Slaters
Order Isopoda
Slaters, also known as Sowbugs, Wood Lice and Pillbugs are in fact, not insects, but crustaceans, more closely related to prawns crabs and lobsters .
They are one of only two species of crustaceans that have adapted to living solely on land, although they still need to live in a fairly moist exterior environment
Although they will, from time to time enter buildings, their presence is purely nuisance value, as they do not bite, sting, or known to transmit diseases, nor do they infest food, clothing or wood.
Slaters range in size from 6mm to 12mm long and are usually dark to slate grey. They have oval, multi-segmented bodies, are convex above but flat or concave underneath. They possess seven pairs of legs and two pairs of antennae although only one pair of antennae is readily visible. Slaters have two tail-like appendages which project out from the rear end of the body.
Habitat
These little creatures are scavengers that feed on rotting vegetation and animal matter. Although they occasionally feed on young plants, the damage is seldom more than very minor. They thrive in areas of high moisture, largely remaining hidden during the day. They can usually be found under logs, rocks and rotting vegetation and under flower pots.
Slaters will leave their natural habitats at night, crawling around on paths, patios, and foundations. They are often found invading sub floor areas, damp basements and first floors of houses at ground level. Common points of entry into buildings include door thresholds (especially at the base of sliding glass doors), expansion joints, and through the voids of concrete block walls.
Frequent sightings of these creatures indoors usually means that there are large numbers breeding on the outside, close to the foundation. As Slaters do require moisture, they can not survive indoors for more than a few days unless there are very moist or damp conditions.
Do It yourself Pest Control
- 1. The most effective, long-term measure for reducing indoor entry of these pests is to minimize moisture and hiding places near foundation walls. Most importantly, leaves, grass clippings, heavy accumulations of mulch, stones, fallen fruit, boxes, and similar items laying on the ground beside the foundation should be removed, since these often attract and harbour Slaters.
- 2. Don’t allow water to accumulate near foundation walls or in the sub floor area . Water should be diverted away from the foundation wall with properly functioning gutters, down spouts and splash blocks. Leaking faucets, water pipes and dripping air conditioning units should be repaired, and lawn sprinklers should be adjusted to minimize puddling near the foundation. Poor drainage should be addressed, or the ground sloped to so that surface water drains away from the building.
- 3. Seal cracks and openings in the outside foundation wall, and around the bottoms of doors and basement windows. Install tight-fitting door sweeps or thresholds at the base of all exterior entry doors, and apply caulk along the bottom outside edge and sides of door thresholds. Seal expansion joints where outdoor patios, sunrooms and sidewalks abut the foundation. Expansion joints and gaps should also be sealed along the bottom of basement walls on the interior, to reduce entry of pests and moisture from outdoors.
- 4. Chemical control is an option, however, as Slaters are really beneficial, it is probably wiser to prevent them from coming indoors with exclusion remedies.
Hi,
I have real problems with infestations around the garden, particularly in the vegetable patch.
Apart from clearing up any timber etc. laying about, is there any way to reduce their numbers?
What damage do they do to my seedlings/plants?
Hello Plodow,
In my garden (organic with lots of mulch) slaters eat off newly emerged seedlings and eat into strawberries, melons and pumpkins. Since they need moisture as of this morning I am trying wet newspaper in pots under the taller vegetables. Presumably the slaters will shelter in the paper from where they can be separated and fed to chooks (or bagged and put in the garbage).
Cheers,
Peter
Great post! I’ve been very interested in Slater Bugs for a long time. I didn’t know the facts regarding these bugs before.
Hi
How did you go with the wet newspaper Peter?
I curently have a big problem with slaters in my pot plants – which seems to inhibite growth and at times kill off herbs etc.
Looking for a solution that doesn’t require use of harsh commercial chemicals.
cheers,
breony
hi i have a slater problem, i’m trying to find gaps and cracks that give them entrace into the house but they are hard to find, i always have slaters walking along the carpet by the skirting, i have a feeling they are breeding in the flat but it is an upper flat. is there a treatment avaliable that is not toxic to us?
We have slaters in our house. How can we get rid of them?
Our basement flooded a few years ago, and the water table remains high in spite of improved drainage.
The basement was finished with interior insulation and wallboard. We’ve largely removed that, as it had got damp.
Slaters are appearing randomly on the main floor of our house now. We dispose of those, but more keep appearing. Any effective way of eliminating them in our house?
Thank you,
Don
Hi there
I have a huge slater problem in my vegie patch too. They are eating seadlings and small fruits. I will try the wet newspaper idea but have also heard that spraying them with a solution (about 2 %) of eucalyptus oil can work. Has anyone tried that?
I have had an ongoing problem with slaters eating seedlings before they get a chance to outgrow the little buggers. I have been experimenting with beer traps and with some success. Beer in a shallow container buried up to the rim. I reckon I would be collecting over 200 a night in various traps.
I am using only the best quality beer – Coopers Sparkling Ale – I figure it’s a fair exchange for bugicide on such a grand scale, plus – one for them and one for me!
Wishworm.
I havent tried eucalyptus oil, as I am only allowed to use registered products.
Will always be interested to learn of any tried and true DIY methods to add to our green page on our web site.
I have a lot of Slaters in my Vegie patch as well as Portuguese millipedes and now some kind of witchetty looking grub, anyway I have been using water traps (adding something sweet to the water like honey, sugar, fruit juice etc is supposed to help as well but I have found water is OK) and have found they can be useful for the slater and the millipedes.
I simply buried a smallish pot saucer (about 15cm diameter and about 2cm deep) it is plastic and yellow in the soil to the rim, fill it about 80% full with water and cover with an upturned tray or plastic pot etc (they like dark and moist places), lifted slightly off the soil using soil mounded at the corners.
I can catch 100′s in a single night sometimes.
Apart form this it has been a case of picking out what I can and I am presently trying snail bait (I know it isn’t organic, but between the slugs, snails, slaters and millipedes I had to try something (I am disabled and only have partial use of my dominant arm, so can’t spend a lot of time/ effort in the garden sometimes – too painful).
Good Luck in whatever you try to all of you other slater sufferers.
Hope this helps…
Sharon
Another things which is supposed to work are potato or orange traps.
Simply cut a large potato or orange in half, scoop out the halves (and use the insides as you please – by juicing the orange halves you should be left with the hollowed out skins), place these near the infested crop, check regularly and remove when full of slaters.
Hi,
Slaters ROCK! My son has just found one and would like to keep him for a few days.
What are the best kinds of vegetation and enclosure so he doesn’t die during the next few days of observation?
My son is fairly scared of creepy crawlys so it would be nice to tame that fear without the little guy dying on us ;p
Thanx in advance…
fee
1. Create slater shelters with, e.g., piles of wet crumpled paper, rags, melon skins wet side down.
2. Next morning lift shelter.
3. A splash of boiling water & the exposed slaters are no more.
4. And you have all the Coopers for yourself, Mez.
Hi everyone, i too have a problem with slaters, they are in my garden and pot plants, there is no mulch at present in my garden as i had an investation of nematodes. i have just planted my beans and beetroot,slaters and ants everyhere, so just used ant dust and vegetable dust and hope it works. any natural ideas welcome.
My Dad let the chooks (chicken in Australian) out for a few hours each day. He would tip over all flat pieces of anything in the back yard. Slater…..best chook food ever and high protean for egg production.
Waste not, want not.
I also have a very big problem with these pets and my seedlings. A week ago I planted out pumpkin, cucumber, corn and tomato seedlings. Today all four cucumber seedlings are eaten off to ground level as are four butternut pumpkins – they have left the Jap alone – and three out of eight corn seedlings. The corn was 8″ tall! As I live in a very cold and dry environment, I have quite a deal of difficulty growing vegies due to the very short growing season – these pests has one wondering whether it is all worth it!?! Any and all suggestions as to how to rid the vegie patch of these pests will be most gratefully appreciated.
Hi,
I am having success with 1/2 teaspoon PURE eucalyptus, teaspoon dishwashing liquid to 1 litre water in a spray bottle.
Due to drought I have heaps of multch around so I just pull it back from under plants and spray them. Try not to get it on the foliage if you can as it burns a little (but what is worse?)
Take Care
Jules
While these crustaceans may feed on decaying vegetation they are an eternal pest amongst an orchid collection as they do chew the roots of these plants and I would be dearly greatfull to be rid of them all together.
regards Peter
We have a huge problem with slaters, mostly in my lounge but also throughout the house. the house has nothing lying about outside that would cause them to store and my house is well maintained with all drasins and gutterring working efficiently. We live next to a golf course, could this be cause and someone else mentioned it is because we have a lot of red chips in our garden. Can you give me any advice on chemicals whichwould be effective?
I tried a dilution of neem oil with some success.
Thanks for this info. My children love these creatures but I am not liking the damage they’re doing to my new seedlings. Lost my cucumbers as they had eaten all the roots. I use a snail bait that is also a slater bait. This and 2 ducks have seen a decrease in numbers.
For slater control I have had some success with using coffee ground place around base of seed and seedlings also good for garden as helps break down organic matter.
there cute
I, like Liz, live in an area with a short growing season. Slaters are making it almost impossible to grow seedling as they eat them off at the ground as fast as they emerge! I’m reading all this with hope and will try everything. thanks
Hi thank you everyone for all the good ideas. I have planted corn out 4 times now, and was ready to give up until i read all the good ideas. I will try the newspaper and potato peel ideas first. Maybe my corn will grow.
Hi I have lots of slatesr in lower level of house/ground level. My husband covered the ground under our house with polyythene to keep damp from coming up under house wonder if you think this could have helped slater numbers to increase in the lower house level. They are often in the corner of rooms and I find them most mornings walking across carpet!
I find all this information concerning Slaters and their habitats interesting, but how do I stop them appearing in our shower room? They only appear in ones or twos, regularly. As soon as we dispose of them, another appears. Any suggestions?
Just moved to the NW of West Australia, it is 40+ deg everyday in the summer and there is not a drop of moisture to be seen around my property…dust and dirt only. So why do I have so many slaters, getting into my house, crawling around all day on the blistering pavers and concrete? I want them gone as I keep treading on the squishy things.
Any idea why they are here, in the dry?
Help me!
helen x