Rhonda Bracey: At Random

I have no idea why we have them, but we have an invasion of Portuguese Millipedes! It’s not just us – it’s the whole town, and much of the southwest. And according to the CSIRO, much of southern Australia has these beasties – including Perth, though I’ve never seen one in Perth.

Anyhow, these little buggers are EVERYWHERE. Last night, my husband went around the outside of the house spraying bug surface spray at every opening and crack where they might get in, and cleared heaps of them from near the back door. This morning, there were hundreds of them in the sliding tracks of the back door, hanging from the eaves, inside the house (not so many there, thank goodness! Many were dead – but lots were alive and wriggling.

It seems they don’t hurt or do damage, and they’re not poisonous, but they are a darned nuisance! A friend who popped around last night said she’d even found them in her underwear drawer – ewwww!

And of course, we found out from the Department of Agriculture’s Fact Sheet on this pest that they are more prevalent when it rains, and that in March/April they’re particularly prevalent as it’s mating season! Which means when the babies hatch, there’ll be even MORE of them…

Ah, the joys of living in the country!