Slaters: friend or foe in the veggie patch?

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Those little grey armoured bugs that curl up (or scuttle for cover) when you lift a pot — slaters, also known as butchy boys, roly-polies or woodlice. Nearly every gardener finds them, and nearly every gardener worries. Mostly, you can relax.

What they actually do (the good bit)

Slaters are crustaceans, not insects, and they're your compost crew. They shred dead leaves, spent mulch and rotting matter into rich, plant-ready humus. A raised bed full of slaters is usually a raised bed full of healthy, active organic matter — exactly what you want.

The catch

In big numbers, and when there's not much dead matter left to eat, slaters will graze tender seedlings and soft fruit that's sitting on the mix — think strawberries or a ripe tomato that's flopped over. So they're a "watch, don't panic" bug rather than a pest.

What to do

Usually nothing. If they're mobbing your seedlings: lift ripening fruit off the surface, pull heavy mulch back a few centimetres from seedling stems, and let them get back to the compost. Never reach for a spray — you'd be wiping out your decomposers to save a lettuce. Their close cousins the millipedes do the same helpful job.

Not sure whether the bug you've spotted is friend or foe? Our Garden Trouble Calendar shows the pests and diseases that are actually active in your area right now — everything else is usually one of the good guys.

Image: Xeroporcellio, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.