Woodlice and Dead Wood

Kerry Williams
, 26 September 2025
Woodlice and Dead Wood
Woodlouse © Alan Price

By Kerry Williams

Communications Officer - Conservation

A minibeast staple of childhood bug hunts, and comprising of 30 UK species, woodlice can be found in gardens all year round.

Not lice at all, but terrestrial crustaceans, meaning they have hard exoskeletons, woodlice are related to crabs and shrimp. Favouring damp habitats to avoid drying out, these helpful critters can be found under rocks, logs and in compost heaps, doing what they do best; recycling. Nothing is off the menu, as woodlice will consume dead plant and animal matter, fungi, lichen, and with full zero-waste commitment, even their own faeces.

Woodlouse © Neil Fletcher

Woodlice have an extraordinary series of common and nicknames, with a survey once collecting 250 regional variations; chuckypig, slater, pillbug, monkeypea and woodpig, to name a few. It’s not known why woodlice have so many alternative names, but a lovely theory is that it’s due to their accessibility to children playing in gardens, who come up with imaginative names which stick over time.

A critical habitat for woodlice is dead wood, whether fallen or dead trees, rotting stumps, logs or stick piles. A sometimes-overlooked environment, dead wood is often a microcosm bursting with life.

Fungi are a hugely important partner in the dead wood cycle, by both contributing to the decay process and feeding on the dead wood itself. Many insects rely on this habitat, including Saproxylic Beetles, which burrow into the softer surfaces to avoid predators, their grubs feeding on the decaying wood. Insectivorous birds, such as woodpeckers, then benefit from this. Bats utilise holes in standing dead wood to roost, and feed on flying insects attracted to the damp environment it can create. And the decaying wood itself recycles nutrients back into the soil.

Turkeytail Fungus © Dave Kilbey

With such an impressive ecosystem to support, it is important to leave dead wood and resist any temptation to clear it away. On a large scale, it can contribute to a diversity of woodland understory, creating different angles and textures as you peer through the forest, increasing not only the ecological value, but the mystical aesthetic of our ancient Ebernoe reserve, for example. On a smaller garden scale, it can provide a bug-hotel-style feature and a vital home for the important wildlife we don’t always notice; a chuckypig paradise.

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