A reader just wrote us from North East Indiana, where millipedes are invading her ground pool by the hundreds. She wants to know how to get rid of them and how to prevent them from coming back. She didn’t send a picture, so we will trust that her identification of the organisms is correct and that they are indeed millipedes.
Millipedes are not typically aquatic creatures. Usually they live in dark damp areas, like leaf litter, where they can happily feed on decaying organic material. Since millipedes don’t thrive in water, we assume they ended up in our reader’s pool by accident. Perhaps they wandered in by mistake while searching for food. Therefore, we think the issue is with the landscaping around the pool that is attracting the millipedes, not the pool itself.
As we mentioned, millipedes prefer to live in dark, damp areas full of decaying matter. In a yard these areas might be compost piles, wood or stone piles, and leafy debris. Our reader should identify these locations in her own yard and tidy them up as much as possible by sweeping up excess debris and rearranging them to be less appealing to the millipedes. She might also consider moving these areas farther from her pool so it’s not as easy for millipedes to wander in. In addition, she should make sure the area directly surrounding the pool is free of debris and potential food sources. Finally, she should cover the pool while it isn’t in use so that the millipedes don’t fall in.
In conclusion, one of our readers is dealing with the presence of millipedes in her ground pool. Since millipedes are not aquatic, we think they are getting stuck in the pool after accidentally wandering in. To stop this from happening, she should make her yard and the area around the pool less appealing to millipedes. If any of our readers have dealt with this, we invite them to share their experiences below!
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