To ask about woodlice…

[strawberryjeans]

How many in your house in a sign of a problem?

We recently bought a house, have been moved in for about a month. In the past week I have found one or two woodlice a day. One in the kitchen, a few in the bathroom, and one crawling along the bedroom carpet. Tonight is the cherry on top as I have discovered what looks to be an earwig in the bathroom 🤢 I will post a pic below to identify it

Is it common given that it’s summer? The bathroom window is open for a good few hours a day. We live in an ex-council house and surrounded by trees, wildlife and grassy areas. I suppose I’m just worried it might be a problem? We’ve only ever lived in new builds before and the only thing we were plagued with there were spiders, but we were in a very built up suburban area.

Pic of the most recent offender, given not a woodlouse but what is it?!

If it has a pointy snout rather than rounded it's a weevil. Beetles are generally good but weevils are evil, it's in their name 😂

I tend to get more woodlice in damp weather and we've certainly had that this year. Do you have any wood piles near your house?

Woodlice are harmless (but look hideous) and tend be seen around when it’s damp weather but not too cold. Do you have mulch around your property (in flower beds next to house) is there a lot of woody planting in your garden or an old wooden hut, rotting tree stumps etc.? Had them before in a house with a void underneath that had earth floor and a few bits of old wood debris in it. It was nice and cool and not too dry for them. Definitely more common in older properties.

don’t know anything about weevils.

Woodlice breathe through gills therefore they need damp conditions. I'd be a bit concerned how damp your house is that you've got woodlice inside.

I'm not looking at the photo because I'll have nightmares.

We get plenty of woodlice under bricks and things in the garden, but not in the house and as per a PP I'd also wonder whether damp is an issue.

As an amusing aside, I vividly remember my now nearly 22yo aged around 4 running in excitedly with cupped hands calling "Mummy, Mummy, I've found an Armadillo" and revealing a woodlouse. He was mad on Dora the Explorer at the time and there was an Armadillo in that.

Woodlice are good nothing to worry about. Beetles not a worry either imo

But if you've got loads you might have damp.

Your picture isn't an earwig. I think I do recognise the beetle, but I don't know its name. I find a lot of them in the garden, and occasionally they come indoors. Put it outside and forget about it.

Woodlice are harmless as far as I know. We have an old property and have the buggers here and there. We had the entire downstairs re-floored due to age and deterioration recently and under is just earth and slate so it's a haven for mini beasts. We do have damp, but again it's an old property, ours is caused by the pavements outside being built up too much and impacting our vents. We manage it without too much issue.

We have a wooden hut but it’s quite far down the garden

I think that is a ground beetle of some kind not a woodlouse. Weirdly I have seen a few in my house this week too which is unusual! I think they just come in accidentally and eat other insects so not a problem in the house.

That's adorable. Miniature armadillo.

That doesn't look like a woodlouse at all.
Too big and not flat enough.

More beetley

I live in a Georgian property with a bit of damp. I find a woodlouse or two in my kitchen most days, as the doors to the garden are in there. I rescue them where I can but they dessicate pretty quickly indoors ... even in my damp old place!

It's not a woodlouse. It's also nothing that will eat the fabric of your house, so just pop outside and don't worry.

If you are getting lots of woodlice thwn get a dehumidifier. Pop them outside in the meantime.

Check your door seals. I need new doors and get a few visitors in that way.

I was thinking more of something made of old rotting wood next to/leaning on walls, like an old lean-to or fence panels, rotting old deck type thing where they could live if there is loads. If your hut is far away should be fine,

If it’s only a few it’s probably nothing, just older house issue. Like you I do hate them.

Weirdly, I’ve moved to the same type of house a couple of streets away, built at the same time and almost never get one. Only difference is the garden soil was very heavy and wet in the old house but a bit more loamy here. All the neighbours used to get them in old street so wasn’t just an “us” problem. Looking at old OS maps it looks as if there was a very small stream at one point where my previous street was built. Wonder if soil type and previous waterway has an impact on prevalence or them coming into house?

I think that might be a weevil, unless it has really long antenna and then more likely a roach, either way it's not a woodlouse, which is probably a good thing as where there are woodlouse there are big bitey reddish woodlouse spiders (if you're not a fan of spiders don't google them!).

Hello,

Just moved into a house in derby dales, not fully moved in yet, still waiting on furniture. I am lucky the new laws have come in as I moved. A few points I am concerned about. One mold underneath kitchen sink and windows and seen a few woodlice hanging around mostly in living room area. A few upstairs not in the kitchen yet and I haven't stayed in the house over night to see how bad it is. Got any advise? Lucky I am on a rolling contract due to the new law, should I ride it out get everything in and hope the landlord will be on it sorting it out? Or is it worth cutting and running and find something else? I don't want to move my children and pets into a problem house Ha!