Here comes my idea #2. I purchased a 3" diameter brown cardboard mailing tube, and cut it into rounds 4" long. Now I am planting the five new squash plants (and one melon) in the ground, each surrounded by one of these tubes. The bottom is pressed into the ground 1" with 3" sticking up. The plan is that this along with the diatomaceous earth will keep the crawling bugs away until the plants get established.

Is it safe to replace the mulch once the tubes and DE are in place? Or should I wait a while. In my dry California climate with no summer rainfall, I don't like to leave bare earth if I can help it.

Rosefolly

The real culprit, most likely, is a cutworm, the larva of a moth the chewed those seedlings and then the Sow Bugs or Pill Bugs came in to clean up the mess which is what they do, clean up after others. What you have done may well keep the cutworms away.

I just thought I'd report back that so far this technique is working well. I planted the squash plants in the same bed and put the brown cardboard mailing tube collars around all but one of them. I could have purchased a second tube so that I could do them all, but I was curious to see what happened to the unprotected plant, given that it was older and larger than the ones that died before. Sure enough, it was killed within a couple of days. All of the protected plants are thriving.

From now on my squash seeds and plants get collars!

Rosefolly

I lost a crop of shelling peas to pillbugs. Like most gardeners, it took a while to discover the problem, but early one morning I found dozens of them on the base of the plants, gnawing through the stems and leaves. Over time the stems can't uptake anymore and the plants eventually died. DE did NOT deter them! They crawled all over it, and kept eating the stems dusted with it. If it eventually killed them, there were hundreds more to take their place. I will try the collar trick, rimming the top with tanglefoot to keep them out! Thanks for the great idea!

Pillbugs / rolly pollys decimated my peas and tender sprouts for two years. Contrary to the naysayers, it WAS pillbugs because I caught them in the act every night and early morning. I tried diatomaceous earth (they walked right through it), cardboard rings around sprouts (they dug under them), rolled up wet newspaper (didn’t catch enough), oil/soy sauce/beer/you-name-it traps (didn’t catch enough). I honestly considered giving up planting the tender stuff.

After two years of failure, in year 3, I have organically won the battle with the pillbugs in my garden!! I am so elated I’m posting this on every pillbug garden thread I can find! This battle takes commitment. I recommend prepping your garden beds, and a week before setting out plants, go to war. (Or plant your seeds and immediately go to war!) Wet down the soil and about every 2 feet, place pieces of citrus peel (grapefruit or orange), or you can just cut up the fruit. Wait until it’s been dark a few hours. Bring a bucket of soapy water and a headlamp or flashlight with you. CAREFULLY pick up each piece of peel and shake it over the bucket. Tap it to make sure all bugs fall off. The tiny ones really dig in and hang on! There will also be many that stayed in the dirt where the fruit was. Quickly scoop them up and dump them in the bucket too. The first night I did this, I filled my bucket to a 1/2” deep of bugs! Just left them there overnight until they were dead, and dumped everything back in the dirt away from the garden. I kept this up every night for a week, and now just check about once a week. I rarely find large ones anymore, just the teeny tiny ones. I have raised beds and the bugs hide along the edges during the day. I keep pieces of peel around the inside edges and if they are going to eat, they choose the fruit over the sprouts. You’ll need to replace the peels when they begin to dry out.

Pillbugs are communal. I noticed pencil eraser sized holes around the edges against the wood. After digging, dozens big and small came out of the spot. If you notice these holes, place peel near them and the bugs won’t wander so far to eat (and potentially happen upon your plants).

My peas and lettuces are growing beautifully and barely a nibble has been taken out of them!

Lastly, I’ve read of many people that hand pick and throw the pillbugs into the compost heap. I would NEVER do this! It’s basically giving them a buffet to breed in. When you add that compost to your garden, you’re inadvertently adding these pests back in. Happy growing!