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how to get rid of pill bugs??
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Posted by rema z7tx (My Page) on Fri, Apr 13, 07 at 16:45
pill bugs are eating away all my bulbs,my iris and chrysanthemum plants.can somebody tell me how to get rid of them??
rema |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| Usually the diet of pill bugs, sow bugs, wood lice, potato bugs, and the numerous other names these crustaceans go by is decaying vegetative waste not live plant tissue. They will, however, eat live plant tissue if there is not enough other food available, so rather than kill these normally beneficial crustaceans put down the proper food source for them and they will help improve your soil instead of destroying your garden. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| Feeding the pillbugs? Please know that moist, organic-y soils will contain some of these isopods. They are an important part of the ecosystem. However, an overpopulation can and will lead to the damage of our plants. Make sure, first of all, that it is the sowbugs doing the damage and not something else. These critters require very moist conditions in which to thrive, so let's see what you can do to alter their environment, first. Is your mulch layer too heavy? Are you watering or irrigating too frequently? Has it been raining like crazy in your location? It's one of those situations when you can make some slight physical adjustments to the site, and these little guys might go elsewhere. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| I have raised beds with rich mulch. I am completely overwhelmed with pill bugs. My biggest FRUSTRATION right now is that I can't start any bean plants, b/c by the time the seedling comes up, it has been stripped of its two starting leaves, often leaving only a stem. I can see the pill bugs in the morning absolutely covering the rising seedling. by the time it breaks the surface very little or nothing remains. We are not talking about a few pill bugs that can be handpicked. I have actually covered this area with diatomaceous earth and I watch the pill bugs walk right over it. As for the questions of moisture and conditions, it is a very rich mulch in a raised bed, and I am in so. cal. so we are by no means overly moist. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| Diatomaceous earth is not a repellant and you want the insects (or crustaceans in this case) to walk over it. If they pick up enough of the dust, it will wear away their cuticle and they dehydrate and die. If you use this product the results will be seen several days later. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| Let me add this: make sure that you are using the correct grade of DE. It should be food or horticultural grade, never the DE that is used in pool filters. It won't work and it's FAR more hazardous to your health. Use the DE generously, even mixing it into the soil. DE does not dissolve in water. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| A mulch of sand is very disagreeable to pill bugs. They don't like sand because they can dry out and die in it. Sand is also disagreeable to slugs and snails. MM |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| thanks. I am using DE that I got from a garden supply house. part of the problem is that they are getting the seedlings just before they emerge from the surface as well. I will just keep planting seeds and adding DE. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| I used slug bait on all my gardens and I think they had a big impact on the pillbugs. I was also nearly overcome with them but since putting down a heavy layer of Sluggo, they are gone and I find dead ones here and there. It had to be them eating the Sluggo too because I was putting down little mini-walls of the pellets for awhile and by morning they'd be gone. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| lately i find a lot of pill bugs under rocks, in my basement, and also i was planting tomato's and before they were in a pot and when i looked there was so many of them. After reading all the facts and hints, it looks like they are actually good for the soil. But everyday i find those pill bugs, Lately it was raining a lot where i live (North-NJ), so what steps should i take to protect my plants from pill bugs? I read from the 1st response to put down some food for them, but what kind of food, like rotten, old food? |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| Feeding them would have to be the most ignorant thing I've ever heard. That would bring in more and breed more so unless you intend on feeding them forever...well that's just stupid! As if gardening isn't tough enough some idiot wants to make it tougher. Kill them all before they eat your plants. There's plenty of decaying material in my garden and they prefer my plants. Diatomaceous earth will do the trick but takes a little time. Good luck! |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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If sand killed pill bugs I would not have any since my soil is sand, but it does not and I do, lots. The pill bugs, sow bugs, wood lice, do not do any harm to my plants since they live on decaying organic matter, not living plants, although it would be nice if they would eat some of the "weeds" on occassion.
A well mulched garden is the perfect breeding ground for these crustaceans, cool, moist, with ample amounts of food available. If you see pill bugs, sow bugs, wood lice, eating away on living plants it is because they are cleaning up after something else that damaged those plants. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| I'd say this looks a little suspicious to me 
That was one of my best celocia. They'll have to climb higher for the giant reds. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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| I recently tried Sluggo Plus and it seems to have drastically reduced my pill bug population. Actually, I tried to find a pill bug the other day to show my father and I couldn't even locate one. Given the massive amount of pill bugs I had before using Sluggo Plus, I was completely amazed. |
RE: how to get rid of pill bugs??
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deadheader thanks for the heads up. It's obvious to me that they will eat healthy plants even when there is plenty of decaying matter around. The pillbug pictured above is at least 6" above the ground where there is plenty of rich soil that contains lots of decaying matter.
kimmsr which is it sand or rich soil that your plants are in? |
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