Pill bugs are destroying my cucumbers and tomato plants. Any suggestions on what to use to stop this insect from further damage?
2007-05-06 15:02:05 · 3 answers · asked by gogirl 5 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
Pill bugs rarely destroy established plants but can play havoc on seedlings. They are opportunistic eaters, eating whatever comes their way, but they are not mega eaters like grasshoppers. Pills bugs are usually going after tender, skinny growth (like seedlings), the manure in the soil and dead vegetation. Also they need moist conditions, especially the sowbugs, close relative that doesn't curl up as tight as a pillbug.
So first, if you have mulch, pull it back. Eliminate the buffet. Second, dry out the area without endangering the plants from drought. Third try spreading DE, diatomaceous earth around the plants. These are microscopic fossils that can pierce insect bodies.....problem is sow and pill bugs are well armored, but it's still possible to get under the shells. Finally try a Rotenone-Pyrethrin drench, make up a solution as if to spray, but pour it around the soil instead.
If that fails then you can go with the Sevin or Diazinon.
2007-05-06 16:51:22 · answer #1 · answered by fluffernut 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have never known pill bugs to be a cause of plant decline, though the are often present when a plant is already in decline. My quess is that there is also some sort of fungal disease complicating your problem. The pill bugs are a symptom.
2007-05-06 23:07:24 · answer #2 · answered by character 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
liquid seven you can get it at the home depot in a red bottle in the garden section
2007-05-06 22:07:57 · answer #3 · answered by tarpontime2006 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋