Are Millipedes Poisonous?

Are Millipedes Venomous?

Millipedes, unlike centipedes, are not venomous and are predominantly considered to be non-poisonous. However, there are some millipede species that produce irritating fluids from glands located on the side of their body. These fluids can cause relatively minor irritation if it comes into contact with the skin of someone who is sensitive to these fluids and has unknowingly crushed one or more millipedes.

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Millipede Defenses

The millipede’s defensive fluids are quite pungent, in addition to causing skin irritation to some individuals.

For this reason, use protective gloves or thoroughly wash your hands when handling millipedes since differentiating between millipedes is extremely hard to determine.

Therefore, never handle millipedes with your bare hands; instead, be sure, always wear hand coverings if you touch or otherwise handle millipedes.

Another recommendation is to never rub one’s eyes if millipedes were handled since their defensive fluid is extremely irritation to the eyes.

As one might expect, millipedes use these irritating fluids for defense against predators.