I did a brief search on how to repell these crustasians, but wasn't
satisfied as there are mostly methods to kill them. I don't want to
kill them, I want to repell them till my plants are large enough to
sustaine any damage they do. Will cayenne pepper help if I sprinkle
it on the plants?

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

I did a brief search on how to repell these crustasians, but wasn't
satisfied as there are mostly methods to kill them. I don't want to
kill them, I want to repell them till my plants are large enough to
sustaine any damage they do. Will cayenne pepper help if I sprinkle
it on the plants?

I've never had pill bugs damage my plants...

The worst they've ever done is eat some spots out of any veggies
touching the ground.

My yard is full of them. I like them because they eat dog poop. :-)
Excellent little composters.
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On Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:45:31 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

I've never had pill bugs damage my plants...

The worst they've ever done is eat some spots out of any veggies
touching the ground.

My yard is full of them. I like them because they eat dog poop. :-)
Excellent little composters.

Well, they are eating my Lobelia cardinalis, variegated morning glory
seedlings, and some others. I never had trouble with them in the past
that I know of. I also have a billion snails, but I physically saw
the pill bugs eating the foliage today.

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

On Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:45:31 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

I've never had pill bugs damage my plants...

The worst they've ever done is eat some spots out of any veggies
touching the ground.

My yard is full of them. I like them because they eat dog poop. :-)
Excellent little composters.

Well, they are eating my Lobelia cardinalis, variegated morning glory
seedlings, and some others. I never had trouble with them in the past
that I know of. I also have a billion snails, but I physically saw
the pill bugs eating the foliage today.

If you don't want to kill the snails, you are going to have to hand pick
them. Otherwise, put out some pans of beer.

As for pill bugs, being crustaceans, they breath thru gills and the soil
must be wet.

Try some diatomaceous earth in a dry border around the plants. You may
kill a few, but it will most likely repel the smart ones? ;-)

Good luck!

I start my MG's in pots then transplant them. Being up on potting
shelves, pill bugs can't get to them.
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Peace, Om

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In article ,
Steve Wertz wrote:

On Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:45:31 -0600, Omelet wrote:

My yard is full of them. I like them because they eat dog poop. :-)

Hire some dung beetles. Much quicker and hours of fun.

=sw

lol

Mail me some if you can find them! ;-D

I mostly just pooper scoop but pill bugs eat any I miss.
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On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:02:30 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

If you don't want to kill the snails, you are going to have to hand pick
them. Otherwise, put out some pans of beer.

Beer kills them.

As for pill bugs, being crustaceans, they breath thru gills and the soil
must be wet.

Yes, I know. This is happening near my pond.

Try some diatomaceous earth in a dry border around the plants. You may
kill a few, but it will most likely repel the smart ones? ;-)

I don't want to kill anything. D.E. does not repell. It kills them.

Good luck!

I start my MG's in pots then transplant them. Being up on potting
shelves, pill bugs can't get to them.

I also start my seeds in pots. But I planted the variegated seedlings
because they were ready to be planted and they've been eaten to the
nub. The 'Heavenly Blue' are okay so far.

Eh. What is the worst; I won't have variegated morning glory's.

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:02:30 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

If you don't want to kill the snails, you are going to have to hand pick
them. Otherwise, put out some pans of beer.

Beer kills them.

I know...
So what are you going to do?

If you have the patience to hand=pick and relocate them, go for it. ;-)


As for pill bugs, being crustaceans, they breath thru gills and the soil
must be wet.

Yes, I know. This is happening near my pond.

Try some diatomaceous earth in a dry border around the plants. You may
kill a few, but it will most likely repel the smart ones? ;-)

I don't want to kill anything. D.E. does not repell. It kills them.

Some.
Not all.


Good luck!

I start my MG's in pots then transplant them. Being up on potting
shelves, pill bugs can't get to them.

I also start my seeds in pots. But I planted the variegated seedlings
because they were ready to be planted and they've been eaten to the
nub. The 'Heavenly Blue' are okay so far.

Eh. What is the worst; I won't have variegated morning glory's.

Heavenly blues are good enough for LSA... G

http://www.erowid.org/plants/morning...ng_glory.shtml

Seriously, they are a pretty plant.
I'm a bit confused about you losing mg's to pill bugs!
I'm over-run with pill bugs and I've never had an issue with them...

Oh well! shrugs
--
Peace, Om

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On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:00:50 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:02:30 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

If you don't want to kill the snails, you are going to have to hand pick
them. Otherwise, put out some pans of beer.

Beer kills them.

I know...
So what are you going to do?

If you have the patience to hand=pick and relocate them, go for it. ;-)


As for pill bugs, being crustaceans, they breath thru gills and the soil
must be wet.

Yes, I know. This is happening near my pond.

Try some diatomaceous earth in a dry border around the plants. You may
kill a few, but it will most likely repel the smart ones? ;-)

I don't want to kill anything. D.E. does not repell. It kills them.

Some.
Not all.


Good luck!

I start my MG's in pots then transplant them. Being up on potting
shelves, pill bugs can't get to them.

I also start my seeds in pots. But I planted the variegated seedlings
because they were ready to be planted and they've been eaten to the
nub. The 'Heavenly Blue' are okay so far.

Eh. What is the worst; I won't have variegated morning glory's.

Heavenly blues are good enough for LSA... G

http://www.erowid.org/plants/morning...ng_glory.shtml

Seriously, they are a pretty plant.
I'm a bit confused about you losing mg's to pill bugs!
I'm over-run with pill bugs and I've never had an issue with them...

Oh well! shrugs

I don't intentionally kill anything. I do kill billions of things
daily by breathing, but never intentionally. I guess that's my point.
'Heavenly Blue' is a variety of MG. I also have 'Flying Saucers,' and
others. Can't get enough. Maybe snails or slugs got to them, but
they definitely got to them one way or the other. My neighbor was
very upset last year when she didn't have my MG's spilling over her
side of the fence.

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

I don't intentionally kill anything. I do kill billions of things
daily by breathing, but never intentionally. I guess that's my point.
'Heavenly Blue' is a variety of MG. I also have 'Flying Saucers,' and
others. Can't get enough. Maybe snails or slugs got to them, but
they definitely got to them one way or the other. My neighbor was
very upset last year when she didn't have my MG's spilling over her
side of the fence.

Odd.


I find that morning glories are one of the FASTEST sprouting and growing
seeds I've ever done!

You may want to look at your potting mix???

Sorry, I've just never, ever had a problem with MG's and pillbugs. :-)

Maybe there is not enough for them to eat? G

Try feeding them if you don't want to kill them.

That is actually a viable alternative. I've read many things about
offering alternative plants to "pests" so they leave your wanted plants
alone.

Google for "companion planting".

For instance, I offer parsley and fennel to the baby swallowtail
butterflies so they will leave my dill weed alone. I move any
caterpillars that are on the wrong plants to the right ones... I'm not a
huge fennel fan and don't use a lot of parsley, plus parsley grows well
and prolifically so it's easy to spare the garden space.

I don't like to kill butterflies...

Now if I could just find something for the ones that infest my Passion
vines. ;-( I'm going to have to use BT this year for those. They
infested them so heavily, it almost killed the vines. They are in
horrible condition and they never even bloomed last year...

I think once I can get the vines going really well, it'll work out tho'.
--
Peace, Om

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"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 03:17:05 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

I don't intentionally kill anything. I do kill billions of things
daily by breathing, but never intentionally. I guess that's my point.
'Heavenly Blue' is a variety of MG. I also have 'Flying Saucers,' and
others. Can't get enough. Maybe snails or slugs got to them, but
they definitely got to them one way or the other. My neighbor was
very upset last year when she didn't have my MG's spilling over her
side of the fence.

Odd.


I find that morning glories are one of the FASTEST sprouting and growing
seeds I've ever done!

You may want to look at your potting mix???

Sorry, I've just never, ever had a problem with MG's and pillbugs. :-)

Maybe there is not enough for them to eat? G

Try feeding them if you don't want to kill them.

That is actually a viable alternative. I've read many things about
offering alternative plants to "pests" so they leave your wanted plants
alone.

Google for "companion planting".

For instance, I offer parsley and fennel to the baby swallowtail
butterflies so they will leave my dill weed alone. I move any
caterpillars that are on the wrong plants to the right ones... I'm not a
huge fennel fan and don't use a lot of parsley, plus parsley grows well
and prolifically so it's easy to spare the garden space.

I don't like to kill butterflies...

Now if I could just find something for the ones that infest my Passion
vines. ;-( I'm going to have to use BT this year for those. They
infested them so heavily, it almost killed the vines. They are in
horrible condition and they never even bloomed last year...

I think once I can get the vines going really well, it'll work out tho'.

I have been gardening for over 30 years. In Texas I've been gardening
for 14 years. My garden is registered both with Texas Department of
Parks and Wildlife as well as the World Wildlife Foundation. There
was nothing in our yard when we moved here. Just two seasons after we
started gardening our garden was on Central Texas Gardener television
show. I do think I know what I'm doing.

I was also a professional grower up in New York, managed a large
nursery where I was the director of the greenhouse operation. So, I
truly do know how to garden and something is eating my MG seedlings.
I started them many weeks ago. I'm letting them get really beefy
before I put them in the ground so they have a better chance. I also
have a perennial morning glory which strangled my entire yard last
summer. I hope that is gone. I don't see signs of it, yet. But, if
it comes up I will yank it out with verve!

Passion vines should recover quickly after being completely
defoliated. Caterpillars eating the foliage shouldn't prevent them
from flowering. Fertilization may not be done correctly. Also, I
give added nitrogen to passiflora so they put on a lot of foliage
during the migration and I up the phosphorous when the foliage starts
to grow again. I have P. incense and mine is unstopable. It also
comes up many dozens of feet away from the original plant, so it is
kind of invasive in that regard.

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

I have been gardening for over 30 years. In Texas I've been gardening
for 14 years. My garden is registered both with Texas Department of
Parks and Wildlife as well as the World Wildlife Foundation. There
was nothing in our yard when we moved here. Just two seasons after we
started gardening our garden was on Central Texas Gardener television
show. I do think I know what I'm doing.

Then why are you asking about pillbug control? ;-)


I was also a professional grower up in New York, managed a large
nursery where I was the director of the greenhouse operation. So, I
truly do know how to garden and something is eating my MG seedlings.
I started them many weeks ago. I'm letting them get really beefy
before I put them in the ground so they have a better chance. I also
have a perennial morning glory which strangled my entire yard last
summer. I hope that is gone. I don't see signs of it, yet. But, if
it comes up I will yank it out with verve!

Ooh, you are killing something! (sorry, could not resist)


Passion vines should recover quickly after being completely
defoliated. Caterpillars eating the foliage shouldn't prevent them
from flowering. Fertilization may not be done correctly. Also, I
give added nitrogen to passiflora so they put on a lot of foliage
during the migration and I up the phosphorous when the foliage starts
to grow again. I have P. incense and mine is unstopable. It also
comes up many dozens of feet away from the original plant, so it is
kind of invasive in that regard.

I suspect that the passiflora is not getting enough nitrogen... but I'm
still going to use BT this year. At least it's organic.

I've found a local bat roost and am planning to pick up some of the
composted guano from that site for a lot of this years plants.

Cheers!
--
Peace, Om

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"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 09:00:36 -0600, Omelet
wrote:


Then why are you asking about pillbug control? ;-)

I'm not. I asked if anything would repell them. We didn't have a big
problem with them up in New York.

Ooh, you are killing something! (sorry, could not resist)

A plant is not a sentient being, though a sentient being can live in a
plant. Still then, you are not killing the sentient being, it's in
one of the hell realms.


I suspect that the passiflora is not getting enough nitrogen... but I'm
still going to use BT this year. At least it's organic.

It's organic, but still a pesticide and still killing with intention.
I'm not saying you are any less than me because you choose to kill
anything, I'm simply expressing that I do not intentionally kill
anything and Bt, though very tempting, especially on my Mountain
Laurels, is out of the question.

I've found a local bat roost and am planning to pick up some of the
composted guano from that site for a lot of this years plants.

Cheers!

Yes, we do that too. Wear a mask and gloves and be very careful.
That is fresh guano and can carry many pathogens. I usually get mine
under the McNeil bridge in Round Rock. It's the second largest urban
bat colony in the world. Congress Avenue, Anne Richards bridge is the
largest urban colony in the world.

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 09:00:36 -0600, Omelet
wrote:


Then why are you asking about pillbug control? ;-)

I'm not. I asked if anything would repell them. We didn't have a big
problem with them up in New York.

Ooh, you are killing something! (sorry, could not resist)

A plant is not a sentient being, though a sentient being can live in a
plant. Still then, you are not killing the sentient being, it's in
one of the hell realms.

That's a matter of opinion... :-)
Many people talk to their plants, and experiments have shown that they
seem to respond to both that and music.



I suspect that the passiflora is not getting enough nitrogen... but I'm
still going to use BT this year. At least it's organic.

It's organic, but still a pesticide and still killing with intention.
I'm not saying you are any less than me because you choose to kill
anything, I'm simply expressing that I do not intentionally kill
anything and Bt, though very tempting, especially on my Mountain
Laurels, is out of the question.

At least it's selective... unlike Sevin which will kill any insect it
touches. I truly value my yard spiders!

The caterpillars last year did not just defoliate my plant once, it was
all year. I hand-picked a LOT of them off. One small new vine did not
survive.

I have a choice. Caterpillars temporarily that will finally kill their
food source, or an attempt to get a large, healthy vine established that
next year's crop of butterflies can eat at will...


I've found a local bat roost and am planning to pick up some of the
composted guano from that site for a lot of this years plants.

Cheers!

Yes, we do that too. Wear a mask and gloves and be very careful.
That is fresh guano and can carry many pathogens.

I don't think the bats are back yet are they?
The guano is sitting on cement (it's a freeway overpass) that has gotten
to compost all winter.

I usually get mine
under the McNeil bridge in Round Rock. It's the second largest urban
bat colony in the world. Congress Avenue, Anne Richards bridge is the
largest urban colony in the world.

I know. :-) I've watched that bat flight. (The Congress st. Bridge).

This is a new one. They are living up under the cement overhang on the
Centerpoint street bridge here in San Marcos, I've already reported the
find to Bat Conservation Intl. They informed me that the guy in charge
of DOT bridge building is doing this on purpose. Making the bridge
structures in certain areas bat compatible.

I was impressed. :-)

BCI keeps a record of known bridge colonies and was glad that I called
them.
--
Peace, Om

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"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 13:43:04 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

I don't think the bats are back yet are they?
The guano is sitting on cement (it's a freeway overpass) that has gotten
to compost all winter.

Only the female bats migrate. Most of the males remain here all
winter. Some do migrate with the females, but you can stand there and
hear them all year. In order to compost something you need a nitrogen
to carbon ration. Sitting cement doesn't mean the guano is composted.
It means it is laying there, most likely with all the pathogens it
would ordinarily have.

I know. :-) I've watched that bat flight. (The Congress st. Bridge).

This is a new one. They are living up under the cement overhang on the
Centerpoint street bridge here in San Marcos, I've already reported the
find to Bat Conservation Intl. They informed me that the guy in charge
of DOT bridge building is doing this on purpose. Making the bridge
structures in certain areas bat compatible.

I was impressed. :-)

BCI keeps a record of known bridge colonies and was glad that I called
them.

The entire nation is doing this with certain bridges. Since we
removed most of their natural habitats it's the least we can do.

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 13:43:04 -0600, Omelet
wrote:

I don't think the bats are back yet are they?
The guano is sitting on cement (it's a freeway overpass) that has gotten
to compost all winter.

Only the female bats migrate. Most of the males remain here all
winter. Some do migrate with the females, but you can stand there and
hear them all year. In order to compost something you need a nitrogen
to carbon ration. Sitting cement doesn't mean the guano is composted.
It means it is laying there, most likely with all the pathogens it
would ordinarily have.

Thanks for the warning... I'll take it to heart then and wear a mask.


I know. :-) I've watched that bat flight. (The Congress st. Bridge).

This is a new one. They are living up under the cement overhang on the
Centerpoint street bridge here in San Marcos, I've already reported the
find to Bat Conservation Intl. They informed me that the guy in charge
of DOT bridge building is doing this on purpose. Making the bridge
structures in certain areas bat compatible.

I was impressed. :-)

BCI keeps a record of known bridge colonies and was glad that I called
them.

The entire nation is doing this with certain bridges. Since we
removed most of their natural habitats it's the least we can do.

Indeed...

I'd like to see more swift towers go up too.
I may eventually build one here as they are excellent for mosquito
control.

I've GOT to hang those two bat houses that I have up too. Just have not
gotten around to it. I have the specs stored somewhere on the hard drive.
--
Peace, Om

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"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson