By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia
What really concerned these folks was when they found the insects in the wood-chip mulch around their foundations and crawling up the walls of the house.
The insects are millipedes, small, hard, cylindrical arthropods with two pairs of legs on most body segments. You'll probably hear them called "thousand-legged worms."
Sometimes people confuse them with centipedes or "hundred-legged worms." There is a difference. And if you've ever been bitten by a centipede, you know there's a big difference.
Slow-moving
Millipedes are common animals usually found in soil and debris or under stones and bark. They're slow-moving (even with all those legs).Most of them feed on plants or decaying materials. They don't bite. They range from a few millimeters to about 4 inches long. Most are a dark color, sometimes with light markings. Many will give off a bad-smelling liquid if they're disturbed or mashed. The ones in the tropics can cause skin irritations.
Centipedes are similar to millipedes, but their bodies are much more flattened. Their legs (15 or more pair) are arranged with one pair per body segment. They have a claw-like, poisonous jaw.
Millipedes don't bite. Centipedes do. And they hurt. I know -- I've been bitten by one.
Fast-moving
Centipedes are also common animals and, like the millipedes, are found in soil and debris, under bark and in rotting wood. Centipedes are fast-moving, though, and feed on insects. They're generally yellow to dark brown and can grow to about 6 inches.Both millipedes and centipedes can come indoors from mulched areas or rotting wood around your foundation. Several common insecticides can control them. If you have problems with them, call your county office of the University of Georgia Extension Service.
(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
