Need advice from experienced worm composter – I’m overrun with pillbugs?
I have been successfuy doing vermiculture for 5 years. Suddenly I have a zillion pillbugs in the bedding. I use a several layered, ventilated plastic composting bin. I know they came in with the small amount of dirt I add for grit when I re-did the bedding – but how do I get rid of them?? I’ve tried hand picking, but they multiply faster than I can pick. I don’t want to use poisons.
what if your finished compost is infested with sow or pill bugs and you want to use it where seedlings are growing? Do you have to start all over again? No. Spread the compost in a thin layer on a tarp in direct sunlight and leave it there to dry. The bugs will bail out quickly.
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-3-79-361,00.html
corn cobs attract sowbugs..spider that eats them exclusively:
http://www.ghorganics.com/page9.html#Sow%20or%20Pill%20bugs:
While sowbugs will nibble on young seedlings and roots, they prefer decayed matter, moist wood, moist decaying vegetation, fallen fruit, manure, carrion, other sowbugs and their own feces. Their coprophagous habits are due in part for a need to extract extra nutrients from their food and to recapture copper, a much-needed metal that is used to carry oxygen in their blood. For the most part sowbugs are beneficials that break down organic matter much like earthworms. These harmless scavengers do not bite, sting, transmit disease nor do they bother clothing or food.
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/041201/garden0412.html
so copper might be an attractant too.
it also says:
they can come in several different colors like tan, pale orange, light gray and even purple or lavender. That is due to molting, but they soon turn dark as their new shell hardens.
While molting is vital in the growing process of all crustaceans, with sowbugs it…
that last part means two things..Neem might work and it might not. I say it might because since sowbugs moult they are candidates to be victims of neem. but since they are crustaceans instead of insects i wonder if it removes them from being candidates of neem.
they are the ONLY land crustacean. and they have gills. <this is a big reason they are doing so well in ur worm bed, because it is moist.
neem is a poison, which you did not want, BUT neem might be an exception because worms happen to love it. they are said to actually proliferate more profusely with it than with regular food<<that doesn’t sound possible (i have a worm colony too!) but:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=neem+earthworms&ei=utf-8&fr=b1ie7
^^that’s lots of links and we did see one hit that says it might be bad. this page kind of says what we heard about the good stuff:
http://www.wormdigest.org/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&id=2163&catid=4&func=sb_pdf
a little off topic, but>>the use of it as a fertilizer is kind of alarming because it is said to impart good protection on the plants, suggesting they take some of it up. but it causes temporary infertility in test animals (temporary until they stop eating it). <<that is alarming if it is being incorporated into food crops. It is generally thought harmless on food crops because it breaks down in 50 – 100 hours if exposed to light, water or air. I wonder if it’s properties are preserved in castings created by worms fed on it.
back on topic..
if u look into, keep in mind that what u want is the neem extract, raw leaves or cake, not the oil or soap. the oil and soap have been made in such a way that they do not have the chemical that disrupts the molting process.
so other than all of that, the only other idea we have is doing a deep dive. i mean the pillbugs are said to dig a few inches into the soil but worms can probably go much deeper. so if u made only the bottom of the bin hospitable u may be able to starve out or skim off the top dwellers?
here is a page that has a few worm forums on it. so u can ask around maybe:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=vermiculture+forum&ei=utf-8&fr=b1ie7
Incoming search terms for the article:
- how do earthworms extract nutrients from their food
- compost invested with wood/sow bugs
- worm composting pill bugs
- vermiculture sow bugs
- vermiculture neem
- vermiculture corn cobs
- vermiculture bugs
- vermiculture and sow bugs
- pillbugs and copper
- pillbug fertilizer
what if your finished compost is infested with sow or pill bugs and you want to use it where seedlings are growing? Do you have to start all over again? No. Spread the compost in a thin layer on a tarp in direct sunlight and leave it there to dry. The bugs will bail out quickly.
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-3-79-361,00.html
corn cobs attract sowbugs..spider that eats them exclusively:
http://www.ghorganics.com/page9.html#Sow%20or%20Pill%20bugs:
While sowbugs will nibble on young seedlings and roots, they prefer decayed matter, moist wood, moist decaying vegetation, fallen fruit, manure, carrion, other sowbugs and their own feces. Their coprophagous habits are due in part for a need to extract extra nutrients from their food and to recapture copper, a much-needed metal that is used to carry oxygen in their blood. For the most part sowbugs are beneficials that break down organic matter much like earthworms. These harmless scavengers do not bite, sting, transmit disease nor do they bother clothing or food.
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/041201/garden0412.html
so copper might be an attractant too.
it also says:
they can come in several different colors like tan, pale orange, light gray and even purple or lavender. That is due to molting, but they soon turn dark as their new shell hardens.
While molting is vital in the growing process of all crustaceans, with sowbugs it…
that last part means two things..Neem might work and it might not. I say it might because since sowbugs moult they are candidates to be victims of neem. but since they are crustaceans instead of insects i wonder if it removes them from being candidates of neem.
they are the ONLY land crustacean. and they have gills. <this is a big reason they are doing so well in ur worm bed, because it is moist.
neem is a poison, which you did not want, BUT neem might be an exception because worms happen to love it. they are said to actually proliferate more profusely with it than with regular food<<that doesn’t sound possible (i have a worm colony too!) but:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=neem+earthworms&ei=utf-8&fr=b1ie7
^^that’s lots of links and we did see one hit that says it might be bad. this page kind of says what we heard about the good stuff:
http://www.wormdigest.org/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&id=2163&catid=4&func=sb_pdf
a little off topic, but>>the use of it as a fertilizer is kind of alarming because it is said to impart good protection on the plants, suggesting they take some of it up. but it causes temporary infertility in test animals (temporary until they stop eating it). <<that is alarming if it is being incorporated into food crops. It is generally thought harmless on food crops because it breaks down in 50 – 100 hours if exposed to light, water or air. I wonder if it’s properties are preserved in castings created by worms fed on it.
back on topic..
if u look into, keep in mind that what u want is the neem extract, raw leaves or cake, not the oil or soap. the oil and soap have been made in such a way that they do not have the chemical that disrupts the molting process.
so other than all of that, the only other idea we have is doing a deep dive. i mean the pillbugs are said to dig a few inches into the soil but worms can probably go much deeper. so if u made only the bottom of the bin hospitable u may be able to starve out or skim off the top dwellers?
here is a page that has a few worm forums on it. so u can ask around maybe:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=vermiculture+forum&ei=utf-8&fr=b1ie7
References :
Hi, mate. Scientists have tested this in the laboratory and have now approved of this new technique to composting: worm composting. Read more advice from this blog http://composting.wpblogspot.com/
References :