Rollie pollies remove heavy metals from soil, stabilizing growing conditions, protecting groundwater

February 11, 2016 – “Rollie pollies,” also known as woodlice, are often identified by their ability to roll into a ball when they feel threatened and their seven pairs of legs.  Pill bugs have been important to many gardeners for their ability to speed up the process of decomposition due to the microbes that helps them break down organic matter to be processed further by fungi, protozoans, and bacteria.

 One unique quality pill bugs possess is their ability to remove heavy metals from soil.  For this reason, they are an important tool for cleaning up soil contaminated with pollutants like lead, cadmium, and arsenic.  They are able to take in heavy metals like lead and cadmium and crystallize these ions in their guts.  The heavy metal toxins are then made into spherical deposits in the gut helping reestablish healthy soils and preventing toxic metal ions from leaching into the groundwater.

 Read the full Naturalnews.com post here.

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