How to Get Rid of Pill Bugs?

You walk into your basement and spot dozens of small gray bugs rolling into tiny balls. Or maybe you lift a flowerpot in your garden and discover hundreds of these creatures scurrying around. These little armored pests are pill bugs, and they’ve decided your property is the perfect place to live.

Pill bugs might seem harmless at first. They’re small, they don’t bite, and they actually help break down organic matter in nature. But when these crustaceans invade your home in large numbers or start munching on your seedlings, they become a real problem that needs solving.

This guide will show you exactly how to eliminate pill bugs from your property using proven methods that actually work. You’ll learn why these bugs showed up in the first place, how to remove them quickly, and most importantly, how to keep them from coming back.

What Are Pill Bugs and Why Do They Roll Up?

Before we jump into removal methods, let’s clear up some confusion. Pill bugs go by many names: roly polies, doodle bugs, potato bugs, and woodlice. Despite looking like insects, these creatures are actually land-dwelling crustaceans closely related to shrimp and crayfish.

The name “pill bug” comes from their defense mechanism. When threatened, they roll into a tight ball that looks like a small pill. This armor protects their soft undersides from predators. Not all species can roll completely, though. Some people confuse pill bugs with sowbugs, which have two tail-like appendages and can’t curl up as tightly.

These bugs breathe through gills, which means they need moisture to survive. That’s why you always find them in damp areas. They typically measure about a quarter to half an inch long, have seven pairs of legs, and sport segmented gray or brown shells.

Pill bugs eat decaying plant material, dead leaves, and sometimes living plants. In your garden, they’re actually beneficial decomposers when their population stays small. The problem starts when their numbers explode or when they move indoors.

Signs You Have a Pill Bug Problem

How do you know if you’re dealing with a serious infestation? Here are the telltale signs:

Large Numbers Congregating Together – Pill bugs love to gather in groups. If you’re seeing dozens or hundreds clustered together, you have an infestation.

Damaged Seedlings and Young Plants – Your garden seedlings have irregular holes in the leaves, or stems appear chewed near the soil line. Young plants might wilt or die without obvious cause.

Indoor Sightings – You spot these bugs crawling on basement floors, bathroom walls, or near door frames. Finding even a few indoors usually means many more are hiding nearby.

Moist Areas Attract Them – Check under rocks, boards, mulch, or flowerpots. Large populations hiding in these spots indicate a bigger problem.

Dead Bugs Near Foundations – You notice dead pill bugs piled near your home’s foundation or entry points. This means they’re trying to get inside in large numbers.

Why Pill Bugs Invade Your Home and Garden

Understanding what attracts these pests helps you eliminate them for good. Pill bugs don’t just randomly appear. They’re drawn to specific conditions that you can change.

Excess Moisture is the number one attractant. Leaky pipes, poor drainage, overwatered gardens, and damp basements create the perfect environment. Remember, these bugs have gills and will die without moisture.

Decaying organic matter acts like a buffet. Thick layers of mulch, rotting wood, compost piles, and dead leaves provide both food and shelter. The more decomposing material around your property, the more pill bugs you’ll attract.

Outdoor lighting brings them near your home. While pill bugs prefer darkness, lights attract other insects that pill bugs might eat, and the warm areas near lights can accumulate moisture.

Cracks and gaps in your foundation give them easy access indoors. Even tiny openings around windows, doors, and utility lines become highways for these small invaders.

Cluttered yards with boards, rocks, or debris lying on the ground create ideal hiding spots. Each object resting directly on damp soil becomes a pill bug hotel.

The weather also plays a role. During hot, dry periods, pill bugs search desperately for moisture and often end up indoors. Heavy rains can flood their outdoor habitats, forcing them to seek higher ground inside your home.

Natural Ways to Get Rid of Pill Bugs

Let’s start with methods that don’t involve harsh chemicals. These natural approaches work well for light to moderate infestations and are safe around kids and pets.

Remove Their Moisture Sources

Drying out their environment is the most effective long-term solution. Fix leaky outdoor faucets, repair dripping air conditioning units, and redirect downspouts away from your foundation. Make sure your yard slopes away from your house so water drains properly.

Inside, use dehumidifiers in basements and crawl spaces to keep humidity below 50%. Fix any plumbing leaks immediately. Even small drips can sustain a pill bug population.

Clean Up Organic Debris

Rake up dead leaves, remove rotting wood, and clear away plant debris from around your foundation. Keep mulch at least six inches away from your home’s exterior walls. Reduce mulch depth to two inches or less where pill bugs are a problem.

Move firewood stacks away from the house. Store wood on racks at least 20 feet from your foundation and several inches off the ground.

Create Dry Barriers

Spread a border of gravel or stones around your foundation. This dry zone makes it harder for pill bugs to reach your walls. The barrier should be at least 6-12 inches wide.

You can also create a band of diatomaceous earth around entry points. This natural powder has microscopic sharp edges that damage the pill bug’s shell, causing them to dehydrate and die. Reapply after rain since moisture reduces its effectiveness.

Set Up Traps

Simple homemade traps work surprisingly well. Take a shallow container like a tuna can or jar lid and bury it so the rim is level with the ground. Fill it halfway with beer or a mixture of water and a few drops of dish soap. Pill bugs crawl in but can’t escape.

You can also make potato traps. Cut a potato in half, hollow out the center slightly, and place it cut-side down on the soil where you’ve seen pill bugs. Check it daily and dispose of the bugs that gather underneath.

Rolled-up damp newspaper also attracts these bugs. Place rolls in problem areas at night, then collect and dispose of them in the morning.

Introduce Natural Predators

Frogs, toads, lizards, birds, and ground beetles all eat pill bugs. Create habitats that attract these helpful creatures. A small water feature brings frogs. Native plants and brush piles (away from your house) provide shelter for beneficial insects and lizards.

Chickens and ducks love eating pill bugs if you keep poultry. Let them forage in affected garden areas during the day.

Chemical Control Methods That Work

When natural methods aren’t enough, or when you’re dealing with a severe infestation, chemical controls can provide faster results.

Diatomaceous Earth Application

While technically natural, diatomaceous earth deserves special mention because it’s so effective. Sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth in a thin layer around the perimeter of your home, in crawl spaces, and in areas where you’ve seen pill bugs.

Wear a dust mask during application since inhaling the fine powder can irritate your lungs. The product itself is non-toxic to humans and pets once settled.

Boric Acid Treatments

Boric acid powder kills pill bugs when they walk through it and groom themselves. Apply a light dusting in cracks, crevices, and entry points. Don’t use it outdoors since rain washes it away, and keep it away from areas where children and pets can access it.

Insecticidal Sprays

Look for products labeled for sowbugs, pillbugs, or general crawling insects. Spray around your foundation, along baseboards, and near entry points. Outdoor perimeter treatments create a barrier that kills pill bugs trying to enter.

Products containing pyrethroids work well. Follow label directions carefully and reapply as directed, usually every few weeks.

Granular Pesticides

Granular products spread around your home’s exterior provide longer-lasting control. They’re especially useful for treating large areas. Water them in lightly after application to activate the ingredients.

Apply granules in a band 3-10 feet wide around your foundation. Treat mulched areas, under decks, and around potential entry points.

Professional Pest Control

Severe infestations sometimes need professional treatment. Pest control companies have access to stronger products and can identify contributing factors you might miss. They typically treat both inside and outside your home, focusing on entry points and harboring areas.

Professional treatment makes sense if you’ve tried multiple methods without success, or if you’re seeing pill bugs daily despite your efforts.

Preventing Pill Bugs from Coming Back

Getting rid of pill bugs is only half the battle. Keeping them away requires ongoing prevention.

Seal Entry Points

Walk around your home and seal every crack and gap you find. Use caulk for small cracks in your foundation. Install door sweeps on exterior doors, especially garage doors. Add weatherstripping around windows. Cover vents and utility line entries with fine mesh screens.

Pay special attention to where pipes enter your home. Even a small gap around a water line provides easy access for dozens of pill bugs.

Improve Drainage

Your yard should never have standing water or soggy areas. Add soil to low spots, install French drains if needed, and make sure your gutters are clean and working properly.

Downspout extensions should carry water at least five feet from your foundation. Consider installing a sump pump if your basement tends to stay damp.

Smart Landscaping Practices

Plant shrubs and flowers at least 12 inches from your foundation. This spacing allows air circulation and reduces moisture near your walls. Choose plants appropriate for your climate that don’t need excessive watering.

Water your lawn and garden in the morning so the surface dries before evening. Avoid overwatering since this creates the damp conditions pill bugs love.

Use rock or inorganic mulch near your foundation instead of wood chips or bark. If you prefer organic mulch for aesthetics, keep it thin and replace it regularly before it starts decomposing.

Regular Maintenance

Make yard cleanup a regular habit. Don’t let leaves pile up in fall. Remove dead plants promptly. Store items like tarps, boards, and garden supplies off the ground on racks or shelves.

Inspect your property monthly for new pill bug activity. Catching a few early is much easier than dealing with thousands later.

Indoor Humidity Control

Use exhaust fans when showering or cooking. Run dehumidifiers in damp basements and crawl spaces. Improve ventilation in areas that tend to stay humid.

If you have a crawl space, consider encapsulating it with a vapor barrier. This keeps ground moisture from rising into your home and dramatically reduces pest problems.

Dealing with Pill Bugs in Your Garden

Garden infestations require a slightly different approach since you don’t want to harm beneficial insects or your plants.

Reduce Mulch and Ground Cover

Thick organic mulch creates perfect pill bug habitat. Pull mulch back from plant stems, leaving a few inches of bare soil around each plant. This dry ring protects vulnerable seedlings.

Consider replacing some of your organic mulch with alternatives like pebbles or landscape fabric topped with a thin layer of decorative rock.

Water Wisely

Deep, infrequent watering is better than shallow, daily watering. This encourages deep root growth and allows the soil surface to dry between waterings. Drip irrigation or soaker hoses work better than overhead sprinklers.

Water early in the day so foliage and soil surfaces dry before evening when pill bugs become active.

Protect Seedlings and Young Plants

Young plants are most vulnerable to pill bug damage. Create barriers around seedlings using plastic collars, empty toilet paper rolls, or small bottomless containers pushed slightly into the soil.

Start seeds indoors and transplant established seedlings rather than direct seeding in areas with heavy pill bug pressure.

Garden Cleanup

Remove dead and diseased plants promptly. Don’t let plant debris pile up. Clean up fallen fruit from trees immediately since rotting fruit attracts pill bugs in large numbers.

Compost piles should be located far from your garden beds and turned regularly. A hot, active compost pile is less attractive to pill bugs than a cool, neglected one.

Use Raised Beds

Raised garden beds with proper drainage typically have fewer pill bug problems. The elevation and better air circulation create less favorable conditions. Line the bottom with hardware cloth to prevent pill bugs from entering from below.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many people accidentally make their pill bug problems worse. Don’t make these errors:

Over-mulching is the biggest mistake. That thick, fluffy layer of mulch looks great but creates a pill bug paradise. Keep it thin and away from foundations and plant stems.

Ignoring moisture problems means you’re treating symptoms instead of the cause. All the pesticides in the world won’t help if you have standing water and damp areas.

Using the wrong products wastes money. Not all insecticides work on pill bugs. Read labels carefully and choose products specifically labeled for these pests.

Treating only indoors doesn’t stop the source. Pill bugs live outside and wander in. You need to treat outdoor areas to prevent them from reaching your home.

Expecting instant results leads to frustration. Even with chemical treatments, it takes time to see the full effect. Be patient and persistent.

Overlooking entry points means you’re leaving the door open. You can kill every pill bug inside, but more will come if they can still get in.

When to Call a Professional

You might need professional help if:

• You’re still seeing pill bugs daily despite weeks of treatment
• The infestation covers a large area or multiple rooms
• You’re finding hundreds or thousands of pill bugs
• You have physical limitations that make DIY treatment difficult
• You’re dealing with other pest problems at the same time
• You need help identifying and fixing moisture or structural issues

Good pest control companies will inspect your property, identify contributing factors, and create a treatment plan that includes both elimination and prevention.

Final Thoughts on Pill Bug Control

Getting rid of pill bugs comes down to two main strategies: remove what attracts them and block their entry. These bugs need moisture to survive, so drying out your property goes a long way toward solving the problem.

Start with the basics. Fix water problems, remove organic debris, seal cracks, and improve drainage. These steps alone will eliminate most pill bug issues. Add targeted treatments with natural or chemical controls when needed for faster results.

The key is consistency. A one-time treatment won’t keep pill bugs away permanently. Make prevention part of your regular home maintenance routine. A quick monthly inspection and cleanup prevents small problems from becoming major infestations.

Remember that pill bugs aren’t dangerous. They don’t bite, don’t spread disease, and don’t damage your home’s structure. They’re mostly a nuisance. With the right approach, you can control their numbers and keep them outside where they belong, doing the beneficial work of breaking down organic matter in nature.

Take action today. Walk around your property and identify problem areas. Fix the most obvious moisture issues first. Set up some simple traps. Within a few weeks, you’ll notice a dramatic difference. Your home will be pill bug-free, and you’ll have the knowledge to keep it that way for good.