HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – For weeks, students at Kalaheo High School in Kailua say thousands of critters have been crawling about campus.

Videos posted on social media showed throngs of millipedes along the school’s outdoor areas and in its gymnasium.

“It’s really gross, there’s just like millipedes all over the walls and it’s just gross, they’re crawling everywhere, and like I’m walking and I have to walk over them,” senior Cate Carmack said.

Carmack’s classmate, Lex Fuentes, added, “They’re just like all around our school. like on the ceiling, walls, floor, they’re just everywhere.”

Fuentes and Carmack both did not really mind the millipedes, but they said the swarms were somewhat distracting.

“I was sitting in AP psych, just doing my thing. I see it on my jacket, flick it off, and I go about my day,” Fuentes said.

Junior Harper Reynolds shared that some were seen on the roof and walls.

“When I’m walking around, or like going from class to class, there’s just like millipedes on the roof and on the walls. It’s kind of weird, it’s kind of gross, it’s like, why is that even there?” Reynolds said.

The pests are likely there because of the recent rain, according to Jimmy Fitzgerald of Kilauea Pest Control, which sprayed infested areas of the school on Tuesday.

“Kalaeho’s been very impressively proactive handling this over the years because every spring, that’s very common, the boom in insects, the rain is coming, it’s pushing them outside of their natural habitat,” Fitzgerald said.

This year, the insect’s natural habitat, the hillside behind the school, is much more saturated from the Kona low storms. Fitzgerald said the wetter conditions this year could explain why there are more millipedes at the school than usual.

“Naturally, the millipedes would be going up the trees, and hiding in the trees for a day and then coming down, but it’s been so wet in those back areas, they’ve been coming into the human spaces instead,” Fitzgerald explained.

Fitzgerald also pointed out the pests are harmless, and so is the insecticide they use to get rid of them, as the product is safer and less toxic than household bleach.

“Everything we do is people and pet-friendly, so it’s meant to impact something that’s this small, millipedes are about this small,” Fitzgerald said.

Kilauea Pest Control used a long-lasting product expected to push out the pests over the two to three weeks.

The company will reevaluate in 30 days whether the school will need a follow-up treatment.

“It needs to be gone,” Carmack said.

The Hawaii State Department of Education reported “the problem has dramatically decreased” since Tuesday’s treatment and “school custodians are continuing to monitor the campus and will respond to any new reports.”

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HONOLULU (KHON2) — In March, severe weather hit the state during back-to-back Kona low storm systems during a peak time for visitors.

Total tourism loss during the storms is estimated at over $300 million, according to the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The severe weather prompted trip cancellations from visitors, resulting in about $14 million in hotel revenue loss.

But businesses from every sector can feel the economic impact of losing Spring Break travelers.

“With the lack of visitors that are coming is the lack of people going to restaurants, people going to shopping and people just enjoying the state in general,” James Kunane Tokioka, Director of the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said.

Oahu’s North Shore was hit hard with what was described as catastrophic flooding and has been on the road to recovery ever since.

“For most people who come to Oahu, they’ll take a day and drive out to the North Shore, but that visitor was not coming,” Tokioka said. “Haleiwa, in my understanding, was fine, but people didn’t want to go out there because of the destruction in Waialua and that’s understandable. What’s sad is that a lot of the businesses out there have been decimated as far as visitors coming out there.”

Tokioka said that a grant program for impacted businesses will be available soon with the new federal funds approved.

“That money is going to be circulated through DBEDT to the City and County of Oahu and it’s $400 million. Then, $100 million will be going to Maui and Hawaii Island to help small businesses with grants.”

He added, “There’s certainly paperwork that has to be done.  A similar thing happened in Lahaina when the fires happened. But this time we know better how to get it out faster. If anyone’s business was affected, keep an eye out for the City’s announcement.”

Until then, officials are asking residents to give flood-impacted businesses revenue.

“Residents on this island, instead of going to your local place for now, you might want to just take a drive out to the North Shore on the weekend, or if you are off on the weekday, and help the restaurants and the businesses out there. I know a lot of them are tourist locations or tourist shops. But, you know, it’s fun to be a tourist every now and then,” Tokioka said