Centipedes in my lemon tree

[Damage]

After watering my lemon tree today, I noticed the soil was completely covered with tiny centipedes. Is there any way to get rid of all of them without harming my lemons? Thanks.

Also, we should have a gardening forum.

[finley]

After watering my lemon tree today, I noticed the soil was completely covered with tiny centipedes. Is there any way to get rid of all of them without harming my lemons? Thanks.

Why would you want/need to? Presumably they're not doing any harm. They're quite possibly eating some other (lemon-tree-feeding) infestation for you. Have a close look and see what they're up to.

If you really must get rid of them, I'd guess allowing the plant to dry out (as far as possible without killing the plant) will force them to emigrate.

On a (vaguely) related note, I found one of my cactus thingies (no idea exactly what they are) completely infested by caterpillars, which were having a banquet. I left them alone to see what would happen. The plant was more-or-less stripped bare of leaves and the caterpillars cocooned themselves. Six months later, the plant is back bigger and better than ever before. Bugs aren't always the big deal that people think they are.

[ChewDawg]

Have you tried a Bacillus thuringiensis spray?

[Damage]

I'm going to head to the Homebox store and see what they have. I'll check for the Bacillus Thuringiensis spray.

I want to get rid of them because, if I remember correctly, they are poisonous and I have a cat. Also, can't they grow to be quite large?

Thanks for the help.

[finley]

I want to get rid of them because, if I remember correctly, they are poisonous and I have a cat. Also, can't they grow to be quite large?

I've not heard of that (I thought they were common prey for birds and suchlike) but you could be right. The Bt suggestion sounds like a good idea if you want avoid poisoning your cat in the process of spraying - there are probably some highly noxious products on the shelves in Taiwan!

[Battery9]

centipedes...like the flat weird scary ones with huge teeth? Throw the pot off your rooftop now!

[Damage]

Ha! That's what I'm saying. Actually, these are really tiny, but I have had the giant ones in my home before, and I hated every second of it.

I have to be careful with the spray. Some of them can be harmful to pets. Thanks again.

[antarcticbeech]

You could try Flagyl.

[urodacus]

are you sure they're centipedes and not millipedes?

If they are centipedes, and they're all the same size, then it's likely that it's a clutch of eggs that have just hatched an they'll soon disperse and be no problem any more.

[finley]

If they are centipedes, and they're all the same size, then it's likely that it's a clutch of eggs that have just hatched an they'll soon disperse and be no problem any more.

That's what I was thinking. They're not going to all hang around if there's nothing to eat.