Woodlice

[Andrew Murdoch]

Am I right in saying that garden woodlice can be used as a clean up crew, if so how do I go about it?
I will be able to get some, this is not a problem. But is there anything I should do before putting them in with my Tarantulas?
Look forward to hearting your experiences.

[matthew spooner]

that is correct, they are brilliant lil tank cleaners. whn you find them, put them in a tub with dirt in and keep them in there in quarantine for 2 weeks to make sure they haven't come into contact with pesticides etc. if they are still alive and fine after that then chuck em in with your Ts

[Craig Moore]

Do any online shops sell woodlice?

[Colin D Wilson]

Online shops will sell the tropical woodlice, very good at what they do as well.
Our own woodies are just as good and i have used them for many many years without a problem.
The main thing to do, as Matt says, is to leave them for a few weeks in their own tank so they can dispell any toxins they have stored in their body (just in case your spider fancies one for lunch).
You can feed them salad stuff, waste veggies etc and they're particularly fond of tropical fish food flakes so I've found.
If you have a large enough tamnk then you will end up with a culture of them, all completely safe and of varying sizes to use with slings through to adult spiders.
You need to have about 20 - 25 woodies in a tank 12x8 (ish) for them to make anyhead way with decaying foodstuffs and remaining food bolus.
There should be a damp part to the spider tank for them to survive (under a water bowl will do) for them to rest up (they are related to crabs (crustacea) so breath through gills)

[Lisa Baines]

hehehe we've just had a population explosion! and it's great because we are not wasting any veg... it all gets slung in with the woodlice and roaches.

And woodlice dont last long with scorpions hahaha! or GBB's for that matter!

[Colin D Wilson]

And woodlice dont last long with scorpions hahaha!

good point.....most scorpions will have to be dealt with the "old way" .....tweezers and two pairs of eyes

[Peter Lacey]

I was selling starter colonies of the tropical woodlice and springtails at BTS for £1.50. These are pure white and are like the dustmen of the enclosure world. Mine don't get eaten at all, as far as i know, because they're much smaller than out native ones.

Dartfrogs.co.uk sell them

[les watson]

I chucked a few in with my Autrum ! ! even though I`d just fed her she thought they were titbits and went on a clean up of her own

[Matthew Baines]

I love woodlice , they are like the SAS when it comes to a mite problem

[mary walters]

I just found a load of lil white baby ones in with a Psalmo, so mine are breeding in the spid containers.

[Matthew Baines]

Same here Mary, so i doubt i will ever have to replenish the tanks .

[Peter Lacey]

I just found a load of lil white baby ones in with a Psalmo, so mine are breeding in the spid containers.

If they are the P. reduncus in the IKEA tubs they'll be the ones I put in and they were colonising quite well. All they require is a little moisture
Plenty of springtails too.

Les, that's why I go for the tropical ones, they're a lot smaller.

[mary walters]

No Peter, they have long since been repotted mate, they are in with Michelle my big momma cambridgei.