Depending on where the palm was imported from originally, the pests could have hitched along. I am not certain where mindy lives, but, chances are her palm originally came from either Texas, California or Florida. Doesn't matter where she is now, the bugs have managed to stay nice and warm in the pot in her house for over a year. It could also be a fire ant infestation, but I'd think you might have noticed that at some point.

I disagree with those that say that strict vermicomposting is much faster than regular composting. I can set up a new compost heap and have compost in a couple months- but rather than 80 pounds, I've composted YARDS of material (hundreds of pounds). Folks that manage their compost bins fastidiously can produce in a month or even a few weeks (for expensive tumbler systems). I'm interested in vermicomposting, and worms play a part in the cool cycle of my regular composting- without a worm bin or investment. However, my reading here tells me that it doesn't produce compost on the same scale or in the same time. I'm no expert- but it seems that straight worm castings have certain nutrient advantages over regular compost. A worm bin can be maintained in spaces and on scales that would be impractical for regular composting. Worms are plain fun. Those are some of the advantages. However, regular composting is faster (if the right mix of materials is shredded and maintained right), processes much larger batches than conventional bins, and produces more finished material than vermicomposting. Also- I compost weird stuff that few would put into a worm bin- like cheese, and pest squirrels and woodchucks. Conventional hot composting takes care of them very quickly- no smell- and the heat kills any pathogens. As for rats- one thing they like to eat is... worms. Not saying that a worm bin will draw them- but they will eat absolutely any food available. Roaches will eat anything- they can subsist on stuff that you would not think of as food (like toothpaste), so why would they not go for food in the bin? Not trying to turn anyone from one method or another- but each has its place. Much of that is based on scale. I produce probably 5 yards of compost a year or more (am thinking of having a worm bin too- for fun and castings).

Repot by placing the soil and roots in a tub of water, wash off as much soil as you can, and then repot with fresh soil. Hopefully those millipedes will not come back. Please note that I can not confirm that they are, in fact millipedes. I just took purple's word for it. Good luck. L.G.

the MEDIA you use in a pot ... and i like to use that word .. to separate it from dirt or soil .... or compost in your case .. anyway .. the MEDIA is a water management system ... and specific to the plant.. or a group of plants ... some like to be sodden all the time ... so you use a media with lots of peat ... to hold lots of water ... others.. like trees.. like a sip of water.. then full drainage... and near drying ... before the next sip ... in that case.. you use no more than 50% peat type media.. and add big chunks of stuff like bark ... to aid in water moving right out the bottom of the pot ... and then of course.. there are a myriad of other types and plants ... and media .... the problem with compost ... is that there is no predictability to how it will handle water ... and also .. how it might compact ... etc ... and that the long story short ... also ... just my way of thinking about it.. many of our indoor houseplants.. are understory jungle plants ... in that they dont need a lot of sun .. but also .. if you think about it ... there is little water under the high canopy of such ... there is a rainy season ... but there is a dry season .. plus all the great soil after millinea of composting ... but its not your kind of compost ... [i know others here might argue with what i just said.. but i am just giving you some general ideas.. of what to think about it all .... you can surely ID your plant.. and google up its native haven.. and then think about the media.. it might prefer in a pot...] ken