I got a message from someone asking about "wiggly squiggly things about an inch long with lots of legs" inside their home. I knew what it was right away. Millipedes!

If you don't already know, let me relieve any fears you might have right from the start. They will not hurt, bite, or sting you. They will however, annoy you to distraction.

The invasion will let you know that you have week spots in your home's defenses. How do they get inside? Most experts say that they come in near the ground level, and that is true in many cases. They can come in through holes in your home like the openings around power and communication cables and plumbing pipes.

Anyone who has ever walked under a tree and had them drop on you, or cleaned out their gutters, and found them by the dozens, knows that they can also come inside from other places. In fact, gutters seem to be where the majority of them start the home invasion.

To prevent millipedes from coming inside, keep your landscape mulch away from your home's foundation, seal all the interior and exterior openings, and clean out the gutters, and cut tree limbs away from the roof. For more information on keeping bugs out of your house, see: Bug Prevention in the Home

There are many openings in a home, these are a few of the ones we should be concerned with when it comes to pest control. The bugs inside your home come from somewhere. They come into your home from the outside.  Keeping bugs outside is a matter of excluding them by sealing all the potential inlets. What are these inlets? We list a few of them below:

Weep holes

Weep holes are brick mortar joints without the the mortar. There purpose is to provide ventilation and drainage for the area between the interior and exterior of the home. It is important to keep these holes from being blocked by dirt and debris. It is also important to keep mulch away from these openings. Note that this one has grass and debris inside.

Plumbing and electrical openings like the one pictured below, should be sealed. Insects and spiders can make their way through the smallest of openings and into your home. This one has an opening that a pencil could fit through.

Door and window casing cracks should be caulked or otherwise sealed periodically. If they are not sealed they will become a doorway for pests to come inside.

Vents like this soffit vent provide ventilation for our homes. The one pictured here is screened on the inside to prevent pests from using it to get into the home.

Communication cables like this television cable and phone cables provide another opportunity for insect invaders to attack.

Although rain gutters are not openings, they still have an effect on pests. Insects like to make homes in the gutters when they become full and clogged, and they will eventually make their way into your home. Clogged gutters will cause rot and rot leads to holes, and holes lead to invasion! This photo is a good argument for keeping trees trimmed away from the home.

For a more detailed list of what you can do to keep bugs out of your home see Bug Prevention in the Home or, Prevent Bugs At Home