I seem to have loads of beetles ( I think they are called `slaters`) in every
corner of the garden, under rubbish bricks etc. Are these beetles a problem ?Do
they cause damage to plants? and / or wood in houses? How do I get rid of them
( I am currently clearing rubbish etc,but I presume they will find a new
habitat in my garden)
I am in Scotland
remove niljunk to send e-mail.

In article , Yamxs850
writes
I seem to have loads of beetles ( I think they are called `slaters`)

Since a 'pond slater' looks like a woodlouse, do you mean woodlice?
little grey armour plated things, about 1cm long and 1/8 inch wide?

in every
corner of the garden, under rubbish bricks etc. Are these beetles a problem ?Do
they cause damage to plants? and / or wood in houses? How do I get rid of them
( I am currently clearing rubbish etc,but I presume they will find a new
habitat in my garden)

You won't get rid of them. And there are a lot more beetles, creepy
crawlies etc that you haven't even noticed ;-)
So don't worry about them.

Most things go for soft decaying plants rather than vigorous growing
ones, and therefore perform a useful job in the garden.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

"Yamxs850" wrote in message
...
I seem to have loads of beetles ( I think they are called `slaters`) in
every
corner of the garden, under rubbish bricks etc. Are these beetles a
problem ?Do
they cause damage to plants? and / or wood in houses? How do I get rid of
them
( I am currently clearing rubbish etc,but I presume they will find a new
habitat in my garden)
I am in Scotland
remove niljunk to send e-mail.
Hi, reading about your beetles I realised what you were referring to as soon
as you mentioned 'Slaters' and said you were in Scotland.
As an expat Scot I can tell you that what you are calling beetles are
actually WOODLICE sometimes known as 'Pillbugs'. (Called 'Slaters' in parts
of Scotlan) They are fairly innocuous creatures and generally restrict
themselves to eating rotting decaying wood and plants. Very occasionally
indulging in small seedlings. The best way IMHO to deter them is to keep a
very tidy garden with virtually no plant detritus or hidey holes for them
but who has a garden like that? Certainly not me.
Just ignore them as they are part and parcel of garden life and actually
help to recycle dead plant material.
Jim

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , Yamxs850
writes
I seem to have loads of beetles ( I think they are called `slaters`)

Since a 'pond slater' looks like a woodlouse, do you mean woodlice?
little grey armour plated things, about 1cm long and 1/8 inch wide?

Please Kay, Metric or Imperial!! Call me old fashioned but I prefer imperial
and I don't mean the sweets! Jim

"Jim Paterson" wrote in message
...

"Yamxs850" wrote in message
...
I seem to have loads of beetles ( I think they are called `slaters`) in
every
corner of the garden, under rubbish bricks etc. Are these beetles a
problem ?Do
they cause damage to plants? and / or wood in houses? How do I get rid
of
them
( I am currently clearing rubbish etc,but I presume they will find a new
habitat in my garden)
I am in Scotland
remove niljunk to send e-mail.
Hi, reading about your beetles I realised what you were referring to as
soon
as you mentioned 'Slaters' and said you were in Scotland.
As an expat Scot I can tell you that what you are calling beetles are
actually WOODLICE sometimes known as 'Pillbugs'. (Called 'Slaters' in
parts
of Scotlan) They are fairly innocuous creatures and generally restrict
themselves to eating rotting decaying wood and plants. Very occasionally
indulging in small seedlings.

They are not only totally harmless, they are one of the essential adjuncts
of a garden. The constitute a very important link in the chain along which
dead plant matter is recycled into compost. Cherish them.

The best way IMHO to deter them is to keep a
very tidy garden with virtually no plant detritus or hidey holes for them
but who has a garden like that? Certainly not me.
Just ignore them as they are part and parcel of garden life and actually
help to recycle dead plant material.

Very much so.

[Franz Heymann]

Thanks guys, at least I know they are ok for the garden,I just don`t like the
look of them things.Yuk!
One more question though, are they likely to go for timber as in timber frame
house (with outer brick skin) although I would expect the timber frames to be
`treated` The foundations are dry so wouldn`t provide a damp area.
thanks
remove niljunk to send e-mail.

The message
from "Jim Paterson" contains these words:


"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...

little grey armour plated things, about 1cm long and 1/8 inch wide?

Please Kay, Metric or Imperial!! Call me old fashioned but I prefer imperial
and I don't mean the sweets! Jim

Eh? I was admiring Kay's brilliant bilingualism :~}.

Janet

The message
from iljunk (Yamxs850) contains these words:

I seem to have loads of beetles ( I think they are called `slaters`)
in every
corner of the garden, under rubbish bricks etc. Are these beetles a
problem ?Do
they cause damage to plants? and / or wood in houses? How do I get rid
of them
( I am currently clearing rubbish etc,but I presume they will find a new
habitat in my garden)

They are woodlice, the only land representatives of crustacea in this
country. They generally live on decaying matter, but will attack plant
roots occasionally.

They used to be boiled to make a shrimp-flavoured broth which was used
by hard-up folk to make sauce for fish. I've never tried it myself.

I am in Scotland

I guessed.

--
Rusty http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm
horrid·squeak snailything zetnet·co·uk excange d.p. with p to reply.

The message
from iljunk (Yamxs850) contains these words:

Thanks guys, at least I know they are ok for the garden,I just don`t
like the
look of them things.Yuk!
One more question though, are they likely to go for timber as in
timber frame
house (with outer brick skin) although I would expect the timber
frames to be
`treated` The foundations are dry so wouldn`t provide a damp area.

No, not unless the timber is rotten. When I wis a wean ah hud a wee pet
slater.

--
Rusty http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm
horrid·squeak snailything zetnet·co·uk excange d.p. with p to reply.

In article ,
Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message
from "Jim Paterson" contains these words:
"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...

little grey armour plated things, about 1cm long and 1/8 inch wide?

Please Kay, Metric or Imperial!! Call me old fashioned but I prefer imperial
and I don't mean the sweets! Jim

Eh? I was admiring Kay's brilliant bilingualism :~}.

Quite. Everyone needs to be able to go to a builder's merchant and
ask for 3 metres of two by one :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
Rusty Hinge wrote:
The message
from iljunk (Yamxs850) contains these words:

Thanks guys, at least I know they are ok for the garden,I just don`t
like the
look of them things.Yuk!
One more question though, are they likely to go for timber as in
timber frame
house (with outer brick skin) although I would expect the timber
frames to be
`treated` The foundations are dry so wouldn`t provide a damp area.

No, not unless the timber is rotten. When I wis a wean ah hud a wee pet
slater.

VERY rotten. They are a good indicator of trouble. If you have them
in the woodwork of a house, it is long past time that you got it
attended to or moved out ....

[ I.e. they cause no damage to timber, and will eat only timber that
has rotted so far as to be completely useless. ]

What did you train your slater to do?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:
In article ,
Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message
from "Jim Paterson" contains these words:
"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...

little grey armour plated things, about 1cm long and 1/8 inch wide?

Please Kay, Metric or Imperial!! Call me old fashioned but I prefer
imperial
and I don't mean the sweets! Jim

Eh? I was admiring Kay's brilliant bilingualism :~}.

Quite. Everyone needs to be able to go to a builder's merchant and
ask for 3 metres of two by one :-)

And half a kilo of 2" nails...

--
Rusty http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm
horrid·squeak snailything zetnet·co·uk excange d.p. with p to reply.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

What did you train your slater to do?

It wouldnae learn - Ah wis tryin' tae teach it tae be a guidit marble,
but it wouldnae graw muckle eneugh tae gowk the ither weans.

--
Rusty http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm
horrid·squeak snailything zetnet·co·uk excange d.p. with p to reply.

"Rusty Hinge" wrote in message
...
The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:
In article ,
Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message
from "Jim Paterson" contains these words:
"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...

little grey armour plated things, about 1cm long and 1/8 inch wide?

Please Kay, Metric or Imperial!! Call me old fashioned but I prefer
imperial
and I don't mean the sweets! Jim

Eh? I was admiring Kay's brilliant bilingualism :~}.

Quite. Everyone needs to be able to go to a builder's merchant and
ask for 3 metres of two by one :-)

And half a kilo of 2" nails...

This is as true as I am sitting he
Very shortly after the metrication of wood and the like, I went to a wood
yard and asked for two pieces of 6' by 2 by 1. The reply: "Sorry, mate,
but we've gone metric. So, after a quick bit of mental arithmetic, I
rephrased my request to "Two pieces of 2 m by 5 cm by 2.5 cm". The
assistant looked up a crib sheet and said "Oh, you mean 2 yards by 2 by 1"
and promptly served me with the required wood.

[Franz Heymann]

metric V imperial
Interesting comparisons
And now with the warm weather( UK) for years they have quoted centigrade and
now with the warm weather Fareinhite (spelling) 100 F sounds better that 38 C
or whatever the equivelent is.
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