Kitchen Garden Forum

I have just found several small brown things some the size of mouse poo & some larger, reddish brown in colour, scaley looking in my seed compost. Are these pests I should worry about & destroy or would I be destroying a friendly species?

I cant find them in any books under pests!

As nobody else seems to know what these are either, and they are obviously something living! I am going to sift the compost and squash them! I need to plant my free salad that came with the mag and dont want any beasties eating it!

Dear Rarebredchick, i have been trying to think what these could be, since you first posted this topic, and haven't been able to think of anything.

But one thought has just sprung to mind, they are not woodlice rolled up are they.
I know they can change their colour when they are in dark conditions.

Just a thought.

Just a thought! Are they alive? Some composts have various granules added for slow release of nutrients or water retention - could they be something like this?

John

They sound like things I regularly dig up from normal soil when planting out. I think they're cocoons for something but don't know what. Reddish brown, conical and rather leathery in looks. Quite rigid. I assume they're in the soil so that when they hatch they can chomp on plant roots so I just throw them onto the path in case a passing blackbird would like them.
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Granny