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Sow Bugs

Sow Bugs

Protecting your home or business in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware from pests is an important part of ownership. Some pests can threaten your home or business and some can damage your property. Sowbugs (or sow bugs), which resemble pillbugs, are less of a threat than some other pests but can be a nuisance if they get out of control. To protect your home or business from sowbugs, you need to learn about the behavior of this pest, take steps for prevention, and find effective sow bug treatment options should an infestation occur.

What are Sowbugs?

Sowbugs are tiny, crustacean-like bugs that look very similar to pillbugs (aka “roly-poly” bugs). Throughout New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, sowbugs live in moist areas, usually outdoors. Sowbugs aren’t insects, but crustaceans, the only ones who have evolved to live on land.

How Do I Identify Sow Bugs?

Sowbugs are segmented, oval bugs about a quarter of an inch to half an inch in length, and grey to dark grey. These pests have a rounded back and 14 legs, as well as two pairs of antennae. Pest control experts explain sowbugs can be distinguished from pillbugs by their two “tails”, which project from their rear. Since pillbugs don’t have these, they can roll up into a little ball (hence the nickname roly-poly). Sowbugs can’t do this, so if you see one of these bugs balled up, that’s not a sowbug.

How Do I Get Sowbugs?

Sowbugs require moisture to survive, so they’re most often found in moist places like flower beds, compost heaps, and flower pots. Exterminators reveal sowbugs tend to hide under items like rocks or railroad ties during the day but may travel at night. If there are large numbers of these bugs breeding near your home or business, they might enter the building through openings under doors or joints.

What Are the Effects of Sowbugs in and around My Home or Business?

Sowbugs are generally not a threat to human beings, as they don’t bite, carry disease or infest food. The experts at Viking Pest state these creatures also do not eat wood or clothing. In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, sowbugs are sometimes found feeding on plants and crops. Left unchecked, sowbugs can cause major loss to those crops. Sowbugs can also get out of control and become a nuisance in moist places, such as basements or water pipes, where they may not be welcome. Sowbug prevention may be necessary for your home or business to keep these pests at bay.

How Do I Prevent Sowbugs?

The exterminator experts at Viking Pest say the best strategy for sowbug control is to keep moisture to a minimum. Make sure water doesn’t gather near the foundation of the building or in crawl spaces or basements. Clean up clutter like pieces of wood, rocks, trash, grass clippings, or mulch, especially around the base of your home or business. Use good ventilation in potentially humid places like basements to minimize the moisture that attracts sowbugs in houses or businesses. Finally, seal up as many cracks and openings as possible, to give sowbugs fewer entry points.

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Sow Bugs

Protecting Your Home or Business From Sow Bugs With Viking Pest Control

Viking Pest offers expert treatment designed to effectively and efficiently control and prevent pests from invading your home or business in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. Our use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques focuses on finding the core of the pest concern and controlling Sow Bugs from the source. Through IPM, pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, pets, and the environment. Call Viking today for your FREE and NO OBLIGATION estimate at 1-800-618-2847 or Schedule Online today!