House plants give your house a welcoming touch. Not only visually, but they are also great for eliminating toxins, harmful gases, and allergies from your home.
However, pests and infections are a nightmare for many plant owners. Although it is easy to treat
infections more often than not, pesticides can be a real deal.
There are quite a lot of pesticides that want to ingest your favorite indoor plants like whiteflies,
caterpillars, Japanese beetles, etc. Today, we are going to discuss millipedes and methods
of millipede control.
What Are Millipedes?
Millipedes are long insects with two pairs of legs, and segments on their bodies are classified as arthropods.
These long, terrifying creatures can die in dry areas hence millipedes prefer dark and damp areas like under stones or logs.
Some gardeners suggest that millipedes are beneficial. Why? Studies at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach found that millipedes feed on the compost pile and love to ingest dead plant matter like old mulch and dead leaves and also help in the enrichment of soil surface.
Although beneficial, a large number of millipedes can infest outdoor potted plants and young plants by eating fresh leaves as well, so it is better to remove them before they eat up the garden.
Tips To Control Millipedes
There are many ways to get millipede infestation from your potted plant. Always try natural methods to get rid of millipedes naturally, and if it doesn’t work, opt for chemical-based methods.
Spray Chemicals (on the potting soil to deter millipedes from attacking)
Excess Moisture in Potting Soil (put fresh potting soil usually to avoid damp environment)
Essential Oil (essential oils like tea tree oil helps in preventing millipedes)
Diatomaceous Earth Powder (this poison comes in a powder form helps in killing millipedes and also prevent other bugs)
Animals like hens love to eat millipedes. Just leave them near the potted plants, and they know what to do.
Eliminate food sources like dead plants, leaf litter, decaying plant matter. Also, keep a check on dark locations because they lay eggs at such places.
The rest of these are the most efficient methods so we will discuss them in detail.
Hand-picking
An easy yet effective way. Simply pick them up and release them somewhere far from your home. They don’t bite, but it is necessary not to pick them bare-handed as they can release chemicals on your hands, causing a foul smell. Always wear gardening gloves to prevent allergies or irritation.
Use Trap
Put a fresh ripe fruit inside a plastic bottle trap to attract millipedes. Attach a vinyl tubing inside the bottle and gently tap the bottle on the soil surface. You will find all the millipedes inside after a few days.
LED Light Trap
Warm light attracts millipedes. Dig a deep hole in the garden and keep a food container there. Now cut a small hole in a bucket, attach the led light and keep the bucket upside down over the container. And that’s it.
That was all you will need to know. I hope it will help you get rid of millipedes. Till then, keep going!
