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Are woodlice welcome in the garden, raised bed, house and apartment, or should they be fought with poison and traps? Here you can find out all about isopods.
The Woodlice (Porcellio scaber) can be found in various dark and damp places, hiding under pots, stones, in leaves or in rotting wood. Some may find the many pairs of legs and crawling behavior repulsive. Woodlice probably do a lot more for you than you do for woodlice. In some cases, however, they can also become a pest.
Barracks: Beneficial or Harmful?
We will introduce you to the woodlice, explain its way of life, its benefits and possible harmful effects. You can then find out more about fighting in the house and apartment.
What are woodlice?
Cellar rattles belong within the arthropods (arthropods) to the subphylum of the crustaceans (Crustacea). Their order is that of the woodlice (Oniscidae), but most of the other woodlice (Isopoda) populate the fresh, s alt and brackish water of our planet. The woodlice, which can be up to two centimeters in size and is dark grey-brown in color, is a little more advanced in evolution, but its origin as aquatic dwellers can still be seen in its respiratory organs. Because the woodlice breathes on the one hand through indentations on its hind legs, on the other hand through gills, which it has to keep constantly moist. In order to accomplish this, it is dependent on sufficient ambient humidity. This circumstance is exacerbated by the fact that woodlice cannot protect their chitin shell against evaporation with a layer of wax. In a dry environment, they simply dry out. Eggs and newly hatched larvae are even more dependent on moisture. They are on the mother animal in a pouch filled with liquid. After 14 molts they are able to breed again. The life expectancy of a woodlice is about two years.
Habitat and Diet of Woodlice
Without adequate moisture, woodlice find it harder to breathe, dry out, and their larvae and eggs die.The animals therefore hide during the day in the cellar, greenhouse and garden under stones or flower pots. In the wild, it is bushes or the litter layer in the forest under which the woodlice makes itself comfortable. She always stays as close to her food source as possible. Dead, already decayed plant material and wood as well as fungus are their absolute favorites. Rarely if ever is she interested in living plants. By crushing and digesting the dead plant parts, humus is formed and the nutrients contained are released and can be used by plants again. So the woodlice is a beneficial creature and helps close the nutrient and carbon cycle in nature. Aside from being a decomposer, woodlice are also part of the diet of larger animals such as shrews, hedgehogs, spiders and birds.
Note: Woodlice (Armadillidium vulgare) can roll up into a closed ball in case of danger and to protect against evaporation. They are adapted to slightly drier habitats and their respiratory organs on their hind legs (tracheal organs) are more developed than woodlice.
Basement Rattles: Useful helpers in the garden and raised bed
The woodlice is not only useful in the "wild". Humus formation and nutrient release are of course also essential for every gardener. Even in the balcony box, a leaf falls from time to time, which needs to be digested and processed into soil and nutrients. In the vegetable patch, in the perennial border, under fruit trees and in hedges, in the compost, in the flower bed - the hard-working isopods help us everywhere with their destructive activity. Because they are eaten by many larger garden dwellers themselves, the chance of being able to observe hedgehogs, shrews and co. in your own garden increases with their presence.
Tip: Although some people are disgusted by woodlice, they are not dangerous for us, because they do not transmit any diseases to us humans or to plants. Theoretically, they can even be eaten without danger and then apparently always taste exactly like the substrate on which they feed. However, this is only recommended for hardened nature boys, because feeling their 14 little legs on their tongues certainly takes some getting used to.
Cellar rattles in house and apartment
Actually, woodlice have no place in our living rooms in the truest sense of the word. You won't find a humidity level of at least 70% and rotting organic material in most apartments and houses. So if you have discovered woodlice on you, you should check the affected room again.
Where do woodlice come from in houses and apartments?
- Perhaps a single isopod got into the house by accident. However, if they occur frequently, you should investigate the reasons for their presence.
- Do you store fruit or vegetables? If stored incorrectly, a damp environment can easily form, which woodlice like.
- Is there biological waste in the room and is it accessible to woodlice? Woodlice feel comfortable in it, too.
- Is the basement damp for other reasons? Damp laundry, stored fruit and vegetables, a defective dryer and incorrect ventilation can be the cause. But leaking basement walls or water damage are also possible.
- How did the woodlice find their way into the house? Check doors, windows and house walls carefully and seal any access points with silicone, clay, plaster or putty.
Tip: Rattles seem to love potatoes. You can take advantage of the woodlouse's fondness and build a trap with the help of a rotten potato. This way you can check how many isopods are in the room. You can read about how such a trap is made in this special article on home remedies for woodlice. If you find a lot of isopods and then want to do something about the population immediately, we recommend our Plantura biological ant remedy.
The woodlice as a warehouse pest
If woodlice find their way into the house and then find a well-laid table there, they are of course happy to stay and also breed. Potatoes that are ready for harvest are provided with holes up to three centimeters in size, which promotes storage rot. Rotten vegetables are then all the more attractive for the isopods. Unfortunately, they can easily make bought or even home-grown vegetables unusable. Proper storage technique is the best way to avoid woodlice infestation. Here you can read, among other things, how to prevent an infestation of vegetables or fruit.
Fighting and getting rid of cellar rattles
Are the causes of their presenceeliminated, the isopods usually don't want to disappear immediately - or they can't find an exit at all. Now it is time to get rid of the last stragglers of the plague so that they do not visit other parts of the house in search of food. Instead of using poison, we recommend our Plantura ant remedy for simple and effective control. It can also be used indoors against ants (Formicidae), woodlice and silverfish (Lepisma saccharina).
Here you can find out more about how to fight woodlice, and in this special article you will find all effective home remedies for woodlice.