Hi there,

Around here, there are a fair amount of slaters,
also called rolly-pollies, pill-bugs, sow-bugs
etc.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=slater

When tilling my little bit of land (formerly just
neglected grass in densely-packed soil), I found
some things a few cm.s deep, that might be slater
lavae or something. They were white/clear, and
didn't move when disturbed. (I also found a
developing caterpiller that got up and walked
away...)

So, are slaters dangerous for veggies (going in
over the next few weeks.)

Thanks in advance for your advice!


--
Guide To DIY Living
http://www.self-reliance.co.nz
(Work in progress)

Down Under On The Bucket Farm wrote:

Hi there,

Around here, there are a fair amount of slaters,
also called rolly-pollies, pill-bugs, sow-bugs

While these little guys usually eat decaying organic matter, they can
be terrible pests of seedlings. They will show up en masse and eat
things right to the ground. I start seeds outdoors in a sheltered
area and have to put the flats up on a table--if I leave the flats on
the ground, everything gets eaten. I also have to be very scrupulous
about turning the mulch pile, raking up drifts of fallen leaves, and
getting rid of places they like to hide. They're awful. I wish
something would eat them!!

Monique Reed
College Station, TX

Down Under On The Bucket Farm writes:
Around here, there are a fair amount of slaters,
also called rolly-pollies, pill-bugs, sow-bugs
etc. [...]
So, are slaters dangerous for veggies (going in
over the next few weeks.)

Try a google search for slaters on the aus.gardens newsgroup for the
local opinions.

Slaters seem to function by cleaning up rotting material.
I have never seen any damage that could be pinned onto slaters, and have
gardened where there were many. I have found them on the base of some
strawberry fruits, but these have always been those few fruit that were
making direct contact with the soil rather than sitting on straw, and
I've assumed that the fruit had already begun to rot before it proved
attractive to the slater. (Otherwise they would be on fruit that wasn't
in contact with the soil, too.)

Others have written that they HAVE experienced damage to some healthy
plants.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

Around here, there are a fair amount of slaters,
also called rolly-pollies, pill-bugs, sow-bugs

While these little guys usually eat decaying organic matter, they can
be terrible pests of seedlings. They will show up en masse and eat
things right to the ground. I start seeds outdoors in a sheltered
area and have to put the flats up on a table--if I leave the flats on
the ground, everything gets eaten. I also have to be very scrupulous
about turning the mulch pile, raking up drifts of fallen leaves, and
getting rid of places they like to hide. They're awful. I wish
something would eat them!!

If you're talking about slaters - we call them woodlice - they are eaten by
something. My chickens would die for them.

Mary

Monique Reed
College Station, TX