Hi all! Prepping for seed sowing next weekend and need advice. I believe I read that some of the brassicas love a shot of organic material 2 grow in. I have a lovely pile of homemade compost, just waiting 2 B sifted into service. Last fall I sifted my compost into a small veggie bed that grew great produce. But I was constantly battling pillbugs and other crawlies that teemed in the compost by the hundreds and munched on my turnip leaves! I wanna use it again in the veggie bed and also in my eBuckets for the cauliflower and broccolis I'll be growing. Any advice on keeping the pillbugs away would be appreciated! Linda
Cleaning My Compost of Buggies
Sluggo-Plus will kill pill bugs - be sure it's Sluggo-Plus 'cause the plain Sluggo will only kill slugs. This stuff really works!
HoneybeeNC,
Thanks for the tip. I'll look for it this week!
Linda
Hmmm,
I misread your title and thought you had a parakeet problem...
You know, budgies!
Bolino, are you suggesting that we use Sluggo Plus to control parakeets? :-)
Maybe the parakeets will eat the slugs...
Pill bugs in compost are an indicator that the compost isn't quite done cooking... and when they are let loose in the garden, they "should" only be eating decomposing materials.
One thing I often do after I turn my compost is let it set for awhile - the pill bugs will come up to the top, and I just scoop 'em up with a coffee cup and put them back in the cooking compost pile. It is sort of meditative and relaxing if you aren't pressed for time. Remember, pill bugs like dark, so I will often cover my compost for a few minutes, then uncover it and capture the little buggers... this is also a good activity for a 4 year old. Offer them a penny a bug!
Happygirls in Pleasant Hill, CA have lots of time for catching pillbugs!
The four-yr-old would be RICH.
My pillbugs aren't very well-behaved if they should only be eating the decomp!
My compost pile never gets hot. It's a cold and slow process, cause I love the worms more than the pillbugs!
Now the worms? I'll sit and fish 'em out for days! I have HUGE worms in the pile.
Thanks Happygirl!
Linda