HELP! Pill bug invasion
Pill bugs have invaded my compost and not in just a little way! I live in the country and have dealt with pill bugs (as a kid we called them rolly-pollies) for 13 years but this year I'm at wits end. I don't want to poison my compost with chemical bug killers. Anyone have any ideas?
3 answers
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Don't do anything to them. Pill bugs eat decaying matter, so their actually helping speed up the process in your compost. They're harmless.
Catherine Smith
on Jun 04, 2013
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Thanks Catherine. I wouldn't mind a normal amount, in fact I would love a normal amount, of pill bugs but what I have is an explosion of pill bugs and they are covering everything in the compost and out of the compost. I've even found them eating live plants.
Nancy Hatcher
on Jun 04, 2013
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Hmm, sounds like the compost is pretty well broken down and the "pills" are looking for more dinner. You might want to pull some of the "finished" compost and add new material, so they will work on the "dead" stuff for you. You can use compost even if it still looks "rough" as a side dressing for your plants. If you want a prettier looking product to use as a mulch, shake it thru a fine sieved screen. My BIL made me one that looks much like a swing, but it's wide enough to get a wheelbarrow under and he put it on wheels, so we can get right next to the bins to use it.
Catherine Smith
on Jun 06, 2013
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