Mira M. of Sebastopol asks: I have quite a few of those ‘roly-poly’ bugs in my garden. A friend called them ‘sowbugs.” Are they a bug that I need to control? Will they do any damage to my plants?

Pill bugs are gray pests related to crustaceans, and they are known for their ability to roll up into a ball when they ...

Most people assume that pill bugs, which are more colloquially referred to as ‘roly polies,’ are insects. But while you might find these little critters hanging out under rocks with other bugs, they ...

Pillbugs and sowbugs are not bugs at all. Unlike our other garden inhabitants, they are a type of crustacean called an isopod. They are more closely related to lobsters and shrimp than to any insect.