This may be a silly question to you pro's, but are those little pill
bugs (no idea what the latin name is) good or bad in the garden? As you
may have guessed-I have them.

First of all, we're not all "pros"--a lot of us are just garden obsessive
dilettantes. Second, there are few silly questions. No one can know it all,
and the answer often depends on circumstances.

A year ago, I would have said that the pill bugs are harmless and feed only
on decaying plant matter. I've read here, though, that some people
experience damage to growing plants, and I'm willing to concede it's
possible. I keep a year round mulch of leaves and straw on my vegetable
beds, so perhaps my pillbugs have plenty to eat without straying into the
vegetables themselves. Or perhaps the birds, of which I have plenty, gobble
any that show themselves.

I wouldn't worry about yours too much unless you have a lot of plant damage
that can't be attributed to something else, like slugs.

Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


"norma" wrote in message
...
This may be a silly question to you pro's, but are those little pill
bugs (no idea what the latin name is) good or bad in the garden? As you
may have guessed-I have them.

I wouldn't worry about yours too much unless you have a lot of plant
damage
that can't be attributed to something else, like slugs.

Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


That is what I am trying to figure out, my sage and basil have circular
nibbles right out of the middle of the leaves, and something ate my dill
down to the stem...grrr. However, the parsley, cilantro and chives have not
been touched to date. Its a small memorial garden for my son so they are all
pretty close together and
there is a good size layer of shredded leaves below the cedar and Cyprus
hard wood mulch on top of it all...so I am sure there is food for all kinds
for insects. Maybe that is the problem....lol

thanks so much

njb


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The circular holes out of the center of the foliage sounds like slug damage.
You can go out at night with a flashlight to confirm it.

Slugs control is a perennial topic here, and everyone has their favorite
control. I've abandoned all other methods now that I've found Sluggo:
http://www.pestproducts.com/sluggo.htm
No affiliation, etc., just a happy customer. It really works, it's not
toxic to kids and pets, and while it may seem a bit expensive, a little goes
a long way. Garden's Alive sells a similar product called Escargo. I can't
find this product at my local garden centers, but perhaps yours will be more
enlightened.

My next favorite control is to mix 1 part household ammonia with 3 or 4
parts water in a spray bottle (label it). Go out at night and spritz any
slugs you find. The ammonia dissolves their slime coat and does them in.

Dill is beloved by swallowtail caterpillars, but they don't usually eat the
plant down to the ground. That sounds more like rabbits.

Cheers,
Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


"Norma Briggs" wrote in message
That is what I am trying to figure out, my sage and basil have circular
nibbles right out of the middle of the leaves, and something ate my dill
down to the stem...grrr. However, the parsley, cilantro and chives have
not
been touched to date. Its a small memorial garden for my son so they are
all
pretty close together and
there is a good size layer of shredded leaves below the cedar and Cyprus
hard wood mulch on top of it all...so I am sure there is food for all
kinds
for insects. Maybe that is the problem....lol

thanks so much

njb

I have to agree with Sue - Sluggo works great at keeping slugs and
snails away. I'm not sure I know what you mean by "pill bug," but if
that's those little bugs that curl themselves into a ball (I've always
called 'em rolly-poleys) - if we're talking about the same thing, I've
had some troubles with them in my strawberry bed this year. At first I
assumed it was slugs, but then I'd pick off the ones with holes in them
and very often find the rolly-poley inside the berry. What I don't know
is whether the slugs are doing the damage and the rolly-poleys are just
canibalizing the damaged fruit, or whether they're causing it in the
first place.

karen
zone 8, northern Calif.

In article ink.net,
"SugarChile" wrote:

The circular holes out of the center of the foliage sounds like slug damage.
You can go out at night with a flashlight to confirm it.

Slugs control is a perennial topic here, and everyone has their favorite
control. I've abandoned all other methods now that I've found Sluggo:
http://www.pestproducts.com/sluggo.htm
No affiliation, etc., just a happy customer. It really works, it's not
toxic to kids and pets, and while it may seem a bit expensive, a little goes
a long way. Garden's Alive sells a similar product called Escargo. I can't
find this product at my local garden centers, but perhaps yours will be more
enlightened.

My next favorite control is to mix 1 part household ammonia with 3 or 4
parts water in a spray bottle (label it). Go out at night and spritz any
slugs you find. The ammonia dissolves their slime coat and does them in.

Dill is beloved by swallowtail caterpillars, but they don't usually eat the
plant down to the ground. That sounds more like rabbits.

Cheers,
Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


"Norma Briggs" wrote in message
That is what I am trying to figure out, my sage and basil have circular
nibbles right out of the middle of the leaves, and something ate my dill
down to the stem...grrr. However, the parsley, cilantro and chives have
not
been touched to date. Its a small memorial garden for my son so they are
all
pretty close together and
there is a good size layer of shredded leaves below the cedar and Cyprus
hard wood mulch on top of it all...so I am sure there is food for all
kinds
for insects. Maybe that is the problem....lol

thanks so much

njb

On Sun, 11 May 2003 19:54:09 GMT, "Norma Briggs"
wrote:


I wouldn't worry about yours too much unless you have a lot of plant
damage
that can't be attributed to something else, like slugs.

That is what I am trying to figure out, my sage and basil have circular
nibbles right out of the middle of the leaves, and something ate my dill
down to the stem...grrr. However, the parsley, cilantro and chives have not
been touched to date.

Rolly-polly bugs (pill bugs) never seem to bother anything
significantly. I always find them on the bottoms of pots, and I
suppose they crawl inside and do *something*, but they've never
appeared to be a major pest. I've also never seen one above ground
level, so holes in leaves can probably be attributed to another
critter.

Frogleg wrote:

Rolly-polly bugs (pill bugs) never seem to bother anything
significantly. I always find them on the bottoms of pots, and I
suppose they crawl inside and do *something*, but they've never
appeared to be a major pest. I've also never seen one above ground
level, so holes in leaves can probably be attributed to another
critter.

Just FYI. I read a book on insects and gardens several months ago
written by an entomologist. He wrote that the roly-poly bugs are
actually not insects. They're in the crustacean family. And they
have gills. So next time you have a hankering for shrimp or lobster....

(I have no idea if they're edible)

Just FYI. I read a book on insects and gardens several months ago
written by an entomologist. He wrote that the roly-poly bugs are
actually not insects. They're in the crustacean family. And they
have gills. So next time you have a hankering for shrimp or lobster....

WOW! I would have never thought roly-poly bugs had gills-lean something
everyday!


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In article ,
Karen Zack writes:
| I have to agree with Sue - Sluggo works great at keeping slugs and
| snails away. I'm not sure I know what you mean by "pill bug," but if
| that's those little bugs that curl themselves into a ball (I've always
| called 'em rolly-poleys) - if we're talking about the same thing, I've
| had some troubles with them in my strawberry bed this year. At first I
| assumed it was slugs, but then I'd pick off the ones with holes in them
| and very often find the rolly-poley inside the berry. What I don't know
| is whether the slugs are doing the damage and the rolly-poleys are just
| canibalizing the damaged fruit, or whether they're causing it in the
| first place.

The former. While they can damage seedlings, they rarely do, and
their normal food is rotting vegetation.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

sugarchile"
thanks for the sluggo site. I also found fly traps and roach bait.
yay!
Roz
az usa