Warmer winters have allowed millipede populations in Germany and Scotland to explode, leading to serious problems. A town in Germany built a wall around their village, and in Scotland, affected towns are blacking out their homes for the first time since WWII!
"The local council says it cannot help so the estate owner, the John Muir Trust (JMT), has come up with a novel solution. Based on experience in Australia, where homes have suffered similar invasions, residents are being urged to black-out their homes at night so they are less of a target. European black millipedes – tachypodoiulus niger – are most active between one hour after sunset and one hour before dawn.
One resident planning to impose a blackout is postmistress Bridget Graham, who has lived in Balchrick for 37 years."I'll try anything," she said. "They could start appearing any time now and everyone is desperate to stop it. They are horrible. They start in April and last year they were still coming in in October."
All the residents tell stories of millipedes swarming across village roads and getting into baths, showers, bedrooms and cupboards. Across from the post-office, holidaymaker Fiona Young, who visits her family in Balchrick every year during the summer, found them crawling over her four-year-old son when she went to wake him in the morning.
Millipede experts believe the explosion in numbers could be attributed to a succession of milder, wetter winters which have allowed more eggs to survive to hatching time." LINK
No comments:
Post a Comment