Keep Millipedes From Entering Your Home With A Sprinkle Of A Common Spice

Nobody likes it when uninvited guests like millipedes silently sneak into the house and settle in for the long haul. While you wouldn't mind these arthropods in your garden, it might be a completely different matter when you find them nesting in the dark, cool, and humid recesses of your home. Luckily, you can prevent millipede infestations with a sprinkle of a common spice in your pantry. Cayenne pepper spice is an excellent, natural repellant that gives off a hot and burning sensation to help you deal with such pests in no time.

Even though millipedes aren't poisonous or harmful to humans, they can release a foul-smelling liquid when threatened. This liquid isn't poisonous but can cause skin irritation or trigger allergies. So you should take steps to prevent millipedes from entering your house, especially during warm weather since they might want to crawl in and hide in your basement, garage, or patio to escape the heat. You must also take precautions during rains to deter them from seeking shelter in your home.

To repel millipedes with cayenne pepper spice, you can either buy the spice ready-made from the store or you can make your own with some fresh peppers; simply dry out cayenne peppers in the oven (baking at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about two hours on average) and then grind them into powder. Once you've got the powder, sprinkle it in areas in and around your home where you spot millipede infestation.

Don't forget to scatter some of the spice around your home's foundation, yard, and other entry points, such as vents, windowsills, patio and garage doors, and crawl spaces. To keep millipedes from seeking solace in your indoor plants, also add some cayenne pepper spice to your plants' potting mix. The best part is this inexpensive and organic solution doesn't require multiple applications.

But if you'd rather kill than repel millipedes, you can make a DIY spray to attack the arthropods when you notice them crawling by. Just add one cayenne pepper and 1 cup of water to the blender to create a liquified paste. Once done, simply pour it into a spray bottle and spray it directly on the pest. The capsaicin in the pepper will damage the millipede's nervous system and kill it.