Help" pill bugs or sow bugs.

John White · Mar 18, 2015

We are having a problem with pill bugs (some call them sow bugs) . They started showing up in our basement last summer. I thought maybe the cold weather killed them this last winter but now they are coming back. We have a entrance door at the basement. I have put foam all around the outside to seal it and have even put duct tape across the bottom and about 2ft up the sides. We have no plants inside the basement. We cant seem to find where they are coming from. Is there anything we could spray around the exterior of the basement to kill them? One corner of the basement sweats a little and is a little damp in the in the corner once in a while and that's where we find the most of them.

DennisArrow · Mar 18, 2015

Maybe a pic or thread describing what you have. Rolly pollies???????

luvmexfood · Mar 18, 2015

Ortho Bug B Gone will do exactly what you want to do. Spray about a 12" spray around the perimeter of the house then in the basement in areas that they are concentrating in or the whole basement. Pet and human safe as soon as it dries. Kills over 100 different bugs.

John White · Mar 19, 2015

DennisArrow said:
Maybe a pic or thread describing what you have. Rolly pollies???????

Rolly polliies is another name they are known by. I went to the county extension service to get some info. Couldn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Never had any trouble until about two years ago. Wife had a lot of flowers planted all around the house. I dug them out thinking that is the source, as there was a lot of rotten mulch in there. If I dig around there that is where I find them, but I cant find how they are getting into the house.

Looking4new · Mar 19, 2015

Try a tin pie plate with beer in it. The bugs are attracted to the beer and drown. Whatever pie plate you use make sure SWMBO doesn't want it for pies anymore.

MossRoad · Mar 19, 2015

If they're not coming in under the door, they're probably coming in under the sill plate where your wood meets your concrete foundation. If you have mulch up against your foundation close to the sill plate, its even more likely. Take a good close look at where your wood meets the concrete, clean the area real well and re-caulk it both inside and out.

John White · Mar 20, 2015

MossRoad said:
If they're not coming in under the door, they're probably coming in under the sill plate where your wood meets your concrete foundation. If you have mulch up against your foundation close to the sill plate, its even more likely. Take a good close look at where your wood meets the concrete, clean the area real well and re-caulk it both inside and out.

Already done that and even calked the jams. Could they be coming up through the relief saw crack in the floor?.