Punch The Monkey’s Plush: Why Animals, Including Humans, Love ‘Cuddle Therapy’

Posted on 25/02/2026 by Boris Clair

Primate expertise provided by Dr Luke Duncan, a postdoctoral research fellow, primatologist, and part of the University of Warwick’s ApeTank. Therapy comment by relationship therapist and author at Passionerad, Sofie Roos.

If you’re 1) on social media and 2) have something resembling a heart, chances are it’s been broken by the Japanese macaque, Punch, from Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan.

The adorable monkey, whose mother abandoned him, has gone viral for clutching an IKEA orangutan plush to help manage his feelings of abandonment (the burnt orange stuffed toy has since sold out in multiple stores).

But why do animals, including humans, so often turn to stuffed toys in our times of need, or as a more everyday source of comfort?

One study suggests that dogs can become almost “addicted” to their toys, which another paper says may boost their welfare. Over a third of adults sleep with a plush every night.

Here, we spoke to primate expert Dr Luke Duncan and therapist Sofie Roos about the “cuddle therapy” a variety of species can get from stuffed toys.

Emotional support plushes are pretty common among adults, and could be helpful for distressed animals

Punch’s toy orangutan was given to him to help him handle the loss of his parent. According to Dr Duncan, that move makes sense.

“Young primates are biologically programmed to cling to their mother ― it’s a normal and essential part of emotional and psychological development,” he told us.

“Harry Harlow’s foundational research in the 1950s and 1960s showed that infant rhesus monkeys overwhelmingly preferred a soft cloth surrogate over a wire one that provided milk, demonstrating that tactile comfort is a powerful driver of attachment behaviour in infants.”

So, while the goal should always be to provide a “safe, living social partner of the same species,” in a pinch, “A soft surrogate, in the form of a plush toy, can… provide meaningful comfort for an orphaned infant primate.

“While a plush toy cannot replace a real mother, it may help alleviate distress in the short term.”

And Roos said that while humans – and almost certainly other animals – know our toys aren’t really alive, they can “work as a ‘transition object’, which… stands as a symbol for safety when an important person is no longer with us”.

Among adults, she added, stuffed toy use offers a kind of “cuddle therapy”, which provides a combination of physical touch and pressure that a lot of animals find soothing.

“Physical touch, [even] from an object, can make our body calm and feel safe.”

Then, there’s the fact that, generally, toys don’t leave us.

“For people who lose someone important, and have wounds connected to abandonment and an insecure attachment, the cuddly toy can give a feeling of not being completely alone, which for some becomes a saviour,” the therapist said.

“We’re born with a… need to… belong, and this need stays with us until the day we die. A stuffed animal doesn’t get any less good at giving us this just because we grow older.”

Perhaps that’s why 44% of adults hold on to their childhood toys.

The therapist doesn’t think it’s that different to using meditation apps

Lots of animals, including humans, “are born social, and seek closeness, warmth and touch. A cuddle toy can work as a complement to give that safety, care and attachment we so strongly seek, especially if we feel lonely,” said Roos.

This is not unlike what may be happening with Punch: Dr Duncan shared, “Physical contact with a soft object can help regulate [primate] stress responses and provide a sense of security during a vulnerable period”.

Roos continued, “Many also connect the cuddle toy with childhood, a time most look back at as easier and more protected, where the stuffed animal can stand as a symbol for that time when we felt cared for, comforted and soothed in another way.”

In fact, the therapist doesn’t think relying on a stuffed toy for “cuddle therapy” is all that different to other forms of self-soothing.

“When looking at what the cuddle toy does for you, it’s not far away from what using mindfulness apps, yoga, stress balls or weighted blankets do – the stuffed animal is just less socially accepted, even though in my [opinion], it works better than many other more accepted methods of dealing with stress, loneliness, overthinking and anxiety.”

I Just Learned Why All Thoroughbred Racehorses Share A Birthday, And I Had No Clue

Posted on 06/12/2025 by Boris Clair

You could fill a book with all the things I don’t know about racehorses (and they probably have; I imagine it’s called something like ’Basic Racehorse Facts For Newly-Landed Aliens, The Simplified Edition’).

But I reckon that even people more horse-savvy than me will be surprised to learn that thoroughbreds all share the same birthday.

Yup – Barbara Wrathall, a horse expert at Discount Equestrian, said, “every thoroughbred racehorse, including those in the Royal Stud breeding programme, is officially considered to be born on 1 January”.

Here’s why.

Why do thoroughbred racehorses all share a birthday?

Obviously, not all of the horses actually enter the world on the first day of whatever year they were born.

But the New Year date was chosen, Wrathall said, “because the racing world needs a single, standardised date for age categories”.

The age of a horse is really important in racing, she continued, because “a few months can mean a noticeable difference in strength, development and training readiness”.

The Jockey Club stated that, because flat racehorses can begin their careers at just two years old, this can mean a big discrepancy between a horse born in the early months of the year versus those born later.

But most horses don’t enter the most prestigious flat races until at least three years old, while jump horses don’t even begin participating until they’re four or older.

And, prior to the Jockey Club decree in 1834, which set Jan 1 as the horses’ new “birthday”, owners were racing horses with vast age gaps against each other – partly because birth records were so poorly kept.

Wrathall said: “The universal birthday ensures fairness and consistency across the sport, especially important for elite breeders like the Royal Stud.”

And, the expert continued, “at the Royal Studs, where bloodlines are planned years in advance, having a single ‘birthday’ for every foal makes breeding, training schedules, and race eligibility far easier to manage”. Huh!

Thoroughbred horses have different “birthdays” across the world

Prior to the Jockey Club ruling, thoroughbred horses in the UK shared a “birthday” of 1 May, reported Horse Racing Nation.

But it’s 1 August in southern hemisphere spots like Australia.

“That date is set so that mares will begin foaling from early August and in some cases, may still be going in December,” veterinary surgeon Glenn Robertson-Smith told Victoria Racing Club.

“But despite the disparity or distance of, say, August 3 and December 2, the December foal, while some five months behind the August foal, both will be categorised by the same age.”

Study Names Dogs With The Most (And Least) Wolf DNA

Posted on 26/11/2025 by Boris Clair

If I told you a recent study showed that a majority of modern dog species have wolf DNA, you’d probably mutter something along the lines of “shocker: fork found in kitchen”.

Except that the research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that just two-thirds of modern dogs have detectable wolf DNA – and it is likely not an ancient remnant from their wilder ancestor, from which they separated tens of thousands of years ago.

Instead, it seems that the gene may have come from more recent interbreeding between dogs and wolves within the last few thousand years.

In fact, the study reads, “Ancient [dog] genomes from the Roman era… show no evidence of wolf ancestry… nor has wolf ancestry been detected in ancient dogs in the Arctic or the pre-colonial America”.

Still, study co-author Logan Kistler, a curator of archaeobotany and archaeogenomics at the National Museum of Natural History, told AFP this doesn’t mean “wolves are coming into your house and mixing it up with your pet dog”.

What are some “wolfish” dog traits?

In a statement, the study’s lead author, Audrey Lin, said: “Modern dogs, especially pet dogs, can seem so removed from wolves, which are often demonised.

“But there are some characteristics that may have come from wolves that we greatly value in dogs today and that we choose to keep in their lineage.”

Some characteristics often linked to high-wolf DNA breeds, the study reads, include:

Suspicious of strangers
Independant
Dignified
Alert
Loyal
Territorial,

While lower-wolf DNA breeds were more associated with being:

Easier to train
Eager to please
Courageous
Lively
Affectionate.

Traits like obedience, intelligence, being good with children, dedication, calmness, and cheerfulness seemed evenly distributed among both groups.

This study stressed, though, that these associations, which came from kennel clubs, could not definitely be linked to wolf genes themselves.

Which dog breeds are the most and least ‘wolfish’?

This research found that Czechoslovakian and Saarloos wolfdogs have the most detectable wolf DNA (up to 40%).

The great Anglo-French tricolour hound had an impressively high percentage for a “breed” dog – 4.7-5.7% – while Shiloh shepherds have 2.7%.

The Tamaskan, bred in the UK in the ’80s, has 3.7% wolf ancestry. Even chihuahuas have 0.2%, which, Lin joked, likely “makes sense” to their owners.

Surprisingly, bigger breeds like St Bernards have zero wolf DNA. The same goes for the Neapolitan mastiff and bullmastiff.

In general, detectable wolf ancestry is higher for bigger dogs and dogs bred for certain jobs, like Arctic sled dogs, “pariah” dogs, and hunting dogs.

But on average, terriers, gundogs, and scent hounds have lower wolf DNA.

As Kistler shared in a statement: “Dogs are our buddies, but apparently wolves have been a big part of shaping them into the companions we know and love today.”

Attention All Cat And Dog Owners – New Customers Get 20% Off This Vet-Approved Pet Food

Posted on 26/09/2025 by Boris Clair

We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

When it comes to the happiness of our pets, there’s not much we won’t do for them.

From rainy walks to (speaking from personal experience) letting them stomp their heavy paws all over you on the sofa in a bid to find the most perfectly comfortable cuddle spot, we do it all in a bid to give them the very best lives possible.

Their food is a big, if sometimes overlooked, part of making sure they stay happy and healthy. We are what we eat, after all, and cats and dogs are no different.

While you can’t really put a price on the value of their health, if you were to try, you’d probably want that price to fit within a certain budget while not compromising your beloved pet’s well-being.

It’s a delicate tightrope to walk (we’re not exactly made of money), but a Lily’s Kitchen promo code (FIRSTLILY20, which gets you 20% off) might make it a little bit easier.

Lily’s Kitchen is a dog and cat food brand that’s made with natural ingredients like meat, fish, and offal, and formulated with vet-approved recipes.

Lily’s Kitchen has also just dropped a new-and-improved wet cat food range, which includes a new texture and different pack sizes.

The whole idea for the brand began more than 10 years ago when a border terrier called – wait for it – Lily started to suffer from sore skin.

Her owner, Henrietta, tried a host of different treatments, but nothing worked until she started cooking the pooch her own food from scratch.

Just two weeks later, little Lily was back to normal, and Henrietta was left wondering why it was so difficult to find pet food made with quality natural ingredients.

So she enlisted the help of vets and pet nutritionists to help give more dogs and cats food that isn’t just tasty, but healthy too. Why shouldn’t our pets be able to eat as well as us, after all?

If you’d like your pet to get in on this goodness, just use the code FIRSTLILY20 at checkout, and you’ll get 20% off.

6 Signs A Hedgehog Is In Serious Need Of Help

Posted on 25/09/2025 by Boris Clair

This year’s hot, dry summer has been hard on creatures like hedgehogs, Natural England said, partly because it’s led to fewer insects.

And as they settle down for hibernation, hedgehogs face what the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) call a “complicated and often perilous energy conservation strategy”.

The time before hibernation, which typically begins in November, is therefore key to hedgehog survival.

So it’s a good thing the experts have shared six signs that show a hedgehog is in need of some help, as well as what to do if you notice them.

1) Lethargy

“Hedgehogs don’t sunbathe,” the site advised.

They are usually nocturnal, so spotting them reclining in the day is a sign they’re in urgent need of help.

2) Flies

If there are flies swarming around a hedgehog, it needs help.

“If you find a hedgehog with what looks like small grains of white rice on its face (a common area) or between the spines (prickles) the hedgehog will need URGENT help,” Bruntisland Hedgehog Sanctuary added, as this could be a sign of fly strike.

3) Wobbling as they walk

If a hedgehog seems a little unsteady on its feet, it could have a neurological condition that requires intervention.

4) Obvious injury

Wounds and clear distress are enough to seek help for an affected hedgehog.

5) Trapped hedgehogs

Hedgehogs can get trapped in places like drains, ponds, and holes and need to be removed from these.

Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, gardening expert James Lewis said: “To help the hedgehogs, you should cover [kitchen drains], or alternatively you can provide a small ramp to enable them to get out.”

6) Unaccompanied hoglets

If you see a baby hedgehog (hoglet) on its own or next to a dead adult hedgehog, notice it’s squawking a lot, or if it’s out in the day when it’s very cold, it may need rescuing, the RSPCA said.

What should I do if I spot a hedgehog in need?

“If you have found a hedgehog you are concerned about please use gardening gloves or a folded towel to collect it up, bring it indoors and put it in a high-sided box with an old towel or fleece in the bottom for the hedgehog to hide under,” the BHPS said.

You can fill a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel at the base of the box with enough water to keep the animal warm, and also provide a space for them to move off of it if they get too hot.

Leave it in a quiet room and don’t check on the hedgehog more than you strictly have to. Offer meaty cat or dog food – not the dry kind – and water, but don’t force them to eat or drink.

Then, call The Hedghehog Society as soon as possible on 01584 890 801. They’ll be able to offer advice and help you find local help centres.

If you notice severe injury and/or distress, however, take the animal to a vet instantly.

After Reports Of ‘Cat-Sized Rats’, We Need To Know: Are UK Rats Getting Bigger?

Posted on 05/08/2025 by Boris Clair

I wasn’t expecting to read a headline about cat-sized rats while eating my lunch today – but here we are.

According to news reports, a massive rat “the size of a cat” was discovered in a person’s home in Teesside (the Mirror actually went one step further and likened it to a dog in size). The rodent was said to be a whopping 56cm long.

Meanwhile Birmingham, which has been impacted by bin strikes for weeks on end that have seen bags of waste piled high in residential areas, is also witnessing feline-sized rodents.

One resident Kim Blakeman told the BBC: “The rats are huge – they are like small cats and their tails are really chunky.”

So, are rats getting bigger?

Pest controller David Parnell suggested the cat-sized rat found in Teesside is not a one off. “The rats are getting bigger, bolder and harder to deal with,” he wrote in a piece for the Independent.

He suggested the possible increase in size we’re witnessing is due to genetics, but also what rats are eating – namely, takeaways and processed food that people are “carelessly” chucking out.

Leaving bin bags in streets is giving rats – who can easily chew through wires, so a bag won’t phase them – a free ticket to an all-you-can-eat buffet. But it’s not just that that’s causing the problem.

“The UK has created a perfect storm for rats: poor waste management, exploding takeaway culture, weak sewer infrastructure and water companies failing to maintain ageing systems,” Parnell said, suggesting rats have even crept up water pipes into people’s toilet bowls.

But Niall Gallagher, the British Pest Control Association (BPCA)’s technical manager, suggested “generally, there’s no evidence that rats are getting physically bigger on average”.

That said, every year a pest professional is bound to stumble across an “outlier”.

He told HuffPost UK: “A typical rat measures around 9 inches long (not including tail). With the proper environmental conditions, such as easy access to an open water source, food source and safe harbourage from predators, they have been known to grow to larger sizes of around 17 inches!”

How to keep rats away

Rat populations peak from August to October, so chances are you might catch a glimpse of one in the coming months. (Although hopefully they won’t be cat-sized.)

If you do want to keep them out of your home and garden, follow this advice:

1. Get rid of food and water sources

Don’t leave your BBQ leftovers out in the garden (even the bones). Clear away and wash food bowls and plates once they’ve been used.

Rats will eat “almost anything”, said Miroslav Radov, owner of garage clearance company Rainbow Rubbish removals. “Therefore, ensuring that you have eliminated any food or water sources that they could feed off is crucial.”

He added that if there’s no available food source, “rats will be less likely to reproduce, which can aid in ensuring that rat numbers don’t multiply in your property”.

2. Inspect your home for entry points

Despite growing to large sizes, rats can squeeze through very small holes (we’re talking a 15mm gap), so now’s the time to scout around for any entry points that a rat could sneak through – and seal them up.

Gallagher advises people to “plug any gaps around pipes, cables, near doors and windows with mesh or wire wool and quick-drying cement”.

“Check that inspection covers for drains are in good repair and securely closed, and that any disused pipes are sealed off,” he added.

3. Keep clutter to a minimum

While eliminating food sources and sealing entry points are crucial to keeping rats away, so too is minimising clutter in your home and garden, said Radov. This is because piles of junk can serve as a great hiding, (or worse) nesting, place for rats.

Gallagher said overgrown patches of weeds, piles of wood and debris can provide nesting sites and routes of travel for rats. He also advised to “trim back overhanging branches or climbing plants” as these can provide routes into higher roof spaces for rats, mice and squirrels.

4. Get a decent dustbin with a lid that stays on

Rats love rubbish, so if your dustbin lid is prone to blowing off in the faintest breeze, it’s time to sort it, as Gallagher said: “Rubbish bins should have a securely fitting lid which is kept closed at all times. Any food waste should be bagged before going into an outside bin to avoid attracting pests.”

5. Call for backup

If you do have a rat inside your home, it’s time to call an expert. In the event of an infestation taking hold, BPCA recommends contacting one of its members for help via bpca.org.uk/find.

Best of luck!

The Cute Reason Dogs Love Digging In The Bin (And How To Stop It)

Posted on 31/07/2025 by Boris Clair

There is nothing worse than coming home from a busy work day, putting down your bag, and walking into the kitchen to see the contents of the bin are quite simply… all over the place.

Then your pooch looks at you with those sweet eyes and their tail wagging and you just cannot stay mad at them, even if their favourite hobby is nothing short of disgusting.

Why do they do it, though? Especially if there isn’t actually any food in there? Is it for the love of the game?

Well, kind of.

Why dogs love to dig in the trash

“Never forget that dogs are descended from grey wolves,” said BBC Science Focus Magazine.

They may feel like our furry babies but in reality, these domesticated pups still have a little wildness in their bones.

The experts added: “Our pampered pets have inherited the wolves’ keen sense of smell and scavenging tendencies, making ‘playing’ with rubbish a favourite pastime for some.

“Wild wolves also roll in strong-smelling substances, such as faeces, to mask their scent when they’re hunting.”

This will also sound familiar for dog owners who find themselves regularly scrubbing fox poo off their dog’s paws (and coat). Lovely.

How to stop dogs from rummaging through bins

The pet experts over at Pets4Homes advise:

Keep your dog out of rooms containing bins unless supervised, using doors or baby gates as barriers.
Use bins with secure, childproof lids that cannot be easily knocked off by your dog.
Anchor outdoor wheelie bins to walls or fences and add catches to prevent your dog from tipping them over (remember to release catches on bin collection day to avoid issues).
If your dog tends to go after other people’s bins during walks, consider using a well-fitting muzzle and keep them on a lead when near bins.

Good luck!

Here’s The Real Reason Your Cat Licks You, And It’s Pretty Heartwarming

Posted on 12/03/2025 by Boris Clair

Ever had your shoe stolen by a dog?

Well, according to experts, your furry friend is likely just reassured by your scent and wants to be near it.

Cute as that seems, dogs have so many other ways of showing affection (wagging their tail, running up to you, leaning against you) that you might be left wondering why they had to turn to your favourite slipper in the first place.

Surely that’s the sort of behaviour you’d expect from notoriously cryptic cats, whose rarer displays of affection include stretching at, kneading on, and licking their owner?

And does your cat licking you mean they like you at all?

It could be a form of “allogrooming”

According to PetMD, we can’t be 100% sure (typical felines) ― but one of the leading theories vets have is that your cat might lick you to get closer to you.

“Mothers groom their kittens and cats may groom one another, which is called allogrooming,” the publication shared.

This helps to strengthen social bonds and increases a sense of belonging (aww).

Blue Cross’ animal behaviourist, Claire Stallard, said that allogrooming is the most likely reason your cat is licking you.

Other causes may include your cat seeking attention from you, your cat liking the taste of your skin (yes, really ― be careful with this if you’re wearing lotions, fake tan, or perfume), and them identifying you as a part of their group.

Rarely, the habit could indicate stress or anxiety. This is especially likely if their ears are flat to their head and/or their tail is swishing

See your vet if your cat suddenly starts licking you a lot out of nowhere, though. Very occasionally, this can be caused by medical conditions that create nausea.

Why are cats’ tongues so scratchy?

A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that cats’ tongues actually have little hooks, rather than cones, which allow them to hold saliva on their tongue.

When cats lick themselves (or you), this is designed to comb their fur and distribute the cleansing saliva evenly across the surface they go for ― sometimes at the cost of a scratching sensation on your skin.

Per BBC Science Focus, this is partly because cats (unlike dogs) are solitary hunters. When a cat is hunting, they need to disguise their scent ― their specially-designed tongue helps them to do this to themselves easily.

This is less important for dogs, whose pack-hunting technique requires less disguise from both their prey and potential predators.

It’s Not Just Bread And Milk ― Hedgehog Food Can Be Bad For Them Too

Posted on 16/11/2024 by Boris Clair

As we head into the winter months, hedgehogs are weeks away from settling into hibernation.

During their seasonal slumber, the animals rely on fat stores accumulated over the summer to survive, making this a crucial period for their diet.

To keep the creatures fed, many of us might start thinking about leaving food out for them in our gardens (though it’s also helpful to keep late-blooming plants like some ivy untrimmed and avoid raking leaves, so they have a store of bugs to eat).

Most of us know not to feed them milk or bread, as this is bad for their stomachs.

But according to hedgehog rescue centre Hedgehog Cabin and The Wildlife Trusts, what would seem like the safest alternative ― specially-designed hedgehog food ― can often pose its own threats.

Why would food designed for hedgehogs be bad for them?

The Wildlife Trust points out that unlike cat food (which actually suits hedgehogs just fine), hedgehog food is not regulated.

Therefore its quality and ingredients vary.

“There are many unscrupulous companies keen to cash in on the growing army of kind people trying to halt the hedgehog’s decline, and will happily sell little more than floor sweeping of the cheapest, most unsuitable products, all wrapped up with a nice picture of a cute hedgehog, at the highest possible price,” Hedgehog Cabin warns.

They explain that some hedgehog feed includes mealworms, peanuts, oats, sunflower hearts and other ingredients that the creatures might like eating, but which are bad for them overall.

Mealworms, for example, are low in calories but delicious to hedgehogs, meaning they overeat on the food and ignore more nutrient-dense fare (a bit like ducks with bread).

Eating too many mealworms can even lead to metabolic bone disease, a painful condition that can unfortunately be fatal to hedgehogs.

What should I feed them instead?

You can get good hedgehog feed from reliable sources, but it’s important you ensure that its main ingredient is meat, and that it contains zero sunflower hearts, mealworms, oats or peanuts.

These are the worst ingredients they could have, Hedgehog Cabin write, as they can all contribute to metabolic bone disease.

But there’s a simpler solution ― “plain kitten biscuits or meat-based wet dog or cat food” are perfect for their nutritional needs, The Wildlife Trusts say.

As cat food is more meat-heavy, though, it may sometimes do a better job. Don’t feed them dry dog food, either, which may contain too much grain.

I Just Found Out Millipedes Aren’t Insects, And I Can’t Believe Their Relatives

Posted on 17/09/2024 by Boris Clair

Entry-level “fun fact” commenters like to mention that tomatoes are technically a fruit. Intermediate obscure info lovers, meanwhile, will know bananas are technically berries.

True trivia fans, on the other hand, will know that strawberries are neither a berry nor even a fruit and that the “seeds” on the outside are actually the fruit, each of which contains the actual seeds.

But not even the most successful pub quiz participants I know were aware that technically, millipedes (and centipedes) aren’t insects.

Instead, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says they belong to a group called myriapods, a type of arthropod.

What’s the difference?

Arthropods account for 84% of animal life on Earth, the online encyclopedia Brittanica says.

They’re distinguished by their jointed skeletal covering made from chitin, which is bonded to a protein.

“The body is usually segmented, and the segments bear paired jointed appendages, from which the name arthropod (jointed feet) is derived,” Britannica adds.

Arthropods can be insects, but the natural history-based Australian Museum in Sydney says: “Centipedes and millipedes are not insects as they have more than six legs.”

The nonprofit conservation, education, and advocacy organisation National Wildlife Federation (NWF) agrees that millipedes “are not insects — they’re actually more closely related to lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish”.

What?

Likening a millipede to the kind of sea creatures I like to see on my plate is pretty stomach-churning, but the onslaught of new info doesn’t end there.

The NWF says that some millipedes in the genus Motyxia are bioluminescent, meaning they grow in the dark.

Giant African millipedes can grow to 30cm long (oh, good), and though their name (“milli” meaning “thousand”, and “pede” meaning “feet”) might suggest otherwise, they typically only have between 40 and 400 legs.

Still, the RHS points out that “millipedes feed on decaying organic matter and are part of a healthy garden ecosystem”, adding they “should not be controlled.”

Looks like I’ll just have to live with those odd little prawn bugs for the sake of my soil…