problem is that the rollie pollies are eating them before we get a chance to
pick them. We have applied dicotomes earth but it has barely slowed them down.
What else can we try.
sometimes we call them pillbugs or sowbugs, can be a very common pest of soft
fruits and vegetables. These crustaceans (they are not insects but are more
closely classified closer to lobsters) usually feed and abound in rotting or
decaying plant matter which we usually call organic matter. Stuff from plants
which collects on the surface of the soil where it is wet will begin to decay.
Technical information on sowbugs in the Southwest
This decaying organic matter is a usual source of food for these common pests.
They can be good guys since they feed on decaying plant matter and convert it
to something that can be recycled and benefit the plants. Once they get
established they can get a little overzealous and start to consume other plants
or plant parts which are soft and succulent.
If strawberries come in contact
with the soil surface where these creatures are feeding they don’t distinguish
between soft decaying organic matter or soft succulent strawberries. So the
control measures usually focus on keeping the strawberries from touching
surface of the soil or decaying plant matter and picking when they are ripe and not letting them get soft.
This would require that the fruit
be kept elevated off of the soil surface. I wish that I had a good answer for
you on how to do this. I don’t. Other people may recommend using diatomaceous
earth but I am not convinced that this will work with your roly pollies. It is
better suited for very soft bodied pests which crawl along the surface of the soil.
These very sharp diatoms, at least this is the thought process, cuts or
lacerates the pest and they succumb to the lacerations.
You can also use traps
in the beds and remove them from the traps as they accumulate. This does not
exterminate them but it does help to reduce their numbers and hopefully the
damage from their numbers. These traps can be something that lies on top of the
soil surface such as strips of carpet, cardboard or wood.
Removing these pests
from these traps is simple. Since they like their social gatherings in darkness
they tend to gather in these shady spots. Remove the shade and remove them by
hand. You can also put out semi rotten tomatoes or other vegetables which will
act like magnets and attract these varmints.
Then you can scoop up these rotting fruits and vegetables along with the
pillbugs and dispose of them. That won’t
get rid of them but it will take the numbers down.
Sluggo Plus contains iron phosphide and spinosad and is labeled for sowbugs, pillbugs, and cutworms and is registered as an organic pest control product for gardens and available at Home Depot. The original sluggo is for controlling slugs and snails.