One of our readers was visiting a lake house on Cayuga Lake in New York when she spotted this:

When she picked up the “worm”, it curled up into a ball. Besides this larger one, there were also several smaller skinnier ones present. The specimen is dark brown and has a segmented body, and two small antennae. Although they aren’t visible, we bet this specimen also has lots of tiny legs! We are confident that our reader found millipedes!

Despite their worm-like appearance, millipedes are classified as arthropods. Arthropods are invertebrates (they don’t have a backbone), with bilateral symmetry, segmented bodies, jointed limbs, and hard exoskeletons. Other common arthropods include cockroaches, butterflies, termites, and grasshoppers…but there also are many more!

Millipedes have two pairs of jointed legs per segment. There are over 12,000 known species of millipedes, most of which have more than 20 segments. Millipedes curl into a C-shape as a defense mechanism. Our reader likely witnessed something to this effect when she tried to pick up the specimen. Millipedes are generally considered harmless to humans, although some people find their presence annoying in their home or garden.

These arthropods thrive on the forest floor where they can enjoy leave litter and decaying plant matter. However, outside of the forest, they can make themselves at home in most dark, damp environments. A lake house that is empty for most of the year sounds like a pretty ideal home for millipedes, but how did they get in? They probably crawled in through an open window or door, an improperly sealed vent, or a crack in the foundation. There are a few easy steps our reader can take to make the house less hospitable for these arthropods: install a dehumidifier to eliminate excess moisture, and sweep, dust and vacuum to get rid of potential food sources.

In summary, a reader found millipedes in a lake house in New York. These arthropods probably snuck into the home and are enjoying the damp environment that a lake house provides. Even if they are unsightly, they are harmless!