Millipedes
If you have ever found a slow-moving, segmented crawler curled into a tight spiral on your basement floor, you are almost certainly looking at a millipede. What groups these creatures together is their distinctive, double-legged body plan where most segments carry two pairs of jointed legs rather than one, creating a cylindrical, worm-like shape that moves with a steady, wave-like crawl. Despite their name, they do not have a thousand legs, but they do have at least thirty pairs, and they prefer to spend their time outdoors munching on rotting leaves and damp mulch rather than bothering anyone inside your house.
People often mix them up with centipedes or pillbugs, but telling them apart is straightforward once you know what to look for. Centipedes are fast-moving, flat-bodied hunters with only one pair of legs per segment and venom claws behind the head, while pillbugs and sowbugs are short, crustacean-like creatures with a flattened armor shell and only seven pairs of legs. Millipedes stand out by being entirely round in cross section, moving with a deliberate glide, and curling up defensively whenever you touch them, making them easy to distinguish from the speedy or armored pests that share their damp habitats.
