Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of All Star Pest Control, located in Columbus, Georgia.
Today I am going to discuss roly poleys which are actually properly called Pillbugs. As a child growing up me and my friends would hunt for these just to watch roll up into a ball. We learned to hunt around damp places with decaying leaves and under trash cans.
I learned later in life that these bugs are not insects but are more related to shrimp and lobsters. They are arthropods but they are not insects. The Pillbug is about 1/4′ to 5/8″ long and gray in color. You can find Pillbugs all over the world Their life cycle from egg to adult is about 45 days and they can live 2 years or longer.
Pillbugs may sometimes come inside but they will not survive inside. They feed on organic mater and even decaying animals. Pillbugs have to have moist conditions to live around. They have been known to injure young plants.
Reducing populations of Pillbugs is achieved by removing piles of leaves and other decaying plant matter from your yard and reducing moist areas in the yard.
Application of insecticides around the perimeter of your home with products labeled for this will help reduce the population of Pillbugs. There are several brands of dust that are not affected by water that can work really well. Always read the label first and then follow it.
As I always stress, insecticides alone will not solve the problem. You must us an approach that utilizes all of the resources available to achieve satisfactory control.
Please contact me if I can be of any help to you.
