Pill bugs

19 years ago

Is anyone else seeing absolute tons of these horrible pests? According to my bug book, they're wood lice, aka rollypollies, and they aren't supposed to bother living plants, preferring decaying plant matter. My pillbugs haven't read that book because they're all over my veggie garden. Am I unique in this plague or is anyone else in the DFW area having a similar problem?

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Comments (12)

carolann_z8
19 years ago
Our veggie garden is full of them especially our squash.

They're all under my flowers too.
prairiepaintbrush
19 years ago
THey like moisture, the rats. Hate when they don't read the books by experts and behave accordingly.
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stephanieftx
19 years ago
Yep, with all this rain we've been having, they are in heaven!! YOu might try some coffee grounds as a deterrent.
mikeandbarb
19 years ago
Mine have come up for air LOL they don't have gills. They do like to munch on a little green sometimes, they love hosta's.
txchristie
Original Author
19 years ago
Great. Well at least I know I'm not the only one suffering. Has anyone tried DE? I bought some but then it rained...and rained...and rained...
west_texas_peg
19 years ago
They ate all my seedlings from Winter sowing...I think I have 2 tomato plants and 3 Cosmos left from hundreds of seedlings. They ate all the leaves off of a lantana I received in a swap and a neighboring squash plant and started on another lantana! I was so excited to have lots of different tomato plants this year from seed swapping but now I'm not sure what I have left! Had to buy tomato plants at WM to be sure we have any.

Bah Humbug!
Peggy
prairiepaintbrush
19 years ago
You can purchase kaolin clay that is meant to be mixed with water and sprayed on plants to deter eating pests. It renders the plants a ghostly white, but it's great for veggies, where taste and health trump appearance.
sylviatexas1
19 years ago
I heard on The Natural Way (Howard Garrett) the other day that Sluggo with spinosad (sp?) is effective against pillbugs.
txchristie
Original Author
19 years ago
Excellent--I'll look for the Sluggo and kaolin.

WTX Peg, try my control technique of squashing the little buggers. It isn't very effective but sooooo satisfying. Sorry about your 'maters!
tess_tx
19 years ago
Every morning I find them dead by the dozens in the bottom of the pool...the pool vacuum sucks them up and the next morning a whole new batch has arrived. You'd think with the staggering suicide rate they wouldn't be such a problem but they are still managing to eat up my tomato plants at a record pace!
Vickie56
19 years ago
Beer traps work for pill bugs as well as slugs. We seem to be infested with pill bugs. It really works... if YOU don't drink all the beer first!!! Good luck
Vickie
lonestar7
19 years ago
I read that if you put some beer in a big shallow container, they will crawl in and drown at night. :)

never forget:
http://www.frugalsites.net/911/attack/