Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Mar 09, 2010 8:30 am New house in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I know millipedes are an introduced pest and hard to avoid in the southern states of Aust but I have never seen as many in one spot as I did on my house yesterday after the massive rains we had over the weekend. There would be 100's around the house along the eaves and external walls. I left a light on by accident in the garage and found at least 50 in there so the light must attract them. But all weekend the house was unoccupied so no lights then. So I'm guessing they have gone higher ground to get away from the downpour. Only other thing I can think of is that they have been disrupted in the garden because we turned over all the dirt front and back as part of preparing the soil. A quick glance at one neighbours shows they have none, across the road nothing. So seems they really like my house for some reason. Anything that will kill them on a grand scale, will most likely be toxic to people and I'm not really a fan of chemical pest control anyway. Has anyone had a similar issue they were able to resolve or does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 2Mar 09, 2010 11:00 am Dave, We have had a plague of these millepeads every autumn, the only thing we found fairly friendly to keep them out of the house was just ordinary "snail & slug" pellets, just sprinkle a line around the entire permiter of your house and voila - no more millepeads. We live in South Morang, I heard a radio program this morning and a few people thought it was just certain areas of Melbourne with this problem, but from what I heard this morning, it's pretty much all over melbourne. Hope this helps you - it certainly did us - and saves you picking up hundreds of them inside the house every morning. Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 3Mar 09, 2010 11:21 am We've had hundreds of these over the weekend, they've managed to make their way inside as well. As ring09 suggested I'm going to put the snail and slug pellets down and hopefully that does the trick. Building with Dennis Family Homes - Hartley 280 Location: Settlers Run, Botanic Ridge Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 4Mar 09, 2010 11:37 am ring09 from what I heard this morning, it's pretty much all over melbourne. Yep from what I've heard at work, sounds like I'm not the only one. Maybe I've had my eyes closed all this time! ring09 Hope this helps you - it certainly did us - and saves you picking up hundreds of them inside the house every morning. I will swing past bunnings and grab some to try, thanks. Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 5Mar 09, 2010 6:00 pm From the age: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rains ... -pv44.html Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 6Mar 09, 2010 6:16 pm Ick. Haven't sighted them here, but we have massive numbers of crickets - which might also explain the frog population explosion in our garden. I'm thinking crickets must be a tasty froggie treat. I almost sliced a poor wee frog in half with my trowel while planting this afternoon. He must have been hiding in the pot plant or burrowed into the mulch where I was digging. He was a bit traumatised, but hopped off after a while. Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 7Mar 09, 2010 7:11 pm Yup we've had them here too in this muggy weather, and at the new house too since the big storms last weekend. Will have to go get some pellets, thanks for the tip!! Caz & Co ALL MOVED IN!! Now comes all the hard work-decorating.... [b]Blog: http://cazoraz.blogspot.com/ Settling in Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36993 Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 8Mar 09, 2010 7:24 pm Quote: accidentally introduced to Adelaide in 1953 LOL another reason to add to the list of why I hate SA (except the barossa hehe) I found only a few inside when I got home tonight, about 20-30 in the garage and noticed much less around the outside of the house. Update: So either they've found a way in and are hiding or nicked off. Nope, they're just night critters.... I put some snail pellets around the garden but also did a quick surface spray around the house as I've also got a bloody spider problem - house next door is an unmaintained jungle so I'll never win the battle! (Update: Surface spray does not appear to effect them. Sprayed around the external doors and along the brickwork/concrete path....they're climbing past it all unfortunately - Do I need to glue snail pellets to the wall LOL?) No less than 5mins after spraying the web under the HWS....a red back pops out...#@!@#%@#! Bloody good size too, body was a 5c piece. 15mins after spraying he was unaffected so had to kill him! I don't like chemical pest control and especially don't like paying $100's for it, but bloody hell the option is looking better by the day!!!! Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 9Mar 09, 2010 9:14 pm Redbacks are a common occurrence around these parts - outdoors, garage, shed..... I find a shoe is a very effective deterrant. Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 10Mar 12, 2010 6:05 am I understand that there are pest control firms that do specialise in barriers for houses. According to the expert interviewed on ABC 774, they are not able to climb over perfectly smooth surfaces, so the firms have become adept at securing a small but smooth band around the house for those who feel that they must be prevented from coming inside. They do not like being inside houses as they prefer moister environments, so they do not breed and sustain inside a house. Just physically removing them seems to be the best way of dealing with them. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 11Mar 14, 2010 8:14 pm Yeah I read that, it's not that bad now. Only notice a handful per day which I just chuck outside or flush down the dunny. But if they liked the moister (if that is a word hehe) environment, why did they invade after the rains? Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 12Mar 14, 2010 9:01 pm Just thought I'd add that I've been using the Mortein Energy Ball Fly spray on these annoying little critters. It works pretty much straight away. Admittedly I haven't had too many but there's definitely been more than usual. I also noticed that several have died along my paving grout lines....so it's either something in the grout or I've drowned them when I've watered my plants. Fence, paving, retaining wall - CHECK! Still so much more to do..... Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 13Mar 14, 2010 9:45 pm dave- Yeah I read that, it's not that bad now. Only notice a handful per day which I just chuck outside or flush down the dunny. But if they liked the moister (if that is a word hehe) environment, why did they invade after the rains? I would imagine that under normal, dry conditions they will be found under leaf litter, household objects, loamy soils - anywhere that retains moisture. After rain, not only do these areas become flooded (putting the millipedes at risk of drowning) but the exposed surface suddenly becomes a much more hospitible place due to the rain. The millipedes escape the rain by seeking refuge in houses, and the extra moisture in the air and permeating the surfaces means that they are able to survive the exposure. My guess anyway. Entomology isn't my area. Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 14Mar 15, 2010 8:14 am Ok, strangest experience ever. Was reading this post last night, and a millipede started to walk on my screen. Dead-set true! Hate any creepy crawlies, and then couldn't sleep thinking my bed was covered in them....! My house and my rants.... - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=26937 We are in!!!...and still unpacking. Thankfully there are always Tim Tams Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 15Dec 15, 2010 7:36 pm if any help with pest control..... drop me some lines......i got reliable resources in sydney Re: Pest Control - Millipede invasion after Melbourne rains! 16Dec 16, 2010 7:32 am I live in outer east Melbourne and millipedes are a real problem for us. we got some ant dust from Bunnings and just spray/blow it around the base of the bricks and entry points of the house. Seems to do the trick. When they got really bad one time not so long ago, I managed to fill a 12lt bucket with them after cleaning up spreading the dust and then sweeping up again 2 days later. Hi group, have some damage to the door frame and skirting board. It's a side door to the laundry area. Only has a security door. I had a termite inspection (note drill… 0 5051 4 1831 Brass fly wire, you will need to cut it, shape it and jam it into brick slots 1 7450 |