I potted a plant about 2 months ago using some soil from outside and now I have tonnes of what I think are millipedes in the soil. As this is an indoor plant, I definitely want them gone! I'm a complete rookie when it comes to plants and went to home hardware for some pesticide, but nothing seemed appropriate. The millipedes are in the soil not the leaves so a spray seems useless. I imagine I need something that I can drench the soil with next time I water it that will kill them, but I don't know what or where to get it. Any ideas? I'm worried these things will start to migrate and gross up my house. Please help!
Repot your houseplants with sterile indoor soil potting mix. Throw the old soil outside, near where you found it. 1) Your houseplants will love you for it (outside soil is not appropriate for most houseplants). 2) The millipedes will be happier in their outside home. 3) No chemicals need be used (save the petrochemicals used to mix, package and distribute the indoor soil).
How bad are millipedes for plants? When I was repotting a little jade I just bought, a millipede ran out from the bottom of the plant and about scared me to death. Having learned my lesson earlier, I did NOT spray everything with bug spray and instead I just crushed it to death.
I believe repotting with new commercially available potting mix will be the easiest solution. Give a good wash to the root system before potting in new soil. Make sure to completet the process in as short time as possible wisthout causing much damage to the root system or drying up. Water is thoughly and let it drain.
