I have a ton of them too, and many people tell me they are a pain to get rid of. They eat my plants as well.

I would think they would be good for a compost matter, since they eat decaying matter...I could be wrong though.

I have the same problem here in northern California, and I am seriously considering drenching the soil with neem. They've killed all my okra, three melons, several zuke seedlings, they've damaged the stems on two of my cukes to the point where I can't believe they're still alive, they climb my squashes, shear off a huge section of leaf so that it falls to the ground where they all pull up chairs and dine in style, and I blame them for the seeds planted an inch deep that magically rise to the surface with nothing inside the shell (I confess I haven't actually witnessed that feat, but I've witnessed all the others). They're still working on the leaves and stems of my larger plants, but at this point the plant stems are too thick to be damaged by the pill bugs' shallow munching, and they have enough leaves that they don't really mind sharing some. I tried putting a large lettuce in the box, hoping it would distract them, and it did. They gather underneath in large numbers, and I can scoop them up more easily, but they're still damaging my small plants.

Believe me, you have all my sympathy.

My Asian garden neighbors trap sow bugs under empty citrus peels (halved oranges, grapefruit, lemons etc.) They gather all bugs each morning and destroy. You just have to outsmart them I suppose.

Don't get me started on those dang'gum rollie pollies! ;)

Well I have a bunch of them this year as well. My issue is, I have garlic that I am (anxiously) awaiting to finish up and that apparently provides a really nice habitat for them (shaded and moist). I sowed some carrot seed next to my garlic bed and have lost all but two sprouts (an average of one a day). I expect the last two carrot sprouts to be gone in a couple of days. I have seen the rollie pollies eating my carrot sprouts. I thought I could beat them through attrition by planting a lot of carrot seed....but no way.....seems I just gave them more to eat and prosper.

Any thoughts about using snail bait on them? Has anyone tried that? I really don't want to use chemicals and probably won't....but I sure am open to suggestions!

Grrr, can anytying stop them? I originally titled my post "Rollipollies DIE DIE DIE but changed it to something less hysterical. Has anyone tried DE?

I have been going around twice a day squashing the little buggers. It's very satisfying but not that effective. I'll try the orange half idea to save me some time.

"Loosely roll up a damp newspaper and tie it with string, placing it where bugs camp. During the night, they crawl inside, then dispose of them and the newspaper. Repeat until they are under control."

I tried Sluggo and it worked but you go through a ton of the stuff. I used to have a garden filled with them and they were beheading all my seedlings as they came up. Half a bag of Sluggo later it doesn't happen anymore but... I am out of Sluggo. :-)

I have been at wits end about this as well, and I may have come across something that actually works. I have been submerging cups filled with water, sugar & yeast into the ground, similar to the beer trick for slugs. The last time I did this, I had cups literally filled with 50 pill bugs each. the top layer of water was solid pill bug. I have been putting them all around my raised beds. It is a bit tedious, but I am beginning to see a drop off in destruction. I am going to try to do it next year starting in late winter so that I can kill them before they breed substantially.

I have read about doing sluggo, so I am happy to hear that this also works.

chrisbrandow, that is an interesting idea. Can you elaborate a bit on your sugar-yeast recipe? How much sugar to water do you add and does it matter what kind of yeast you use?

Thanks.....

Neat idea, Chris. Moisture plus the scent of decomposition/fermentation -- their favorite recipe ;)

I've had this problem in the past too. One positive thing is that they are easy to squish between two flat sticks, unlike earwigs which move faster. I would go out at night for 30 minutes and do this for a week or so and greatly reduce their numbers to the point where it was not a problem.

When I first moved here we had lots of pill bugs around. One day my kids brought home from the beach a bunch of clam shells. I decided that the shells would be very decorative layed out, open side down, around the shrubs and things. When one shell got overturned there was a mass of bugs that had assembled there. Ditto for all the others. I got rid of the shells, but not before dousing the bugs with hot water. That was many years ago, and today the bugs are only an occasional thing. It was almost like a one-shot eradication.

This method is a bit unconventional, but here goes:

I acquired 2 Barred Rock hens a few years ago. Because of the number of wild critters nearby, I can't let them roam, so have them caged in a chain link enclosure. They like the roly poly bugs very much. So - now every morning, when I check them, I add some almost finished compost - a shovel or 2. You should hear them chortle - as they scratch through their morning compost offering.

Also, when the compost is finished - I like to screen it before use and adding to planters, so the siftings are allowed to sit overnight in the wheelbarrow. Next day, all of the bugs will congregate to the top - the birds will dispatch them readily - or again, I scoop them up and feed them to "my girls" in their pen.

One other thing that seems to be working - I have acquired a plethora of small lizards more so recently - and they scamper around the yard slurping up all my bugs. Truly - I see very few in my strawberry bins, and only an occasional peck (bird/bug/lizard?).

On a thoughful note, however, I also noted one lizard CHEWING on a boysenberry FLOWER. This may/or may not be a future problem, but if so - I might encourage more of the neighbor's visiting cats to keep things in check.

Never a dull moment in the yard of an organic farmer!

Bejay

Turning Pill Bugs into chicken and eggs.... cool. If you don't have chickens, though, I can now join the Sluggo bandwagon after discovering that it is organic and actually enriches the soil. I have to reapply it regularly, but I haven't lost any more seedlings since. Funnily enough, I put the container by the side of my house under the eave one day (we don't get any rain in summer here) and the next morning the container was lying on its side in a remote area with big toothmarks in it..... strangely appealing, I suppose. My cats aren't at all interested in it.