Will Vinegar Kill Millipedes? (Plus Tips to Control Them)
Vinegar is an excellent repellant for some insects. You can also kill fruit flies or aphids by trapping and drowning them in a container with a vinegar solution. But will vinegar kill millipedes? I tried using vinegar to kill millipedes, but it had no lethal effect.
However, vinegar is one of the safest ways of controlling pests at home. It’s harmless to pets and the environment. So you can use vinegar effectively to eradicate spiders, fruit flies, ants, and aphids.
Have millipedes infested your home? A quick solution is to spray a commercial chemical, but these products can harm humans, pets, and the environment. Read on and find several safe ways to kill millipedes at your home and how we use vinegar to control bugs.
How To Control Millipedes?
You can eliminate millipedes using industrial chemicals to kill or repel them. Chemicals require a lot of precautions because they can be hazardous to humans, pets, and the environment at large.
Here are some safe ways to kill millipedes or control their infestation.
Physical Removal
Using a broom, dustpan, and gloves, you can manually collect the millipedes. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck them and dispose of the creatures. After collecting the millipedes, drown them in soapy water and dispose upon death.
Set simple DIY traps to capture millipedes and later exterminate them before or during disposal. Make a simple trap from a plastic water bottle by attaching a fitting vinyl tube of about six inches on the mouth or through the cap that is wide enough to allow millipedes to crawl through it.
Place a piece of fruit as bait inside the bottle and place it on its side, ensuring the tube doesn’t touch any internal surfaces. As the millipedes crawl in, they will fall into the bottle and won’t be able to crawl out of the bottle. Place your trap near the area where you suspect the millipedes are through.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
You can use Diatomaceous Earth, a natural crystalline powder for various pests and millipedes. The crystals in the powder pierce the pests’ hard exoskeleton, causing minute holes all over the millipede’s body. The holes cause dehydration which kills the millipedes after some time.
Sprinkle DE in areas where you see the presence of millipedes and on gaps or cracks where they enter your home. You can also place DE powder under furniture and appliances where millipedes may like to hide.
Boric Acid
It acts similarly to DE, inflicting cuts on a millipede’s body, and that causes dehydration leading to death. Boric acid also affects a millipede’s digestive system.
Thus you will get faster results compared to using Diatomaceous Earth. Caution should be a priority when using boric acid. It’s not safe for kids or pets.
Preventing Millipedes Infestation
You can use essential oils or cayenne pepper to repel millipedes. Spray a mixture of water and essential oils around the areas millipedes can come through; alternatively, sprinkle cayenne pepper around the regions.
Preventing a millipede infestation is cheaper and safer. You only have to ensure that there are no areas within your yard or in the house they can inhabit.
How Does Vinegar Help In Control Of Pests?
Household vinegar is harmless to humans and environmentally friendly; you won’t worry about the harmful effects. Spraying or wiping surfaces with a dilution of vinegar repels spiders and ants, and you can put such a solution in an open container to attract fruit flies to their death by drowning in it.
How To Use Vinegar In Control Ants?
The vinegar smell makes it difficult for ants to follow the scent trail left by other ants. To get around, ants follow their colleagues’ scent trails, and if you wipe the surface ants are crossing on, the insects should stop crossing it.
Mixing ¼ cup of white vinegar drops of eucalyptus or peppermint oil and two cups of water will do the trick. Using a clean cloth, wipe the surface the ants are crossing without rinsing it. The solution should dry on the surface. You will need to repeat the procedure whenever the ants start crossing again, as it is a temporary measure.
How To Use Vinegar In Control Spiders?
Spiders don’t like vinegar odor or its sour taste. You will need to prepare a solution of equal parts in a sprayer and spray the areas where you spot spiders often. Vinegar is safe for your house, greenhouse, or shed.
If the vinegar smell bothers you, soak pieces of orange peels in the vinegar overnight before mixing the solution. You can also prepare a spider-repellant vinegar-based solution mixed with chili powder or hot sauce.
How To Use Vinegar To Control Fruit Flies And Aphids?
You will need a bowl, apple cider vinegar, and a plastic covering. Half-fill your bowl with the vinegar, Cover your bowl tightly with the plastic cover (cling film will do). Punch a few holes in the plastic cover, wide enough to let the insects slide in but not fly out.
Place your bowl near the area with aphids or fruit flies infestation. The insects drop through the holes to get vinegar but can’t fly out again. Eventually, the insects will drown. When your vinegar bowl trap starts to fill up with dead insects, dispose of the content and clean the bowl for repeat procedures.
Conclusion
Although vinegar will not kill millipedes, the product is still helpful as foodstuff and can help us control pests safely.
Millipedes require other ways to kill or repel, choose any of the above effective methods and get rid of those annoying millipedes.
Ensuring your compound doesn’t harbor places where millipedes can thrive is the surest way of avoiding the creatures in your home.
Sources
Does Vinegar Get Rid of Ants, Other Insects, or Spiders