The lawn shrimp are a type of bug that looks like a hopping flea to the uneducated eye, which unfairly maligns them. They’re completely safe and won’t show up unless you provide damp spots in your garden where they can thrive without ever coming out onto your grass.
Lawn shrimps are tiny, measuring about ⅖ of an inch in length. When their own habitat dries out, they migrate to wet gardens. They have a pale brown color and turn pink after death, much like cooked seafood shrimp.
A lawn shrimp infestation isn’t really dangerous, and once your grass is dry they’ll return to shaded, wet locations.
Let’s take a closer look at these beautiful creatures, how you acquired them on your grass, and how to remove them if necessary.
How Did I Get Lawn Shrimp?
These strange little creatures may be found in our yards, outbuildings, and even homes. Though tiny and harmless, lawn shrimp (sometimes known as yard shrimp) are unsavory tenants that will move into your house or garden in search of ideal moist conditions.
The lawn shrimp, like other crustaceans, is dependent on the proper balance of moisture in order to thrive. The amphipod is a type of crustacean known as a lawn shrimp.
Yes, these little creatures are more closely related to crabs than insects, and while most amphipod species dwell in water, the lawn shrimp prefers to live on land in wet conditions.
If you have lawn shrimp in your yard, it’s because they’re loving the wet topsoil. If they’ve scuttled indoors, it might be due to a lack of rainfall outside (not usually the wisest idea, shrimps).
It’s because a severe downpour has made their outside environment too waterlogged that they’ve gone indoors, or else it’s because a heavy rain has made their outdoor territory too wet and they’re seeking for drier but wetter conditions.
In any case, they’re unavoidable in most situations. They are not a indication of uncleanliness or bad yard management; rather, they are a reality of life, especially in wetter climates. You may assist to keep them at bay by controlling the moisture levels in your yard.
What Do Lawn Shrimp Look Like?
Lawn shrimps are tiny (the maximum size they reach is about ⅘ of an inch, and most are significantly less). They start out as a pale brownish color and then turn pink after death, much like cooked shrimp.
They may be mistaken for fleas because they flit about (and are actually referred to as “house hoppers” in Australia). It’s nice to discover that they’re not fleas since these little bugs won’t bite you.
Sand fleas, those hopping bugs that you may sometimes observe on the beach or on dunes, are their hosts.
The thighs of the meaty part are shaped similarly to our edible seafood shrimp. The name amphipod is derived from the Greek term for “two legs,” alluding to their having two forms of legs.
Most of them are little in our shrimp’s example, but there are a few longer ones. They don’t have a carapace and their bodies are quite flat.
They have tiny black eyes on either side of their heads, just like their freshwater shrimp counterparts. They have two antennae per pair, which is one of the most straightforward methods to tell them apart (if you have excellent vision).
The Lawn Shrimp Life Cycle (What Do They Eat?)
The lawn shrimp prefers moist dirt with plenty of ground cover. Mulch is a favorite food, and the upper half inch of earth is its favorite resilience. This prevents pests from becoming too damp or drying out.
They can also be found under patio plants, in log piles, and behind your trash. Woodlice are another example of a nocturnal insect that you may find around your home.
Shrimps thrive in a natural pond teeming with aquatic animals and plants, as well as fish. This environment also has their favorite food: rotting organic and animal waste. The shrimps assist break down this material, allowing for fuller fertilized soil to form.
In most situations, the lawn shrimp will just continue to live in your flower beds, feeding on decaying matter and ignoring your home. In ideal circumstances, they’ll usually survive for about a year as tiny adults.
Because they are not pests, do not survive in our air-conditioned homes, and do not bite or harm us or our pets, they are not a problem.
When the simple life cycle of a weed is disrupted by inclement weather, difficulties can arise. They may be washed away from their homes or (less frequently in wet, mulched soil) their habitat becomes too dry.
On the outside, they appear to be rather high-maintenance in their living circumstances. However, they must be due to what appears to be a major design flaw in their makeup.
They don’t have a waxy coating on their exoskeleton, making them extremely susceptible to temperature changes.
Naturally, they flee to a safer location in order to survive. This is generally when we come into contact with them.
How Serious is a Lawn Shrimp Infestation?
That’s simply not the case. They can’t harm you, your dog, or your cat, and they won’t cause any property damage. They help decompose rubbish and recycle it into rich soil, which is one of the animals that aids in the breakdown of decaying material and its recycling into nourishing dirt.
However, finding dead and desiccated tiny shrimps in our homes is not something we enjoy. They’re more of a nuisance than anything else.
When amphipods are released into your home (and this isn’t something they frequently do: it’s part of their severe-weather strategy), they tend to dry out quickly and die. You won’t encounter any live specimens.
Mulch and dead leaves are good for your grass, but they might be harmful if their habitats become too dry. The local lawn shrimp will search for the closest wet location should their mulch or dead leaves run out. If you have a swimming pool, an ornamental pond, or even a fish tank, this is where they’ll go.
Shrimp are light-colored and can hide in darker areas of your pool, such as the filters. You guessed it. A grass shrimping infestation can obstruct your swimming pool or pond filter, which is potentially harmful. If you own a swimming pool, an infestation is the last thing you want…
How Do I Get Rid of Shrimp in My Lawn?
The quick solution is to eliminate the damp locations where lawn shrimp may survive. Ground cover and keeping up with heaps of leaves can prevent a problem from ever developing. Reduce mulching, raking your beds on a regular basis, and avoid overwatering your flowers to keep an infestation at bay.
Chemical treatment is seldom required for lawn shrimp removal because they are so susceptible to habitat. They can’t survive if you change their environment. You could even choose to let them live in your yard and decompose that organic material if they aren’t causing you any issues.
Adopting a “live-and-let-live” attitude can also result in them being less likely to enter your home, shed, or swimming pool. They will simply stay in that saturated half inch of topsoil.
If you have a pool in your yard, you’re less concerned about lawn shrimp because they can really damage and disrupt it.
Call pest control for assistance; however, because chemical treatments and pesticides are not advised for amphipods (they’re not technically pests), they will most likely advise you to dry out their habitats.
The easiest approach to keep lawn shrimps out of your yard is to make it uninhabitable. Try not to have shaded, wet soil areas by removing ground cover and raking the topsoil on a regular basis.
Lifting up plant pots, trash cans, and other stationary objects in your yard prevents them from settling under them.
You can keep them out of your house by making excellent door seals. Their flat bodies may squeeze through gaps, so if you close the gap, you eliminate their means of entry.
If they do acquire it, don’t worry. They can’t settle in the dry atmosphere or in your home or garage, so you won’t have an infestation within.
Conclusion
While it’s true that lawn shrimp are harmful, they aren’t so much as to cause any significant damage if you leave them alone. They have simply emerged on your grass seeking moisture because of a lengthy period of hotter weather drying out their preferred shady, wet pockets in the yard.
You don’t need to do anything to get rid of them, because once your grass has dried up again, they’ll return to seek out damp places like flower beds, leaf piles, and compost heaps. They’re most likely in your garden all the time; you just don’t notice them since they tend not to show themselves.
The only way to totally eliminate them is to make every part of your garden damp-free, which is not feasible or necessary in even wet locations.
The only risk with lawn shrimp is if you have a swimming pool – the tiny creatures can obstruct your filter, but otherwise there’s no need to be concerned. They’ll soon find their way back to their own lawn.