Each season brings with it different pest problems and right now in the Okanagan we've been getting a lot of calls about millipedes. Common North American millipede species are brownish, one to 2.5 to 4 cm  long; segmented, with two pair of legs per segment. Millipedes normally live outdoors in damp places, around homes they can be found in flowerbeds and gardens. When they come into a home, they often climb the foundation of the home and find entryways such as basement doors and windows, crawlspace vents, and garage doors.

Millipedes reproduce at an alarming rate. Females typically lay between 10 and 300 eggs, which take a few weeks to hatch. Right now, homeowners in areas such as Mission Hill, Wilden, McKinley Landing are inundated with millipedes. In an interview with Castanet News, our technician George Forgie reports this spring as one of the worst millipede seasons he has ever seen here in the Okanagan. George explains that "People are vacuuming up three or four thousand millipedes every morning.”

Another problem critter giving homeowners a headache right now are marmots. As residential development continues to expand throughout the valley, these guys are coming into neighbourhoods looking for food. They eat greens and are attracted to residential gardens. Marmots seem to be in abundance this year, causing issues around Glenmore and Gellatly in West Kelowna.

At BugMaster we are able to deal with these problem pests! With techniques like installation of millipede blockers and live trapping and relocation for marmots we can help eliminate the inconvenience caused by these pesky pests.

Got a pest problem?

Watch the Castanet News Story: