Why I Like Pill Bugs and Sow Bugs

Mulches are great for soil health, and by extension, great for vegetables.... but pill bugs and sow bugs also love mulch. Why is this not a problem?

Turn over a rotten log and it’s likely that dozens of pill bugs or sow bugs will be seen running for cover. They love rotting organic matter - and for this reason many of my viewers that have recently switched to being “no-till” gardeners often ask me what to do about pill and sow bugs. Well, the answer is simple - just keep mulching and don’t worry about it! In this article I explain why there is no need to fear the dreaded “roly-poly” aka “potato bug” aka “doodle bug” in a mulched vegetable garden, and why you might even come to love these funny little “bugs” that are actually the long-lost relatives of shrimp.

Pill and sow bugs love mulch, but don’t worry, they do more good than bad in your garden! [Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armadillidiidae_-_Pill_Bug_-_Roly_Poly_-_Grant_Peier.jpg]

What are they?

Pill bugs and Sow bugs look very similar to each other and resemble tiny insect-like armadillos - but they are not insects at all - in fact, they are land-dwelling crustaceans. Their bodies have an oval shape, with segmented shells that look like armor plates on the top, and lots of legs on the bottom. The key difference between pill and sow bugs is that pill bugs can roll into a ball, like an armadillo, whereas sow bugs cannot. Pill bugs are also a little more round in appearance, a feature which facilitates their defensive “pill” stance. Another distinguishing feature is that sow bugs have a small tail, whereas pill bugs do not have this feature. For the purpose of this article I will just use the term, “pill bug” to refer to both creatures for the sake of simplicity.