Records from Ireland and Britain also place them in agricultural areas like gardens, farms, and stables where they can be found in dung and compost piles.

[6][7] The use of the marsupium eliminates the need for there to be an external water source for early development since it is filled with fluid from the mother isopod.

[8] The species is known to be an opportunistic feeder, consuming a wide range of organic matter such as leaves, moss, lichens, and even rotting wood.

[9] Porcellio laevis is one of several species of isopods known to use "alternating turns" as a defense mechanism, running in a mazelike pattern to confuse or avoid perceived threats.

[10] Studies suggest that this behavior, also observed in Armadillidium vulgare, can be reinforced as a learned response, with more "alternating turns" produced by longer and more frequent exposure to predators.

Multiple polymorphic traits have been line-bred or isolated to produce colonies of Porcellio laevis that can vary widely in color and pattern (sometimes referred to informally as "morphs").