Lynelle Urquhart's home on a property west of Moonie in outback Queensland is normally quiet, but she has been having trouble sleeping lately, thanks to late-night activity under the floorboards.



"I had to have a sleeping tablet last week, because of all the scratching around through the night," she said.



"Our house is pretty close to the ground, and echidna quills scrape on the floorboards, and when that's under your bed at night it can keep you awake."

The echidnas have been digging in Lynelle Urquhart's garden too. ( Supplied: Lynelle Urquhart )

It is mating season, and several echidnas have found the perfect love nest underneath the farmhouse.



"I've never met anyone who had to have a sleeping tablet because echidnas were having sex under the house!" Ms Urquhart said.



She said she has counted six echidnas walking around her garden, often oblivious to her.



"In all my time here I've never ever seen this many echidnas at our home," Ms Urquhart said.



"They'd walk in between my legs, and as long as I didn't make a noise they didn't see me as a threat.



"They probably hang around here because there's a little bit of water left, and the soil is soft enough for them to dig after we've watered a tree. And digging is what echidnas love to do."



Apart from the sleeping tablet, Ms Urquhart is taking her under-the-house guests' nocturnal activities all in her stride.



"After all these sleepless nights, I'm just hoping it's been good echidna sex, because it means I might get to see some puggles."



Unfortunately, it is rare to see the young mammals.



Echidnas have a short gestation. Along with the platypus, they are the world's only monotremes — a mammal that lays eggs.

The egg is laid, hatched, and the young echidna — known as a puggle — will live in the mother's pouch until it grows spines. It will then move to a nursing burrow until it grows larger, ready for the outside world.

Ms Urquhart says her two dogs have given the visiting echidnas a wide berth. ( Supplied: Lynelle Urquhart )



Diversion from the drought



When the sun goes down, the echidnas head underneath Lynelle Urquhart's home. ( Supplied: Lynelle Urquhart )

Ms Urquhart and her husband have destocked their property due to the drought.



"We haven't planted crops this season either, so it's nice to have animals around the place," she said.

"The wallabies have eaten most of my garden, but it was going to die anyway.



"The drought has been so bloody awful, but I've decided to focus on positive things like checking on wildlife and being a part of the Echidna CSI project."



Citizen scientists help unlock monotreme secrets



Frank Grutzner, who helped establish the Echidna CSI project through the University of Adelaide, said it was amazing just how little we know about echidnas in many parts of Australia — despite them being an iconic species.

He said the most recent echidna study had been conducted in Tasmania and on South Australia's Kangaroo Island.

"We know they are recognised as endangered there, but we don't have enough information about echidna populations in the rest of Australia," Professor Grutzner said.



"We've always been keen to explore how we can apply our genetic knowledge of the platypus and echidna to help their conservation."



The app-based project focuses on recording sightings and collecting scat samples.

Echidnas have made themselves at home on Lynelle Urquhart's farm. ( Supplied: Lynelle Urquhart )

Glitter poo and pest control



Professor Grutzner said echidna scat was easily identified.



"It's cylindrical and quite heavy," he said.



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"Because they are insectivores and eat a lot of ants, the scales and exoskeletons 'decorate' the poo so it's quite glittery."



He said it was also quite easy to make a property echidna friendly.



"If there are logs and trees where they can escape the heat it will be good," Professor Grutzner said.

"And as long as there are insects and ants, and they can dig around, they'll be happy.



"They do a lot of digging, and they play an important role as cultivators.



"They are an important part of our ecosystem, and to some degree they can help regulate things we don't necessary want too much of, such as ants and grubs."



It is a point not lost on the sleep-deprived farmer in Moonie.



"Well, if there are any termites under the house they'll hopefully eat them while they're scratching around under there — so that's a silver lining," Ms Urquhart laughed.