OT: Woodlice

[Charles Middleton]

All,

Appreciate its off topic but can someone assist with this...

I've just moved into the house I have been slowly doing up for the last 6 months.

I hadn't seen one of the determined little blighters in the whole 6 months I've been messing around in the house but now woodlice seem to be appearing on a more frequent basis than I would like. Although its amusing to see them scurrying along the carpet as I chase them, I can see a time in the near future when this will no longer serve as amusement.

I made a hole at floor level (long story) that went through what is a studded wall. The whole was open for many months and I didn't see one of them but now they appear to be coming out of it. Now I have sealed it I'm concerned that the inside of this wall is full of them.

Are they infested inside the house and crawling all around whilst I sleep?

How do they get into the house?

I presume they don't eat wood?

Why do they want to live inside my house?

Any help would be appreciated.

CM.

[Peter Crosland]

Essentially woodlice need damp conditions to survive. They don't do a great deal of harm indoors but are an indication that you may need to address the dampness.

[Dave Liquorice]

They do but only wood or plant material that is already soft and rotten, their mouth parts are pretty pathetic. They also need damp conditions to survive.

Why not, you do... it's warm and provided there is somewhere damp enough for them they'll move in. Hidden condensation is probably the source of the damp rather than any leaks from pipework or windows etc.

[Huge]

They were living on my damp skirting boards, no trouble.

[G&M]

And they love new damp plasterwork. Every wall I do attracts at least a couple of the blighters every day until it's perfectly dry.

[Andy Dingley]

Lovely things woodlice. Don't cause much trouble, and if you've got them, it's a fair bet you have a damp problem somewhere. They're only trying to be helpful and tell you about it.

[mogga]

My cat brings them in. (The other cat brings mice in though...)

They like wood - but usually stuff thats a bit mushy. You've not done anything outside that might have disturbed anything like moving bark mulch?

The probably don't.

Woodlice recipes

ID info here (And a survey you can take part in)

[jacob]

They don't only tell you about it, they help to rectify it by eating only damp rotten wood. If they do that under a skirting board, window sill or at the foot of a door frame they will eventually create a cavity - isolating the remaining timber from the masonry and the source of the damp and so prolonging it's life (as long as it is supported somehow and doesn't just drop down back on to the damp masonry).

cheers

Jacob

[Mabon]

Ooooh! The little darlings. Where can i get some? ;-)

[mogga]

I have about 1/4 million hiding under a piece of playwood in my back garden. I have the photos to prove it.*but* you can't send live stuff through the post... so it would be collection only.

[Dave Liquorice]

You almost certainly have some already, you just haven't been looking (in the right places).