To start off, the roly poly signifies underprivileged individuals. As Lee states in the novel “Why couldn’t I smash him? I asked. Because they don’t bother you” (320).
The presence of these pests in the house usually points to an outdoor infestation, as large populations may move indoors looking for alternative food and shelter. Yards with excessive moisture and debris often harbor pill bugs. Heavy rainfall during spring and early summer can also drive them inside.
Roly-polies a little prehistoric-looking and creepy, but they pose no harm to you, your family, or your pets. Pill bugs don’t carry any diseases, nor do they sting or bite. They rarely live long after coming indoors because it’s too dry for them.
If you uncover a bunch of rolly pollies under a log, you don’t expect to find a bright blue one crawling among all the usual grays and browns. But it turns out your fun surprise is some very bad luck for that terrestrial isopod.
Pill bugs are drawn to moist areas. Since their bodies can’t hold in water, they rely on damp areas with high moisture content to survive. If you have discovered pill bugs inside your home, it is most likely due to a broken or leaky pipe or faucet where the pill bug is drawn to the moisture.
Life Cycle
In approximately two months, the young roly-polies emerge. They look like small roly-poly bugs, and if it is a species that can roll, it can do so at birth. These isopods molt up to a dozen times in their lifetime, and the average lifespan of a roly-poly is between two and five years.
These home invasions are usually temporary or seasonal, and these bugs just don’t survive indoors because the conditions are too dry. However, if you are continually seeing these bugs inside your home, it may be an indication you have excess dampness, humidity, or other moisture/mold problems that are attracting them.
Pill bugs don’t have a typical brain.
Rather than a single complex brain, the neural ganglia in each of the 7 thorax sections exerts independent control over the different body parts.
Happily, roly-polies are not dangerous. They don’t bite, sting, poke or pinch, and instead of running away, they form an easy-to-pick-up, hard ball when you touch them. Roly-polies live interesting lives in yards and gardens near you. Gather up some raisin-size roly-polies and see what you can detect about them.
Instead of stalks, pill bugs have eyes on each side of the head. These eyes consist of only a few simple cells capable of light detection. Other than that, they really can’t see.
For example, birds are often symbolic of the soul, while insect symbology is often associated with change and transformation. Native American mythology sees swarms of insects as a sign of bad luck, but smaller individual insects symbolize meekness and humility — highly revered traits.
This is one of the most loveable insects around! When a ladybug lands on you, it’s considered a sign of good luck since you will be granted more patience and fewer burdens.
Either way, these insects were believed to be magical, and because of that, dragonflies symbolize good luck, transformation, and living life to the fullest!
The gender of the roly poly is only apparent to themselves, but they can be either male or female. The crustacean’s life begins as a tiny egg, several dozen of which are laid by the female. She carries the eggs on her underside, between her legs, in a brood pouch called a marsupium.
Pill bugs are more closely related to shrimp and lobsters than crickets or butterflies. Their ancestors lived in the sea, but ancient pill bugs crawled out millions of years ago to carve a life for themselves on dry land.
Did you know a roly-poly is actually not an insect, but a relative of the lobster? They sleep mostly during the day and are active at night.
What Eats Rolly Pollies? Rolly-pollies are a significant source of nutrition to organisms like the shrew. Other creatures like centipedes, owls, foxes, toads, frogs, some ants, and spiders find rolly-pollies to be a great source of food.
The pill bug is often considered a pest when it gains entry into a home. Although they sometimes enter in large numbers, they do not bite, sting, or transmit diseases, nor do they infest food, clothing or wood. They do not spread diseases or contaminate food and are a nuisance simply by their presence.
Coffee Grounds
This is more of a way of deterring the bugs rather than killing them. Additionally, coffee grounds contain caffeine that repels ants and other pests. Use saucers or bowls of coffee grounds near an indoor pill bug infestation to repel them.
Roly-Poly Is Just One of Their Names. For one small bug, they go by a lot of different names.
They’re Not Really Bugs.
They Have Gills.
They Roll Into a Ball When Disturbed.
They Have Unusual Bodily Functions.
They Compost Soil.
They Eat Metals.
They Carry Their Eggs in a Pouch.
Female roly-poly bugs may have one to three broods of young per year. When the eggs are formed, the female places them into a brood pouch where she may carry up to 50 eggs. In approximately two months, the young roly-polies emerge.
However, the sowbug has a pair of tail-like appendages which project out from the rear of its body, while the pillbug has no extreme posterior appendages, and can roll up into a tight ball when disturbed. This is why pillbugs are sometimes called “Roly-Poly” bugs.
Diatomaceous earth is a safe way to desiccate or dry out pill bugs, therefore killing them. Spread Diatomaceous along the edges of your planting beds where pill bugs like to live.
Pill bugs are part of nature’s garbage disposal system. Consuming mostly decaying plant matter, and eat rotting vegetation, a pill bug or several are wonderful in a compost pile. In a perfect world, the seven pairs of legs of pill bugs and sow bugs would only touch dead plant parts.
You can flush a roach down the toilet, but you need to make sure that it’s dead first. You can’t kill a cockroach by flushing it since it can hold its breath for up to 40 minutes. It will arrive in your sewer alive. In that state, it’s able to make its way back into your home or a neighbor’s home.