Pillbugs Eating My Strawberries - Knowledgebase Question

La Mesa, CA
Avatar for jhsophie
Question by jhsophie
June 3, 2001
Pilbugs are eating my straberries completely devouring them before I can pick them what can I do to get rid of them or keep them from eating the berries?


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Answer from NGA
June 3, 2001
Pillbugs, or sowbugs, are one of those beneficial soil dwelling critters that consumes decaying organic debris. They help break down dead plant matter, so killing them isn't recommended. Sometimes their populations, especially in cool, damp soils, gets overwhelming and they begin to attack living plant material. You can trap them by placing damp folded newspapers on the soil in the evening. The bugs will crawl between the folds to hide. In the morning pick up the newspapers and put them in the compost pile, where the bugs will help break down plant debris. After a few days of transporting the bugs out of your garden, you won't have such a problem with them, and they'll be in the compost where they can do the most good.

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