Pillbugs

[curly_kate]

I just finished a flower bed and it is overrun with pillbugs (aka roly polies). Will they damage my plants? Its a north facing bed outside of a basement walkout, so it's going to be damp no matter what.

 

[Smart Red]

In general, pill bugs are scavengers that make up the decomposers in the garden. While they may occasionally munch on a plant, most of their diet consists of decaying plant and animal matter.

Dispite their name, they are not bugs. They have 10 legs which puts them in the crustacean family. Therefore, they must live in moist areas because they breathe with gills rather than lungs.

I have never bothered with them as I see them as garden helpers, but I've never been 'over run' by them either. A bit of DE around your plants should keep the critters honest and hard working as nature intended.

 

[CrazyFeathers]

Now I have to Google pillbugs. Good information Smart Red.

 

[CrazyFeathers]

Ok. I've seen them before just never knew the name. I feel myself getting smarter! Lol

 

[AMKuska]

That's so cool @Smart Red Thanks for sharing.

 

[so lucky]

I see them often around the bottom holes of pots that have been planted for a while. It appears to me that they feed on the roots that are down there, but maybe the roots at the bottom are dead to start with, and the pill bugs are just cleaning up?
I accidentally got them in one of my worm bins, and they nearly took over.

 

[hoodat]

When I was a youngster (back in the stone age ), we called them roly polys.

 

[so lucky]

Yes, roly-polys, sow bugs or pill bugs. It is fun to show a kid how they roll up when disturbed.

 

[Nyboy]

Triva Red you used the word crustacean 2 days in a row !!! Don't know why that sticks out in my mind LOL

 

[Smart Red]

Triva Red you used the word crustacean 2 days in a row !!! Don't know why that sticks out in my mind LOL

Because you are thinking of steamed lobster in butter sauce? Crustacean at its best!
Make that three days in a row.