There’s a crayfish in the garden

Last week I was asked whether slaters were harmful to the garden. So I looked back at all the blog posts we had written over the past decade and discovered we had never discussed these ubiquitous critters – apart from one blog post on Slater-eating Spiders.

Slaters are crustaceans just like lobsters and prawns and are an introduced species in Australia. Although terrestrial they still have a need to be in a moist environment, commonly living under rocks, logs and leaf litter and coming out at night when the chances of dehydration are minimised. They have seven pairs of legs and two pairs of antennae. The female slater does not lay her eggs but carries them around in a pouch. The young remain in the pouch for a short time after hatching. They look like small adults and grow through a series of moulting stages. Unlike most arthropods the moult takes place in two stages rather than one. The exoskeleton splits and the back half is shed, followed by the front half a couple of days later.

And as to the garden question, slaters are great in the garden. They are detritus feeders, feeding on decayed plant (and animal) matter and returning nutrients to the soil.

I am glad evolution chose these to come on to land. Can you imagine having crayfish in your garden hiding under your flower pots?