wanted to try using D.E. in my worst affected gardens for a while.
Cheers
Mike
We have a significant problem in Mandurah, but live in a semi rural area, so nematodes are not an option. Our best option is to try and control the little buggers around the house area. Traps aren’t effective – there are too many of them! Barriers – too big an area to cover and our millipedes can climb up some smooth surfaces. We do use Coopex, but only on the top third of the walls to stoop them getting into the roof space, as it is toxic to so many other livng things, particularly frogs and lizards. Our new neighbour sprays everything and we haven’t seen a bobtail since they moved in! We have found, after lots of trial and failure, that the blue Baysol snail pellets work a treat. The millipedes are literally stopped in their grubby little tracks before they get to the house. Obviously some will get through, but they are much more manageable. Good luck!
Hi Lyn,
Not sure of your property size but nematodes can be used on small rural properties. Check with Bug Central and they will be able to advise further: http://www.bugcentral.com.au/products/millipede_control.php
The more millipedes you have, the faster the nematodes are established. The good thing is that your nematodes can spread to your neighbours yard and help to reduce their problem too – you may start seeing bobtails again.
I live in Australind and my yard is average sized but since putting nematodes to work the numbers of millipedes have dropped substantially. I still see them but not in numbers that make me want to break out with the coopex. This is ideal, as millipedes provide a service in returning rotting vegetation to the soil in the form of nutrients. As long as their populations are not exploding out of control!! Best of luck.
Regards
Mike
We live on 5 acres near Mandurah and i used the nematodes 3 times last year after trying everything for the last 4 years. This year is the first millipede season the nematodes should have worked and the last few weeks our hopes were rising as numbers seemed to be down. But our hopes have been dashed this last week as they are back as bad as ever. I nearly burst into tears when i came home the other night to be greeted with thousands on the walls of our home. I have previously spent a fortune on Coopex and noticed i was getting headaches after using it so i knew it wasnt good for my family or pets and after a while the millipedes came back anyway and almost seemed to becoming immune to it!
I agree with Lyn…Baysol smail pellets with methiocarb do seem to kill them off. If we sprinkle them onto our lawn it is literally black the next day with thousands of dead millipedes that have come out to eat them. I have just gone out and bought 4 boxes so will be giving them a big dose tomorrow. I am all for using natural remedies that is why we bought nematodes but the millipede influx has depressed me so much we have even at times thought of selling up here. When they are at their worse we dont even invite friends over as they are horrified at how bad they are. But how can we move on and give the problem to someone else? Besides we love our home!
As these were an introduced pest i have spoken to the relevant government areas to see if they can do anything about this problem in our area and i was told the millipedes are not harmful and it was our decision to live on acreage! Would love to see how they enjoy millipedes dropping on their head as they eat dinner!
Hi Jen, it isn’t just those on larger land in Mandurah experiencing the millipede problem. My Mum lives on Boundary road, so well into suburbia, and is experiencing them, she has no bush around her. Councils seem disinterested in this problem, I live in Rockingham and have them in plague proportions. I have approached my local council without any interest from them what so ever. They directed me to the Department of Ag. website, like I haven’t already read everything there is available. I always use Coopex, but will try the snail pellets now too. Maybe it’s time to band together and approach local councils in numbers. after 5 years of putting up with these pests I am totally over it.
I live in Mandurah also and of course like everyone else have a millipede problem. I will try the nematodes remedy and or snail pellets but what I have found as we do have a ant problem this year, as where I have put some ant dust there is heaps and heaps of dead millipedes.
I live in Bullsbrook and do not have any of these millipedes on our 5 acre property, but my brothers house just 500 meters away is now experiencing the second concequtive year of them and they are thicker than the year before. They are so bad crawling up the walls and on to ceilings leaving marks on newly painted walls, in the pool by the thousands. You spray insectacide to kill them one day and there back the next just as bad. After reading all of the above comments I believe Brian could be spot on about bring in millapede infected Mulch, thus causing the spread of them. As before last year there was none on brothers property as they had lived there for about 4 years in a shed with no sign of them, but have since built a house, hence they could have come in with the soil for house pad or more likely with the mulch added to garden beds. So we will be trying the Coopex and the snail pellets to reduce numbers and then maybe the Nematodes.
Jane i agree with you about getting together in force. I phoned the Ag Dep twice asking “why if millipedes are an “introduced” pest and not native to Australia, why cant they do something about it”? I got a condescending, annoying man telling me all the stuff i already knew and telling me they were “no big deal”. ! He has probably only seen photos of millipedes! My son has had them dropping on his head when he is lying in bed! They have totally ruined our brick paving with stains. I had fantasies of finding out where some of this man lives and leaving them a bucket of millipedes on their doorstep and then seeing how long it takes them to move into action! (but of course i wont!) On a bad day the road infront of our home is literally a moving black mass, i have even seen cars skidding on them! I realise that sprays will harm “good bugs” , but why cant the council introduce nematodes to areas that have them in plague proportions? Most people cannot afford 200/300 dollars a couple of times a year to try and control millipedes. It should be a government programme! So yes….I would love to band together and get something happening. A petition? A facebook page? I am not sure….but i know i am over them too and something needs to be done as they are getting worse.
Kaz….I really hope the millipedes dont get to your house but i know people 500 mtrs down my street didnt have them when we did….but now they do. Another family near us are actually selling their home as they are over them. Sad that such a tiny creature can cause so much distress. When you drive to eachothers homes millipedes can travel underneath cars……I honestly think that is how they started in our area.
Live in hillarys and this year is much worse than last. Will give a few things a try and see if I can reduce the annoying blighters! They seem to be spreading around Perth every year, how long until the govt takes notice?
My infestation definitely came from pre-infested mulch!! I dread to think of how many other locations now have these pests.
But wow, some of the stories you guys are telling sound awful. I know nematodes take a while to get established so I hope they do the trick – they’ve certainly worked well for me. I agree that councils should be investing or subsidising the cost of using them in areas where they are in plague proportions. It’s in their best interests to do so. Good luck with whatever you do.
I certainly hope the millapedes do not travel the 500 metres from our brothers house, as I go there daily to care for him and have had them travel on my car. But the fact we have alot of concert paths etc around our house and cover our garden beds with gravel as an alterative to organic Mulch seams that they die before reaching gardens. I see how this pest is getting so bad and is affecting households both physically and mentally with people wanting to sell there houses because they can’t take any more of them. It should be publisied by councils or if everyone was to contact the media to report on these pests at the worst time of the year so the general public are more aware and do not buy infected mulch to spread them even more. Then perhaps the Govt or Ag. Department might be pressured to do something.
I agree the millipedes appear to be in epidemic proportions around Perth suburbs.
Good luck everyone
When we moved into our rental property in Kinross (adjacent from bushland that backs onto Tamala Park) our daughter who lives in Padbury had no millipedes. Now, 12 months later they are appearing at her place & we believe they have travelled there from our cars as none of her neighbours have them! Sorry Padbury they have arrived …. I have to admit the Joondalup council have been good. They have put up a metal barrier around Tamala Park & spray the verge across from us however it doesn’t seem to stop them crossing the road and as Jen said “on a bad day it is a moving black mess”. Obviously we cop them bad because everyones garden waste is in Tamala Park and hence they crawl through the bush & make their way into the surrounding suburbs.
I thoroughly agree with the idea of using social media to try and gain some attention to this growing problem around Perth. Perhaps if “Today Tonight” or the likes got hold of the story the local or state governments might act? It seems most people just want to wash their hands of the problem but the fact is if you are living with them it is a nightmare!
We have found that the ant dust works well, am over spraying with really toxic chemicals. Will definately be trying the snail pellets …. hope none of the neighbours cats decide to try some
Hi All…this is what I have decided to do and I implore everyone to do the same.
I am going to write a letter to the Minister for Environment Bill Marmion and also Colin Barnett explaining how millipedes are affecting peoples lives and asking for some help in controlling them , perhaps will nematodes in areas where they are in plague proportions. I am going to tell them that I will be going to the media depending on their responses. I feel by writing a letter and sending registered post they will take more notice of it and are forced to answer. Emails get lost I feel. I am goingto take some photos to include too.
Bill Marmions address is
29th Floor, Allendale Square
77 St George’s Terrace, PERTH WA 6000
Colin Barnett
1 Parliament Place
WEST PERTH WA 6000
I am pretty sure Bill Marmion is the correct person as I have looked through all the ministers. If not hopefully he will pass this on. PLEASE everyone tell your friends to write too. I am going to write tonight and post tomorrow. I am not being over the top on this. I would be more than happy to put up with a few thousand millipedes, but not the millions that we are getting. People who don’t have them don’t realise how bad they are and think “no problem, just a few bugs, harden up”! I know that if they came to my house on a bad day they would re-think completely. When it comes to wanting to move house because of an introduced pest problem then the government need to take things more seriously.
Well done Jen. Another Minister that should be lined up is
Honourable Ken C Baston MLC
Minister for Agriculture and Food
4th Floor, London House
216 St George’s Terrace, PERTH WA 6000
Telephone: +61 8 6552-5400 / Fax: (08) 6552-5401
e-Mail: Minister.Baston@dpc.wa.gov.au
Unfortunately I don’t hold much hope for intervention from our pollies. Here in the south west, fruit fly, argentine ants, cotton bush are all out of control but the Dept of Ag has walked away from these issues. Australind, Binningup, Harvey are under seize from the millipedes as well as hordes of corellas. Not one Gov’t Dept will take on the responsibility of control/eradication.
All we can do is take our rage and buckets of these pests to their front door until they listen and act.
Hi All
I’ve forwarded some of our messages to Today Tonight Channel 7 Perth. Their response is below. I don’t particularly want to go on TV – is anyone out there happy to do that??? And I will be happy to write to Bill Marmion on the problem.
Good Luck
Denise (Trigg – opposite a nature reserve)
CHANNEL 7′s REPLY TO MY EMAIL. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hi Denise,
Thanks for your email.
In order for us to be able to consider doing a story on this, we would need a couple of things:-
· Several people to talk about the problem on camera
· home video of the infestation so we can see the extent of the problem
Would you be willing to talk on camera about the problem, and are you able to put us in contact with other people who are also suffering? And are you able to get some video for us?
Regards,
Francine Pennington
Associate Producer | Today Tonight
Seven Network (Operations) Limited
Off Dianella Drive | Dianella WA 6059 Australia
Postal Address: PO Box 77 | Tuart Hill WA 6939 Australia
Telephone +61 8 9344 0820 | Facsimile +61 8 9344 0887 | Mobile +61 417 721 543
Hi All
I’m sorry to hear about the sea of millipedes you are all dealing with. I have released my second wave of nematodes and await results eagerly (5 acres of bush in Gidgegannup). It has yet to rain properly so I can’t really tell how well it’s working yet. I have to say though that I have significantly less millipedes around than last year even after a couple of sprinkles, and the diatomaceous earth works fantastically well. There are piles of these wretched things around the house all curled up dead. I do still get the odd one inside but I am not sweeping them up by the dozens each night like I was last year, or out with the broom every morning to get them off the house. I understand people are desperate to get rid of them ( I was last year) but please be careful even with the methiocarb. I asked the Dept Ag about it, thinking to use it while I waited for my nematodes, but they said it could affect the wildlife so I changed my mind.
If anyone wants to start a petition to get Councils or State Departments to do something about it, I’m in.
I live in Balingup WA and we are having our third season with the millipedes. Each time we have had a plague but this Autumm has been the worst with thousands outside and hundreds inside. We have 8 acres and they are just oozing out of the paddocks and lawn. Like Jen it made us think seriously about selling but wouldn’t like to pass this on to someone else! We have since had lots of success with David Grays ant powder or the Black and Gold brand which is half the price and exactly the same. My husband has rigged up a light bulb in the middle of a concrete slab also outside his shed and we have sprinkled the dust around the perimeter. We are literally sweeping up thousands of dead or dying ones every morning. This morning he filled up a plastic supermarket bag. We have never used insecticides before so we were very worried about our birds and lizards and frogs. The same family of blue wrens come back every morning to check out the dead ones but there has been no ill effect and our local frogs are still around. We also sprinkle the dust around the base of the outside walls and thousands of dead ones are there too. At last we are only getting the odd few ( abut 20) inside each day which is manageable and my sanity is almost restored! We highly recommend the ant dust as a cheap and very effective control method. Good luck!
Thanks Paul. I will send to ken Baston as well. I agree it is a long shot and from the sounds of it people down south are having a bad time of it with fruit fly ect. Will see what happens. (shame the corellas don’t eat the millipedes!….Problems solved!)
Sue…with the methiocarb in the snail pellets I just use them around the immediate house area. When I got my nematodes last year they advised using the Baysol snail pellets close to the house and place the nematodes further away from the house….(we are on 5 acres). I also use slater dust around the window ledges as on the carton it says that it kills millipedes and so far it has worked pretty well. I spent the whole day today sweeping and cleaning up leaves and filled up nearly 3 x 8 litre buckets with dead millipedes. Because we live on acreage we dig a deep hole …put the dead millipedes in ..a bit of petrol and burn them just to make sure there are no survivors to lay any more eggs!
Denise I don’t mind talking to channel 7 but I think it will be hard to get them down here to film the infestation as if the sun comes out they run and disappear. Its going to rain the next few days so I will try and get some footage of them on the road. I got some photos today before I cleaned up…but at the moment all the millipedes are hiding again.
Hi All,
Denise, we’ll be in that.
Lovely infested WAROOONA! I’m totaly feed up with every week-end spending hours clearing these buggers up, only to see the same after today’s (19/04/2013) rain. The whole thing is now beyone a joke, but with the nematodes, are we in for another cane toad senario?? Any CSRIO or scientists out there that can tell us.
Perhaps we should petion Mr. barnett and advise him we an’t paying any RATES until they start dealing with it.?!?!?
I heard today that Guinea Fowl eat millipedes and will check this out further. Right now I am using Nicam because my acreage is just too big for effective nematode treatment. The millipedes have been around our property for 5 years and are about the same level year on year. So far our frogs and lizards are unaffected but we avoid fish pond areas, and have all the pets indoors for several hours after spraying.
If I find that guinea fowls work I will let you know
They are down at Augusta as well. We have just spent some weeks down there in the caravan park and had to deal with the millipedes crawling around and throughout our campsite and tent each and every day. We were trying to work out our options about some type of poison or deterent for next year’s holiday and it’s why we have found this website. So perhaps it’s time now for the Shire of Augusta Margaret River and for any other shires that have may have an infestation of this type to take some recognition of this problem before it gets out of hand.
Hi All
Chris –
There is no danger whatsoever of the nematodes becoming another cane toad. It is an Australian native and its numbers fluctuate with the millipedes. All I am doing is giving the nematodes a boost as they can’t multiply as fast as the millipedes. When there are less millipedes I expect the nematode level will drop also. I urge you check out the bugcentral website, and email them with all your questions. I did and they were very helpful, I have no problem recommending them.
On which note I have to say that after the rains yesterday and the previous night I have next to no millipedes around. There are still a few coming to the house but they get covered in diatomaceous earth when they climb on and that knocks them off very nicely. It looks like my broom can retire now..
Thanks Sue -
We have a very friendly family of roos that come in each day and I really want to get away from using chemicals (although they seem to be reasonably effective). I’ll give this a go……………nothing to loose!
Chris.
Couldn’t get on here for a while! I sent off letters to Colin Barnet and Ken Baston and eventually my letters were passed around to whoever and in the end I got a phone call from someone way down the line who is an employee at the Ag Dept! He was nice….but we went through the same conversations as I have had with them before (ie: have you tried this yes…have you tried that yes..yes yes YES!) The bottom line is they are still researching different methods and wont really do anything about them. He did say however that they believe that millipedes are like a Mexican wave…and they are terrible for years and they suddenly they drop off and appear somewhere down the line, probably because the natural nematodes have increased in numbers and killed them off. I have to say I kind of agree with that theory as I know 2 people who live in the hills who had them terrible for years and now they are both saying they hardly get any! So maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Meanwhile everyone I am having success with Baysol snail pellets with methiocarb (blue and orange box) sprinkling them on my lawn and killing millions…and sprinkling David Grays Slater killer (has a drawing of millipedes on packet) along the base of our house so they have to cross it to go up the wall….and on window ledges for those that made it passed that! Have to say I am still sweeping them up but they are all stone DEAD! I am hoping that by killing millions and I am cutting down the breeders too! Good luck people!
Good work Jen. I have to agree re the Mexican wave bit. After the first heavy rain about 8 – 10 weeks ago the pests were back in their thousands. Without doing anything except sweep them up every day they started to disappear during the ensuing dry spell. We now only get the odd one appearing even after all the rain we have had. Maybe this household is in for a relaxing autumn. However, I still have the Baysol Snail Pellets handed just in case.
Paul..also I found with the heavy rain the other night those that were still alive all drowned. Still get the odd few wandering around like lost souls looking for the rest of their family… but hey…am more than happy putting up with the odd few!
Im in mandurah/greenfeilds and im picking up 5-10 a day from inside our house i have tried bug spay and internal bugspray and nothing seems to work. i will try the snail pellets.
I live in Point Cook VIC (new estate) and we’ve had infestations of these critters since day dot.
Besides calling a specific pest control company, i’ve found if you lay out ant powder (10 for 2KG from bunnings) this will slow them down and kill them so it dramatically reduces the amount that get inside the house.
Part of the problem i have is it’s all vacant scrub land behind us, vacant block next door and street light at the front of my house!
I’ve cleaned up hundreds, if not thousands from my drive way daily during the early Autumn and Spring rains.
Oh, and my new Beagle puppy seems to have eaten all the ones in the back yard, my vet assured me they will not harm her.
Cheers,
James
James….That’s the problem surrounded by bush. We are on 5 acres and surrounded by other acreages..so what can you do! I was told once by some twit at the Ag Dept that it was “my responsibility” to contain them on my property! I asked her if I should build a moat around the entire property with a drawbridge!
Yes..Don’t worry about your Beagle….my grandkids have eaten a few when crawling around….and they are very healthy!!
As I have said before, I live on 8 acres & have experienced major problems with these horrible creatures as we operate a 4.5 star B&B.
!!!
I am pleased to report we have had terrific success this year, we have used :
Coopex sprayed to the eaves of the buildings & all entry ways to the dwellings.
Munns Ant & millipede dust sprinkled over our grassed areas, Rose gardens, around pot plants etc.
Snail pellets around our raised bed veggie gardens & areas where our cats & dog access.
I can’t believe the difference this year, occasionally I locate a stray millipede on our cream carpet but nothing to what was experienced last year. Obviously I am going to recommend the above strategies because they worked for me