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RNZ News
21-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Advisory group exploring how to control Wellington's millipede infestation
Millipedes. Photo: RNZ/Mary Argue Work to explore how to control an infestation of millipedes in Wellington is set to begin, with an expert advisory group due to meet on Thursday. Residents in the capital's southern suburbs have said they're dealing with an explosion of Portuguese millipedes in their streets and houses in autumn. In recent years locals have described waking to find hundreds of scaly black millipedes around their homes, discovering them in shoes, bags and even their beds. At the entrance to Red Rocks on Wednesday there were dozens of dead millipedes on the ground around Te Kopahou information centre, with a few live ones crawling around. A nearby resident confirmed the creature's numbers had dwindled to only "a handful around the area that would normally have dozens". Advisory group member entomology professor Phil Lester said the millipedes are most apparent in autumn, when the adults emerge from the soil. They are not visible at other times of the year as they are typically in the soil eating decaying plant material. The outbreak prompted Wellington city councillor Nureddin Abdurahman to demand an urgent meeting to discuss how the district and regional councils could better monitor and contain the millipedes. The Ministry for Primary Industries said because control options were limited, a Technical Advisory Group - including representatives from the Department of Conservation and regional and city councils - had been set up to investigate possible solutions. If you've been affected by the millipedes contact Portuguese millipedes. Photo: Supplied According to the group's entomologist and an independent specialist in insect biological control, those solutions could include a tiny parasitic worm that kills the millipede from the inside out - like a "horror show". Managing director of Bioforce Christopher Thompson said his company specialised in controlling insect species using other insects, mites and microbes. He said the nematode Steinernema feltia, which is naturally present in New Zealand soil, could be an effective biocontrol agent against the Portuguese millipede when deployed in numbers. "Once they've wiggled their way in through some holes and gaps in [the insects'] body, they're able to start reproducing. "Eventually they'll get so numerous in there they'll explode out of the host - not something you want to watch just before having dinner." Thompson said a millipede host could hold tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of nematodes before it burst. "It is a bit of a horror show to be fair, but it's nature." He said insects were a particular target of the worm, so it was possible that if used against the millipede population in Wellington, it would jump to other species in the garden - although he believed the weta would be fairly safe. Larger life forms - such as humans, frogs, skinks, and birds - were unsuitable hosts, he said. Thompson said pitting the worm against the millipedes was as simple as ordering the parasite in the post, mixing it with water in a watering can, and pouring it around the property. He said any control efforts would be better sooner rather than later before the "you problem" became a nation-wide problem. Entomology professor Phil Lester. Photo: Advisory Group member entomology professor Phil Lester agreed, telling RNZ it would be great if the millipede population plaguing south coast residents could be nipped in the bud. He said the millipedes was already widespread in Australia and had been in New Zealand for about 20 years. "So, it seems like they would love the New Zealand climate quite a lot and would have the ability to spread widely if we didn't get on top of it now." Lester said the goal of the Technical Advisory Group was to investigate control tools for problematic pest species, including what could be done by the public. He suspected Thursday's meeting would be the first of many and would set the scene for current control options, as well as sparking further research into other methods. Lester said an Australian nematode species had proven to be an effective biological control against the millipedes and it would be great if something similar could be done for Wellingtonians. "If we can encourage that... that would be awesome [and] alleviate some stress for many of the residents." Biosecurity New Zealand manager of pest management Dr Cath Duthie said the Portuguese millipede was first detected at Seaview, Lower Hutt, in 2021 but it was apparent it had been in the region for at least two decades. She said it was primarily a "nuisance pest" where it had been introduced. "As management options are limited, a Technical Advisory Group has been formed... to explore potential control solutions for the species and recommend other control methods for existing identified populations." Duthie said in the meantime, the regional council had information about management options for the Portuguese millipede on its website. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
24-04-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Portuguese millipedes infestation growing in Wellington, entomologist says
An entomologist says the spread of Portuguese millipedes across Wellington - and beyond - is almost certain after residents on the south coast sounded the alarm about infestations of the invasive species. Residents have described waking to find hundreds of scaly black millipedes around their homes, discovering them in shoes, bags and even their beds. Biosecurity New Zealand said the invertebrate had been identified on the south coast and in Lower Hutt for about 20 years, but not much was known about it. A local councillor is now calling for an urgent meeting with local authorities to discuss how to tackle the problem. Chris Picking, who has lived on Wellington's south coast for 15 years, told Morning Report he first noticed the millipedes a couple of years ago, but since then the population has exploded. "There's hundreds or maybe thousands I have to clean up around the house every day." He said he had found them in every nook and cranny, and they were particularly active at night. "We've had them in the lounge, in the bed, we've had them crawling on the dog, hanging from the walls and the ceiling. "I've had one on me in the bed (and) I've woken up and it's been on my face. Anywhere you can think, I've seen them." For a few weeks a year when the population spiked, Picking said keeping the infestation at bay was a daily mission. "The only way to get rid of them is to put poison down and squash them... and when you squash them, they're pretty nasty," he said. "They exude this toxic smelly stuff." Containers of Portuguese millipedes. Photo: Supplied [] Millipedes likely to spread When RNZ visited Te Kopahou centre at the entrance to Red Rocks on Wednesday, millipedes could be seen marching along the ground next to hundreds more that were curled-up, dead. On community social media pages people report millipedes in Island Bay and Southgate. Professor of entomology at Victoria University Phil Lester. Photo: One person said they were seeing "multitudes" on Buckley Road, while another on Happy Valley Road said the house had been "swarmed by millipedes for weeks". Professor of entomology at Victoria University Phil Lester said it was "almost certain" the millipedes would move beyond the current affected suburbs. "It's a problem that's only going to get worse, I suspect, and they are probably going to like Wellington, and a large part of New Zealand, very much." He said the creature, which was attracted to light, emerged from the ground to breed in autumn, which was why residents were being particularly plagued now. However, he said controlling the population would be difficult, and it likely wouldn't meet the threshold for pest management until more people were affected. In Australia - where millipedes were blamed for a train crash in 2013 - a viral nematode helps control the population, Lester said. He said a biological control agent was probably one of few options for New Zealand, but said the method came with risks to native species. Portuguese millipedes. Photo: Supplied Biosecurity New Zealand's acting assistant commissioner of compliance and response Chelsea Bridgman said the millipede had been identified in Seaview, Gracefield, Wainuiomata and Owhiro Bay. "We know very little about the ecological impact of Portuguese millipedes on New Zealand's native flora and fauna, as the scientific literature is unclear. The millipede mainly feeds on decomposing organic matter," Bridgman said. She advised homeowners to remove green waste from gardens and create physical or chemical barriers around doors and windows. On it's website, Greater Wellington Regional Council stated that while the millipede was a nuisance, it was not a risk to human health and was not known to have any negative effects on the environment. Acting environment group manager David Hipkins said the species was not listed as a pest in the regional pest management plan, and therefore there was "no mandate to formally monitor populations or undertake control efforts". However, the council might reconsider, if the population appeared to be spreading, he said. Wellington's south coast where the Millipedes are spreading. Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue In response to recent complaints from residents, Wellington city councillor Nureddin Abdurahman has demanded an urgent meeting to discuss how the district and regional councils could better monitor and contain the millipedes. "As well as being a serious issue for residents affected by the outbreak, I am also concerned about potential ecological damage if the spread is allowed to continue." Chris Picking told RNZ the response so far from authorities had been disappointing. "Someone needs to take a look at what's actually happening here." In the meantime, he said his only option - which he wasn't keen on - was to continue spraying poison around the perimeter of his house. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
