Hello Toad... and Roly-Poly Family

 
Every night when I go lock up the chickens for the night, there's a big toad in the flowerbed in front of the chicken coop. Apparently I put the little metal garden dish in just the right spot.

 
Tonight I remembered to take the camera with me and snapped a few photos. Each morning I dump out the water so it doesn't become a hatching pool for mosquitoes. As I water the flowers during the day, it collects fresh water for the toad to enjoy at night.

 
As you can see by the murky color of the water, she tracks in quite a bit of mud in the process. If you look closely, you can see the mud on her back and the backs of her eyes. Wherever she hides during the day is in a cool, muddy location. I think she's trying to tell me she's done having her photo taken. *grin*

We have so many toads here, but unless you know where they burrow down during the day, you'll only see them at night. The come out to feast on bugs, which we have PLENTY of! I wish the toads would eat MORE!

 
We have hundreds...thousands of Roly-Polies around the chicken house. The ground just crawls with them. Quite frankly, I find it a bit creepy. I would rather have thousands of Roly-Polies than even just a handful of Rabid Wolf Spiders! Unfortunately, I have both. We had some rain this evening, and the wood chips by the door of the hen house are damp. Roly-Polies can be good to have around since they help break down decaying matter, but they can cause problems in gardens (flower and veggie). They like to eat newly started seeds and plants, making them a nuisance.

 
The chickens are NOT interested in eating them, and I can't convince the ducks to eat them either. Can't say I blame them ... they're kind of a weird little creature.

 
Did you know that Roly-Polies (really called Woodlouse) are Crustacea? They are! And they breath through gills, so they have to be in an area that has moisture (not like the toad bath...) They're like shrimp, crabs, and lobsters! Crazy!

Do you have Roly-Poly bugs at your house? Do you call them Roly-Polies?

Comments

[Jill S]

We have woodlouse here in Northern Ireland too but we call them 'slaters'!!!

Jill x

[Shellie Daniel]

I love your pudgy toad! She's so cute sitting there in your birdbath! We have roly-polies here, and we call them that. Now that I know their real name is "woodlouse," I'll like them less! Icky! Does your little toad eat them?

[Nora Gorhum]

Yes, in South Texas we have had an influx this year. We have always had them in the spring, but this year it has been an invasion! I vacumm daily and even buried cans with fruit in the flower beds near the doors - garden guy said it was a green way to control them-worked some.

Your garden is beautiful. We are finishing ours up and will prepare later for fall garden. Everyone's gardens were extremely successful this year in our area-cooler, wetter conditions.

Have a great day!

[Troy Louise]

I wonder what childhood would have been like without roly poly bugs! I suspect a bit boring. Thanks for the great pics. Glad I don't have that many of them around. Love your toad. Wish I had one or more of them. Hugs & have a great day.

[Tricia]

I always called them water bugs (in Pennsylvania).

Thanks for the pictures, Anna!

[Linda in CO]

I love your Mr Toad! He looks right at home in your little copper dish.

I have always called them Roly Poly's! Although if I saw the ground crawling with that many of them, I would call them "Ewww"!

Linda

[bonnie weiss]

Ewwww ... wolf spiders??!! yet another reason I would be freaked out living down there. And here you are, even pampering the local toads by placing a little dish in the garden for them to have a place to enjoy themselves!

We called those little bugs, "curl-up bugs" because when you touch them, they curl up into a ball.

Thanks for the photos, Anna ... always enjoyable!

[Simmy]

I called them Sal bugs when I was a kid and it wasn't until I was in high school that I discovered people were saying SOW bugs hahaha. We also call them roly polies or pill bugs.

Eeww, potato bugs are WAY different. Aren't they those things have that big hard head and look like the bug in the Cootie game ??? My mom used to be so freaked out by them and said they looked like aliens.

[Kellie]

sow bugs here in Mich...don't think they'll hurt you,,but they are nasty to look @ and I know they like the damp..they're always around my flowers.

[Susan G]

I have plenty of roly polies in my garden, too. I also call them pill bugs and sow (like the pig) bugs. I have no idea where that came from--probably my East Texas roots! We have toads that like to take a swim in our pool. I have to fish them out now and then before the pump comes on or they get caught in the skimmer. We have another large one that lives under our AC unit. He likes the wet puddle that the condensation makes.

[Ida]

Oh these pictures were fun. You see Coleen loves Roly-Poly bugs and yes we call them that. She has a bunch in a little cage with some dirt on my mom's front porch. Once when a few of them died she just about bawled her eyes dry. We had to have a funeral for them and the other day she wanted to lay some roses down on the ground where we buried the dead ones.
Love your toad pictures too.

[Randee E]

I've heard them called pill bugs, potato bugs, but we always called them roly-polys. They're one of the FEW that I wasn't scared of when I was little. In fact, my sister and I used to have races with them down my grandparents inclined driveway. We'd let them curl up into a ball and then let them roll on down! First bug to the bottom wins :0)

[Rose Kerry]

I liked to see them roll up as a kid too. We called them sow bugs or pill bugs, I like roly pollies better. I must say if I ever saw that many in one place I'd have never left my house again. That's just way to many bugs for me. I don't think I've ever seen more than two or three at a time and ours were darker too, mainly dark gray. I grew up in Los Angeles County in Calif. Thanks for the interesting history of the bug!

[Lisa K]

For some reason we call them Potato Bugs too! I grew up on the west coast but ended up in the Midwest. When our dog gets a little sassy, tucks its tail, hunches its back and ske-daddles around the room, we call that "Potato Buggin'" - LOL!

[Diana Gibbs]

We have the horrible toads that blow up and put out poison. Ugh!
If you get a chance would you take a picture of the wolf spider as long as it is safe to do so?

Thanks for everything!

Hugs,
Di

[Jennifer K.]

We have them here in Colorado. I used to love to gently poke them so they'd roll up (I'm an only child, I had to entertain myself) Always called them roly-polys too. Thanks for the science lesson :)

(This picture is still way less creepy than the grasshopper ones!)

[Brook]

The kids like to play with those little isopods. In class my students have done many experiements with the little guys. You are right though, they are death on a garden. Toads, those Rabid wolf spiders and wild turkeys will eat them.

[Kelly Bee]

My husband calls them wood lice (he's from England). We call them Carpenters in Newfoundland! Sow Bug is also a name I've heard for them. They are a bit darker in colour where I live. (more brown/black)

[Kim Ross]

We had those roly-polies growing up in South Florida... and yes, we DID call them that! I thought we were the only ones. :)

[Sabrina]

Yep, we have roly-poly bugs here, but I've never in my life heard them called that. I was going to have to go and do some research to doublecheck, till you mentioned woodlice at the end. DH always called them maggots till I enlightened him as to what maggots really are, and that woodlice are vastly preferable. But I'm glad I've never seen so many in one place as in your photos!
Sabrina (Dublin, Ireland)

[Sharli]

I love your toad! I used to have one living in the vegetation near my front door (years ago!) Maybe if I were faithful enough to keep water out there (clean water) I'd attract another one.

Your lesson on the crustaceans is interesting - but I agree with the chicks, I don't like them either. Yes, we've always called them roly-poly in my family, too!

Thanks for more great photography - and for the zucchini bread recipe yesterday!! Can't wait to make some!

[Kim O]

Thank you for calling them roly-polyies!! My husband refers to them as pill bugs and always makes fun of me when I call them roly-poly bugs. That's what they are :)

[diane mcvey]

I love your toady frog! So cute! :D
Oh yes, we have roly polys, and have had them in every state we've lived in! (TN,TX,KS,GA,CT,NE). I think they are universal! LOL I did NOT know they are crustaceans, however! Interesting!
Thanks for the great pictures. Awesome, as always! :D

[jenny4wheel]

We've got roly polies in Indiana too. Not so many as you do in Texas though! You mainly find them under rocks and in other terminaly damp places. While I find your close-ups creepy...we used to play with them as kids to watch them roll up.

[Carol Dee]

You have one Happy Toad there. We have a toad that set up house keeping near our koi pond and would sit in it and court his ladyfriends each evening.I never knew a little toad could make such a LOUD sound!
Yes,IA has roly-poly (sow bugs) too. Not so many. Usually come across them when picking up firewood, etc.
Hugs...

[SueB]

Are they Sow Bugs? We have been infested with centipedes in our house this year - I do NOT like them at all. Have killed hundreds of them.

[Jennifer Woodward]

Don't know why but I think toads are very cute. Your sweet toad looks quite content in her private swimming pool.

The rolypoly bugs are interesting but I prefer they find someplace unnoticeable to reside. There are worse bugs, but I'm not a huge fan of them...though admit I find it interesting to watch them roll up in the tight balls.

[Alyssa Byron]

yep exactly them, all the way over here in Australia. Hmmm...wonder which way they were introduced, did we have them originally and introduced the pests to you or you had them and they snuck onto a ship somewhere and got carried to us? Anyway, I love your blog, I read it everyday. You are a really good photographer.

[Dotty]

That toad has discovered her own little private cooling spa!! I'm with the chickens & ducks, I don't find the roly-poly bugs interesting either, crustacea or not! We have some pretty weird creepy crawlies here, but I think the only roly-poly bug in the house is me! :)

[Sharon]

When we were little, we called them Potato Bugs....don't know why!