how did a pill bug get in my room

How Did A Pill Bug Get In My Room?

ByMeg Austwick

How did a pill bug get in my room? Pill bugs, or rollie pollies can appear in your home when you least expect to see them, coming out of nowhere. These little bugs are harmless, but can be pretty frustrating when they turn up in your house. They are nocturnal isopods, and tend to feed on decomposing material, like plant matter. You’re most likely to find them in dark, human places, or rooms in your house with lots of plants. Today, I’ll take a closer look at how pill bugs get into our homes, any potential dangers they pose, and how to get rid of them.

Contents

What is a Pill Bug?

A pill bug is an isotope with the scientific name Armadillidium vulgare. But, they’re more commonly known as pill bugs, woodlice, and even roly polies (though this can be spelled in lots of different ways). The names pill bug and roly poly come from this isotope’s tendency to roll up like a little pill when they feel threatened.

Pill bugs are most often found in our yards, living under rocks and other dark places. But, at times, these little bugs might find their way into your home. Roly Polies grow to be between 8 and 18 mm in length. They have grey or brown segmented bodies with seven pairs of legs. They are often confused with the very similar sow bug. But, unlike sow bugs, pill bugs do not have any tail-like appendages.

How Did a Pill Bug Get in My Room?

The most common place you’ll see these woodlice is in your garden or outside your home. Particularly if you start lifting up stones and large rocks, or rooting around in moist flowerbed soil. So, it can come as quite a shock to see a pill bug scuttling across the floor in your room, or another part of your house.

Pill bugs have abundant populations across the world, in Europe, Asia, and the US. It’s not unusual for a pillbug to wander into your house as its exploring. It could slip through an open door, an open window, or even a crack in the wall. But, in some cases, they might travel into your home on new plants, or even on your shoes. These isopods are very small, so they can slip through gaps and spaces that you might not even know are there.

What Time of Year Are Pill Bugs Most Active?

Pill bugs are active throughout the year. Their mating seasons tend to be in the hottest months, from late spring to summer, and hatching season ranges from early fall to late winter. So, you might see more pill bugs around after hatching season, once baby pill have have malted a few times and have stiffer shells.

Pill bugs live for as long as 2 years. So, you might even see the same pill bugs around multiple times without realising.

Do Pill Bugs Come Out at Night?

Roly polies, or pill bugs, are generally nocturnal isotopes. So, they’re most active once the sun goes down. This is partly why you’ll most often find them hiding in dark places during the day.

However, it doesn’t mean that you’ll exclusively see pill bugs in your house at night. You might end up seeing some roaming your floors through the day. They just tend to be the most active at night, when its darker and cooler.

What Are Rolly Pollies Attracted To?

Pill bugs thrive in moist, moderate climates, so they might come into your home seeking this sort of environment. Particularly if it’s very cold or very dry outside. Plants in your home with damp soil can attract pill bugs, as can rooms that tend to be more moist and humid than other rooms, like bathrooms.

Are Pill Bugs Harmful?

Pill bugs aren’t dangerous to have in your home. These isopods don’t bite humans and aren’t known to carry any harmful diseases that can spread to us, or any pets in your home. In fact, most pill bugs will be defensive and frightened if they see you. They’ll most likely run away when you come near them, or might even roll into a ball.

The one instance in which pill bugs can be harmful is when you have too many of them in your garden. In these cases, pill bugs might end up eating new shoots from your plants. But, as long as pill bug quantities aren’t too large, they can actually be good for your garden, eating weeds and dead plants.

How Do I Get Rid of Pill Bugs in My House?

Pill bugs are quite easy to get rid of when you find them in your house. In fact, they’re so small and easy to move that you can simply sweep them up when you see them and deposit them in your yard. But, this won’t deal with the ones that are hiding in places where you can’t see them.

You can try setting a trap for pill bugs overnight. This usually involves putting out a food source, or something that will attract these isopods. Then, you can take them outside once the trap has attracted enough pill bugs.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that pill bugs need water and moisture to survive. In most cases, you’re likely to find pill bugs that have already died from a lack of moisture. These can be swept up and chucked outside easily. If you minimise the opportunities to find this in your home, most pill bugs will try and stay away, searching elsewhere for what they need. Prevention is the best way to keep pill bugs out of your house.

How Do You Keep Rolly Pollies Away?

The best way to keep pill bugs out of your house is to ensure that the environment is unappealing to them. Pill bugs prefer warm, moist environments. So, clean up any spills quickly. If your home is overly humid, invest in a dehumidifier to try and tackle this issue. Remove any food or any plant matter that falls on your floor too, since this can be a food source for roly polies.

Pill bugs are very small isopods. They can squeeze into the smallest spaces, which is what makes it so easy for them to get into our homes. To prevent pill bugs from getting in your house, it’s a great idea to check your seals on doors and windows as well as your external walls. If you notice any holes or cracks, fill these in.

A final option you can take is to use insecticides. You can place these at the entry points to your house to try and stop pill bugs from entering. But, since these isopods won’t live for long indoors, and are easy to get rid of by simply sweeping them up and putting them outside, insecticides are best used as a prevention rather than a way of removing pill bugs already in your house.

How Did a Pill Bug Get in My Room?

Pill bugs are small, common isopods that can appear in your home when you least expect it. But, luckily, they’re easy to remove and easy to prevent. Have you had to deal with pill bugs in your room before?

More Fascinating Pest Facts

References

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