Ground Beetle
A diverse family of fast-moving, mostly nocturnal beetles with shiny black bodies. They shelter under stones and mulch by day and hunt slugs, snails, and cutworms at night.
Why you want them
Ground beetles are the primary nocturnal predators of slugs, snails, and soil-surface pests. A single large ground beetle can consume multiple slugs per night. Their larvae are also predatory, targeting soil-dwelling pests including cutworm larvae. A mulched garden with diverse ground cover supports high ground beetle populations and provides natural suppression of night-feeding pests without any chemical input.
Helps control
How to attract them
- Ground cover plants
- Compost mulch
- Log piles
- Flat stones
- Dense hedgerow bases
Preferred habitat
Under stones, logs, dense mulch, and at the base of hedges and walls. They need undisturbed ground with structure to shelter during the day. Permanent mulch and log piles are key.
What harms them
Bare, cultivated soil that exposes them, insecticide use, slug pellets (which they consume and are killed by), and removal of ground-level habitat.
Related pest guides
Garden, by Willowbottom works with nature, not against it. Support your garden allies and they will do most of the hard work for you.