Anyone else found these critters in their house?

sand_hun

Around 3 years ago we started getting millipedes in the house. It got to the point where we were finding a couple every day in various rooms of the house (it's an old property on 3 floors). However I'd say most of them were found in the kitchen - not very pleasant as I'm sure you can imagine. I filled a few gaps in the kitchen wall/tiles and since then the numbers seem to have been reduced.

However it seems we're still getting a few elsewhere in the home and it occurs every September.

I did some research and found they're attracted to moisture and are commonly found amongst piles of dead leaves. And sure enough I did find some whilst clearing leaves in the back garden.

Has anyone else encountered millipedes in their house? If so, any strategies to stop them getting in?

It also came to mind that they could reside between the walls and under the floorboards of my house.

 

FreeBear

Time to start checking to see if you have any problems around the house that could lead to damp issues.

• Elevated ground levels externally breaching the damp proof course.
• Leaking gutters or downpipes.
• Blocked vents at the base of the walls (if you have suspended timber floors).
• Heavily eroded pointing between the bricks.
• Leaking pipes - Either drainage or hot/cold water.

It may help to get a damp meter and poke it into the walls to help identify which walls are likely to be causing problems. Do not take any readings as definitive and absolute - These meters will only give a true reading when used on untreated timber. When used on walls, no end of "stuff" will throw the readings out. Instead, what you are looking for is significant changes in the numbers that might indicate areas that need a closer inspection.

sand_hun

Wow, thanks for that comprehensive reply. Given that it's a three storey property it's not easy for me to check all those things - not even sure what heavily eroded pointing means.

I think there are some issues with leaking gutters though.

FreeBear

sand_hun said: - not even sure what heavily eroded pointing means.

A picture... An extreme example of eroded pointing.

twopenny

Worth looking at the outside first. The area of erroded pointing can be fairly small and if you have gravel, soil and such against the wall rake it out and check behind.

I had an ant problem from the house being uninhabited for years and they'd worked their way in through the mortar and around the patio door frame. I had to rake out the gravel to about 1ft, clean the mortar out with a wire brush and scraper and repoint.

It was simple enough to make it secure though not a fun job. I did add some ant powder into the mortar to add another layer of protection and get them to move elsewhere.

sand_hun

The bricks aren't actually visible on this house - it is actually rendered in a pebble dash effect and all painted over in white. But I know for certain some of it crumbles off quite easily.

I wonder if the millipedes are getting in another way because they tend to appear in rooms on the first (middle) floor and sometimes also on the second (upper) floor.

I am going to continue to check on the circumference of the house though as there are definitely millipedes wiggling around in piles of dead leaves whenever I clear up.