“In February we moved into a new house that we had just renovated, and in April we started seeing small larvae like pests showing up in our bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms”, writes Jill in her submission regarding the small, segmented creature pictured below. “They are tiny and only noticed them because they were crawling up the wall/ceiling. Our pest company identified them as carpet beetles stemming from our attic. They have been coming down, inside the walls and I’ve treated those areas, as well as spraying inside and outside the home. We saw many die off over the next few weeks, and then they seemed to go away until July when they came back. I’ve never seen a beetle. We live in Colorado at 7,000 feet elevation. I’ve found them on all three levels of our house in every room. We do have large spruce trees near the home. A new pest company came and (with my help) identified them as duff millipedes. I would love this to be the case and would be interested in a second opinion. Photos and video attached.”

To start with, we want to thank Jill for the excellent amount of context: it is always helpful to hear all the details surrounding the creature’s discovery. On top of that, while the photo did not tell us too much about the critter’s physical characteristics, the video did. It shows us in greater detail what it looks like and, more importantly, how it moves. Based on the video, we can confirm the second pest company’s identification of these organisms as duff millipedes. We do understand how the first company misidentified them as carpet beetle larvae, as duff millipedes are commonly mistaken for them. The easiest way to tell them apart is by the tiny antennae that grow from the head of the duff millipede, as well as by the effortless, gliding motion of their walking which is characteristic of millipedes; this is a product of their multiple legs which grow from the underside of their body.

Like most species of millipedes, duff millipedes feed on decaying organic materials, algae, and fungi. The only real difference between them and most species of millipedes is their appearance. We typically associate millipedes with long, tubular creatures, because most of them are shaped that way. The duff millipede is just a bit special! The reason these duff millipedes would have invaded Jill’s home between April and July is because this is when the weather is warming up, and the climate is drying out. Millipedes in general prefer damp, cool environments, and will seek out more favorable conditions during summer, thus moving into people’s homes, and especially taking a liking to garages and basements. We are sure the pet company already gave Jill advice on how to eliminate the infestation and prevent future ones, but in case they did not, we will just quickly list some ways of preventing future invasions: removing organic debris from one’s yard (cut grass, twigs, rocks, leaves), mending or replacing window screens, sealing cracks in walls and floors, regularly cleaning one’s home, and keeping one’s home warm and dry.

In conclusion, Jill has indeed been finding duff millipedes in her home. They are not harmful whatsoever to humans or pets, and we would personally not classify them as pests (as they do not damage or harm anything in the home), just a nuisance. We hope the pest company was able to help her eliminate the infestation, and we wish Jill the very best.

Summary

Article Name

Segmented Worms Swarming Home are Duff Millipedes

Description

"In February we moved into a new house that we had just renovated, and in April we started seeing small larvae like pests showing up in our bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms", writes Jill in her submission regarding the small, segmented creature pictured below. "They are tiny and only noticed them because they were crawling up the wall/ceiling. Our pest company identified them as carpet beetles stemming from our attic. They have been coming down, inside the walls and I've treated those areas, as well as spraying inside and outside the home. We saw many die off over the next few weeks, and then they seemed to go away until July when they came back. I’ve never seen a beetle. We live in Colorado at 7,000 feet elevation. I’ve found them on all three levels of our house in every room. We do have large spruce trees near the home. A new pest company came and (with my help) identified them as duff millipedes. I would love this to be the case and would be interested in a second opinion. Photos and video attached."

Author

Worm Researcher Anton