Lately, I’ve been spending insufficient time harvesting and preserving, a little bit of time sowing something for winter, and a great deal of time watching small beasts.
Even a little pot garden is a city in itself, and the compost bin is a tower block. If bustling life is a good indicator for rapid decomposition, it’s absolutely thriving.
Bustling equals a very audible rustling when the lid is opened and thousands of woodlice react to the intrusion. These busy little detritivores seem to do most of the work and as much as I chuck in the level drops by another few inches each week.
They really have the most peculiar charm. I understand the reasons why us humans might have (relatively) illogical urges to care for big-eyed fluffy kittens but have not been able to pin down why woodlice can elicit similar feelings. I don’t think it’s just me: I learned recently that some people know them as ‘chuggypigs’ – a name that seems imbued with a certain amount of affection.
I could watch them for a long time and – when I have pressing tasks to do – have watched for a very very long time…
Occasionally I am distracted by juicy great worms which, though mostly content to munch away below, sometimes sashay to the surface. Or by the sight of a truly fearsome slug or a spider very keen to get more closely acquainted with the friendly little woodlice. All good signs of a thriving ecosystem.
I have pictures of these bugs too but it has recently been suggested to me that not everyone likes to look at such things and that perhaps one can overdo the slime, defecation and violent death. So I shall resist and hope there is no objection to the quirky little fellows above.
Flowers or something else pretty/ fragrant/otherwise inoffensive next; more death and poo next week.
September 12, 2010 at 05:02
I’m happy with the bugs :) fascinating little creatures!
September 12, 2010 at 11:10
Bugs are great to watch. It is like a little city of hustle and bustle :)
September 12, 2010 at 11:25
[…] found this fun little blog today with a great “action” shot of some garden bugs. Bugs aren’t so bad. Seriously, who can look at this picture and honestly think yuck? Of […]
September 13, 2010 at 10:23
Please don’t stop the bugs and compost posts – especially as I have slugs eggs yet to put up and feel like some solidarity in euchiness. (There were photos of a snail sactually laying eggs too and snail eggs are very beautiful – but I deleted the best of those by mistake).
Esther
October 10, 2010 at 08:41
Come back, come back – I can’t be the only one to post gruesome things . . .
(I’ve got slugs eggs at present.)
Esther
December 22, 2010 at 19:43
Happy Christmas!
Esther
February 5, 2012 at 20:11
Hi there,
We recently purchased a new home and it contained compose site for several years.
I’ve now topped up the flowers beds and lawn with the compose.
While digging up we found thousands of woodlice, how do i get rid of them in the flowers beds and now they seem to be getting into the house.
Please help!
PS: Solution must be child and pet friendly.
February 6, 2012 at 22:05
Hello Praven, I’m not an expert by any means, but I say save the woodlouse!
I’d welcome the woodlice outside as an important part of your garden ecosystem. They’re detritivores, mainly feeding on dead and rotting materials and recycling the nutrients back into the soil. They will be helping to munch the remains of the old compost and if they are present in large numbers it’s probably because there’s lots still to eat. They’ll most likely decline in numbers soon, as the food supply runs low and their natural predators (such as spiders or frogs) get at them.
They like moist places, so I don’t think they’ll survive long indoors unless you have damp getting into the house. More likely that there’s a damp spot outside near a gap in a wall and they are only coming inside because they wandered the wrong way. If you deal with any dampness, and damp spots where they might get in, you shouldn’t have a problem. Any indoor woodlice will probably just curl up and die when they can’t find food or moisture and can be swept up.
I don’t know about chemicals that would kill them and wouldn’t want to. If you kill them you’re killing a useful part of the complex community that processes your garden rubbish. I’m pretty sure that the industrious woodlice tidying up for you will be better for your kids than chemicals.
Hope you and your woodlice can live happily ever after!