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Identification of the Symphylid is quite simple if
needed. It is small, normally less than half inch - 1cm - with two long
antennae, and twelve pairs of legs. Together with that, it is either
white or cream in colour.
Symphylids - Garden Centipedes - eat organic matter,
and this includes roots and tubers of plants. Smaller plants can be
killed by this destruction.
Symphylids should not be confused with the ordinary
Garden Centipede, which is normally orange, and moves quite quickly if
disturbed. (It need to be able to move fast, for it lives on insects.
Together with this, the friendly centipede has two claws - rather than
long antennae ) The Symphylid is a vegetarian, and does not need to move
fast to search for food.
Control and Treatment
There is no known chemical spray or other control
suited to amateur use. Good cultivation methods are the normal barriers
to a build up of Symphylids in the soil.
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