Lawn Shrimp

5685  Hello,  My name is Dziepy.  I found about 50 of these bugs underneath my leather couch while sweeping my wooden floor living room.  The couch sits directly in front of a glass sliding door that we do not open. The skin has a shiny sheen to it. Only 5 or so bugs have no sheen but were dark brown and smaller in size.  3 of the small dark brown bugs were still alive, moving and twitching. I live in Arlington, Texas. It has been raining on and off for the past 2 weeks with temperature in the 60s-70s when it rains and upper 80s and muggy when not raining.  Thank you for your help in identifying these bugs.

These are terrestrial amphipods (a type of crustacean) commonly known as lawn shrimp. They are harmless nuisance pests and there is no need for control measures.  See http://tinyurl.com/o3d2f34 for more detailed information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.