AS if ghosts and ghouls, witches and warlocks weren’t enough, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is suggesting families spend Halloween searching their back gardens for creepy crawlies and nocturnal nasties.

Whether writhing under rocks, slithering over stones or soaring silently through the dead of night, a whole underworld of wicked wildlife can be found near the compost heap, the herbaceous borders or even the barbecue and ornamental fish pond.

Despite devilish names and beastly behaviour, many of the mini-beasts at the end of the garden and wider green spaces bring great benefits to the environment.

Harry Green, honorary conservation officer of the trust, said: “Despite some ghoulish goingson, many of our mini-beasts are goodies in the garden. Whether we are spooked out by the seemingly sinister names or actions of creepy crawlies, all have a part to play; determining what thrives, survives, deteriorates or dies in our gardens and wider spaces.

“For example, the devil’s coach horse eats pests such as leatherjackets, root flies and even small slugs and not only do some beetles clear corpses of small mammals and birds, they have the good taste to bury them so we don’t see or smell them. The best approach is to allow a balance of good and bad insects to exist for their mutual benefit. We would encourage gardeners to grow a wide range of plants in the garden to attract beneficial predators and the undesirable pests on which they rely.”

So here are just some eerie examples of the great and not-so good creepy crawlies lurking in innocent gardens and open spaces you might come across: The spitting spider is a nasty piece of work, this eight-legged horror immobilises prey by spraying it with a jet of silk and entombing it.

However, this is good news for householders as they are mainly found indoors, stalking prey such as silverfish and book lice.

The large flesh fly, with its chequered silver and grey body, and evil-looking purple eyes, feeds on corpses. Many of the bright, metallic green-bottles are also carrion-feeders but some are parasites which attack mammals. One is a predator, which lays its eggs around the eyes of toads. They often gather on the flowers of ivy in the late autumn.

Devil's Coach Horse

Perhaps the ultimate creepycrawly.

A carnivore and scavenger, but harmless to humans, the devil’s coach horse hunts soft-bodied insects, including pests such as leatherjackets, root-flies and even small slugs.

When threatened, it rears its back end up like a scorpion. Anything that gets too close is likely to be daubed with foul-smelling fluids from glands near its abdomen, while it snaps its jaws.

Death’s-Head Moth

CONSIDER yourself lucky if you see this moth with a big fat body, visible claws and skull-shaped pattern on its back, although the death’s-head moth can be a frightening sight. Anyone brave enough to reach out for a feel is likely to get a shock too as, if touched, it makes a high-pitched squeak. The moth’s huge caterpillars, which usually feed on nightshades and potatoes, have a horn at their rear end.

Sexton or Burying Beetle

These broad, flattened black beetles often have four zig-zag orange spots on their back.

They lay eggs on small dead mammals or birds, then scrape the soil from underneath the corpse to bury it, preventing other insects from finding it.

Wolf Spider

Wolf spiders hunt their prey, rather than spinning a web. Victims are paralysed through a shot of vicious venom. The wolf spider sucks the innards out of its prey, leaving only a hollow husk behind. It eats more active insects, including sawflies, stem-boring and leaf-mining flies, but will also eat other flies, such as hover and blowflies if it can catch them. If males wish to mate, they must offer females a gift but, if he forgets, he is likely to be eaten