are slaters bad for my garden? how do i make them move out?

Answer 1

They can be a problem, especially if there are a lot of them. They chew new growth at ground level. The best way to control them is to eliminate their habitat- and they love decaying matter (under logs, mulch- the big problem in many gardens and flower beds). You might also have to get a pesticide. One thing to watch if you do that: be careful of pets and children. I would go to your local garden center and see what they recommend. I'm pasting in the entry from the first url listed below. Also, the bottom url if for an interesting 'pamphlet' about these little critters, but it is Australian. The generalities should be the same. Good Luck!

These wood lice, jointed creatures which have numerous legs, grow up to about 1 cm long. They live in damp compost and areas where there is decaying wood. Their main food supply is young shoots and soft root tips. They are known to chew young seedling off at ground level. They cause problems with Tree Ferns, Elk and Stag Horns where they feed on the young aerial root tips and they are very fond of Epiphytic Orchids.

They can be controlled by removing their breeding sites (rotting timber, decaying vegetation matter etc) or sprinkling Naphthalene Flakes, Baysol Snail Bait or LAWN GRUBS, LAWN BEETLE GRUBS AND SLATER KILLER or BAN ANT

Answer 2

Slaters? I calls 'em pill bugs, but there's a different name for them wherever you go. My girlfriend calls 'em roly-poly's. Anyway, they're good for the garden as far as I'm concerned. They eat the dead vegetation and reduce it to compost. I don't think they attack any living plant tissue. We all give off ammonia and other gases. Don't fault them for that. And they're fun to play with.