If you have pill bugs in your potted plants, it’s likely that you have an environment outside your home that is particularly inviting for them, and they were nearby and managed to get inside.
Wait Them Out
Because they won’t have enough moisture inside your home, pill bugs won’t often survive for more than a few days. If you have pill bugs, wait a few days to see if the issue goes away due to a lack of moisture before trying another approach.
Dry Them Out
If necessary, water your potted plants early in the day so that by the time pill bugs emerge at night, they will be mostly dry and forced to flee in search of moisture. This will help to speed up the process.
Change the Soil in Your Potted Plants
Change the soil (do this outside) and stop watering your plants for a few days until the pill bugs leave in an effort to let your potted plants dry out. This works well on its own to get rid of pill bugs as well. If you can remove them from the ground outside, it is unlikely that they will find their way back before you can take preventive action (described below).
Use The Potato Trapping Pill Bug Method
If the above techniques fail, PNNL advises using a potato trap to get rid of them. You accomplish this by making a core out of a potato, then carefully inserting the top of the core—almost like a lid—back into the potato.
After that, you may either set this in the soil next to your plant or in a jar next to it with some attractive elements on top and all around it, such damp, dead leaves. These pill bugs can be eliminated at night when they head for the potato by vacuuming them up or removing the jar outside.
Because pill bugs curl up as a protection mechanism, you do not need to worry about their scurrying away from you when you switch on the light.
Increase the Heat Near Your Plants
If your plants allow it, you can use a heat light close to them to get rid of pill bugs. Pill bugs prefer chilly, damp surroundings, and they cannot survive dry ones either. Warm environments are also harmful to them. If done properly, this may even be able to get rid of the insects.
Even just temporarily turning up the heat for a few days might work. Even though it may be uncomfortable for you, pill bugs will quickly leave the area in search of a more comfortable place to reside. Pill bugs can have their own type of heat stroke in hot weather.
Plants Pill Bugs Dislike
If you reside in the correct conditions, you can purchase a sort of Japanese conifer tree for your home and even the area around it that is excellent at repelling pill bugs. Cryptomeria japonica is a tree that may be started indoors as long as it receives frequent exposure to sunlight. It grows to be pretty huge.
This tree may tolerate some shade, so make sure you maintain it close to the sun. For optimum results, fertilize it frequently. Partial shade is OK to them, although it is not ideal. For your new small pill-bug-repelling fir tree, the more sunlight the better.
The subsequent measures you might take to eliminate pill bugs take place outside. Since they tend to enter your home from the outside, the most of what you can do to get rid of them in your potted plants is to stop them.
Check out our article on 9 Scents That Pill Bugs Hate (And How to Use Them) for a more repellent-focused option.
Get Rid Of Your Mulch and Debris
By removing everything near your home where pill bugs reside, you can ensure that your home is not a haven for them. Mulch attracts pill bugs, so if you have it around your house, replace it with stones or even just a coarser mulch. Lancaster claims that you may get the pill bugs to leave your home by changing the mulch.
Ensure that all of the debris in your home is removed. Remove it from your vicinity. Debris includes things like grass clippings, fallen fruit or vegetables from trees, leaves, and anything else that a scavenger might find edible.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to remove any dead or dying leaves that are hanging from your houseplants and move them outside or to a compost container. Your houseplant will look much more unattractive in this way.
Compost Away From The House
Pill bugs can be found in abundance in both indoor and outdoor compost containers. Their optimal dwelling conditions are wet, moderately warm, and full of decomposing and compostable material to eat. Compost should ideally be kept away from homes, but if this is not possible, make sure it has a tight lid and is pill bug-proof.
The Miracle-Gro Small ComposterCompact Single Chamber Outdoor Garden Compost Bin can be what you need if you’re seeking for a reliable, sealed compost bin. It has a tight seal and can hold close to 28 gallons (105 L) of compost. Additionally, it is UV resistant, allowing for all-year composting safety.
Use a Dehumidifier and Mop Up Extra Water
Reduce the amount of dampness in your home. If you don’t have a dehumidifier, utilize some of the hanging bags that are meant to absorb additional moisture. Although these packets are normally non-toxic, it is still important to follow the directions to keep children, pets, and other people safe at all times.
This SEAVON dehumidifier is an excellent option! It has two settings for easy integration into daily life: high efficiency and tranquil sleep. To alleviate your worry when you leave your house, it also contains an auto-off feature.
Fix leaky faucets, mop up extra water, and ensure sure there is no water in areas like restrooms and crawl spaces. In order to prevent pill bugs from congregating in places like your basement, which is wet, dark, and cold, you should first be sure to control the humidity there.
Use a Trellis or a Fan
You can use a trellis to raise vining plants off the ground outside to reduce dampness, and you can place a fan next to your potted plants indoors or outside if you have the equipment to do so. The pill bugs will leave if you can make it uncomfortable for them and air out your condition (very literally).
Pill Bug Proof Your Home From the Outside
Even if you have taken all necessary precautions to prevent pill bugs from feeling at home in your house, you may still make sure you are not even giving them a chance to enter. Making sure your home is inaccessible will prevent them from getting to your potted plants.
IPM advises using caulk to create a tight seal around windows and doors so that pill bugs cannot enter. Due to the fact that the outdoors is a much more hospitable environment for pill bugs, they are not actively trying to enter your home.
Read the directions before applying caulk, and ventilate if necessary, to ensure that the air is safe for you, your family, and your pets. Despite the variations across brands, it is always advisable to follow the directions before starting any project.
As previously stated, pill bugs are fairly predictable, therefore if they are unable to find an easy way in, they will likely turn around and leave.
To create a tight seal around your doors and windows if you don’t like the thought of using caulk, you can also use weatherstripping or door draft guards. Although this is much less work, it might not be as effective over time against other insects.
Last but not least, be careful to switch off all outdoor lighting. Since pill bugs are nocturnal, lights can draw their attention at night. Your home won’t look nearly as nice if you turn those off at night, but your potted plants and any dead or dying plants in your yard will be protected.
How can Rolly Pollies on houseplants be eliminated?
You might need to use an insect spray if you have a severe pill bug infestation that is consuming all of your plants and none of the other solutions are working.
You can purchase an all-natural, bacterial insect spray like the Monterey Garden Insect Spray. The pill bugs in this spray will be promptly killed by the spinosad bacteria.
Plants, animals, and people are all unaffected by its negative effects. Additionally, it leaves no flavor or smell on your houseplants in pots.
To get rid of the pill bugs, you can also use a snail bait like Garden Safe Slug & Snail Bait. It will draw pill bugs if you put it close to the potted plants.
Within 3 to 6 days, the pill bugs will start to deteriorate after consuming this stuff. Being organic, this substance is harmless to humans, plants, animals, and birds.
Does the pill bug hurt plants?
In general, plants suffer little to no damage from sowbugs and pillbugs. The only significant danger they pose is that the feeding sites might create openings for bacteria or fungi that could lead to rot setting in. In high numbers, they may feed on plants at ground level or on little roots.
Are Rolly Pollies beneficial for houseplants?
I guess that this is not the season that indoor plants prefer. They had the opportunity to spend the entire summer outside, taking in the breezes, the showers, and the sun’s rays. Then suddenly they are taken inside where they are exposed to dry air, brief days, and perhaps a cat gnawing on their leaves.
But as sorry as I am for the plants, my sorrow is surpassed by my sorrow for the unfortunate insects and other arthropod hitchhikers who are also brought inside. Most of the houseplants are species that must be brought indoors to survive Iowa winters because they are not accustomed to it. The insects, however, would have a higher chance of surviving if they stayed outside because they are well acclimated to Iowa winters.
The idea that insects like to stay indoors to stay warm is somewhat of a misconception. Insects require food just like all other creatures do, and while homes provide warmth, they frequently lack nourishment. If the insects were outdoors, the chilly weather would render them dormant and eliminate their need for food. However, the warm environments indoors keep the insects active, causing them to burn up any fat reserves and starve to death.
Sowbugs, millipedes, springtails, and fungus gnats are common hitchhikers that do not harm the plants but are frequently found in the pots of houseplants. One of my earliest, and least frequent, memories is of a wood cockroach that my mother brought into with her houseplants. I was cruel enough to catch a cockroach alive and place it on the kitchen counter behind glass because my mother is terrified of them. That shriek is still audible to me.
Wood cockroaches are essentially an outdoor cockroach; unlike German or American cockroaches, which frequently infest kitchens, they cannot survive or reproduce indoors. Similar to the other hitchhikers on houseplants, wood cockroaches settle in the pot or saucer because it offers moisture, protection, and food.
The larvae of sowbugs, millipedes, springtails, and fungus gnats are all frequently found in moist environments and all eat fungi or decomposing organic waste. Where there is moisture, food, and shelter, they live in the pot or saucer of your houseplant.
Roly-polys are a type of sowbug or pillbug that are about one-quarter inch long and gray in color. They have an armored shell of overlapping plates covering them.
Despite the fact that sowbugs and pillbugs are related, only the pillbugs can curl up into a ball when startled. Nothing in the house will become infested or harmed by pillbugs or sowbugs. They are likely to stay within the houseplant; if they venture outside, they won’t last long.
Springtails are tiny (1/16 inch long) insects that are widespread everywhere there is sufficient moisture and decomposing organic materials. Several springtail species have the ability to jump by holding their forked tails beneath their bodies. The bug is launched through the air a short distance when its tail is released. Even though springtails are benign, they can be a pain if they are abundant on indoor plants. Letting plants dry out as much as possible in between waterings is the best way to get rid of springtails.
Small bugs called fungus gnats resemble tiny mosquitoes. In moist regions, fungus gnat larvae eat decomposing organic waste and fungi. The most frequent cause of fungus gnat infestations in homes is houseplants. Although the adult flies are readily apparent, it might be challenging to identify which indoor plant is the source of the insects. One technique to find the offender is to bag the pot and wrap the bag around the plant’s base. After a few days, if flies start to gather in the bag, you’ve discovered the cause. In most cases, cutting back on watering and allowing plants to dry out more may fix the issue, but if that doesn’t work, it might be necessary to repot the plant with new potting soil after cleaning the pot and saucer.
Overall, there is little cause for alarm because of these hitchhiking houseplants. None of them are plant pests and won’t damage anything in your home. Therefore, gently place the roly-poly back in its pot when you see it moving over the floor. Furthermore, I do not advise keeping a wood cockroach on the kitchen counter if you do find one.
Roly-poly bugs: do they harm plants?
How might a bug with a name like “roly poly” cause a problem? Doesn’t it sound so adorable, plump, and enjoyable? Perhaps you are more familiar with these critters as pill bugs, wood louse, armadillo bugs, or potato bugs, but a roly poly is always a roly poly no matter what name you give it.
By its name, you may assume that this is an insect, but you would be mistaken. The roly poly is a type of crustacean that is related to crayfish and shrimp. In actuality, they are the only species of crab that only inhabits land. The roly poly uses its gills to breathe and needs moisture to exist, yet oddly, it cannot survive underwater.
Although they are not harmful to people, pill bugs can harm plants. Young plants’ leaves and roots will be eaten by these pests, harming the tender sprouts. If they choose to invade your home, they will also make a lot of noise, especially if they do so in huge numbers.
You can take several precautions to prevent roly polys from entering your home, including:
- Make that the door sweeps on all outside doors are in good condition and working properly.
- Find and fix any openings in your foundation and the areas around your doors and windows.
- To get rid of moisture and manage humidity levels, use an air conditioner and a dehumidifier.
- Get rid of any organic debris mounds in your yard, such as leaves, grass, twigs, and withered plants.
- Avoid having compost dumps close to your house.
- Elevate woodpiles off the ground and keep them far from your house.
Roly poly bugs can still find a way inside your house despite all the precautions you take to keep them out. Additionally, they take little action to prevent roly polys from harming plants and other crops.