How do pillbugs live?
Pillbugs are slow-moving, crawling creatures, and they are cold-blooded, which means their body temperature is regulated by the surrounding environment. In the Columbia Basin, you can find pillbugs in many places, but particularly in gardens, along house foundations, and sometimes in basements. Although these creatures are common, you rarely see them during the day because they prefer dark, moist places – under rocks, boards, bricks, trash, decaying vegetation, or just beneath the soil surface. Mulches, grass clippings, and leaf litter often provide the decaying organic matter these creatures need to survive. Only at night do they emerge to wander around. Pillbugs can breed throughout the year. The female carries the eggs in a brood pouch on the underside of her body. Often, there are as many as 200 eggs per brood. The eggs hatch in 3 to 7 weeks, and the young remain in the pouch another 6 to 7 weeks. Once the young leave the pouch, they never return. Some species produce only one broo
