PILL BUGS (AKA ROLY POLYS) & SNAILS

Last week, as I was preparing my garden beds for planting (for the very first time!), I discovered numerous snails and pill bugs (roly polys) in the soil. "Numerous" definitely being an understatement here. I did some reading about them and learned they are not friendly pests in the garden world. They chew seedlings, stems, roots and flowers and they eat my strawberries!

Snails in my garden

In my efforts to garden organically, I wanted to learn how to rid these bugs from my garden without using pesticides. It was suggested as a first resort to simply go out after dark and hand pick them since that is when they are most likely to come out to feed. After dark one evening, I ventured out into my garden and collected over a hundred snails. I went out the following night with my youngest son, made up a fun word called "bug patrol" and he collected another hundred snails and pill bugs. My little nephew, Trey, came over for a sleepover a few days later, and he was excited to head outside with gloves, a flashlight, and an empty bowl to collect bugs on our bug patrol! 

Placing potato slices around my garden and gathering them late at night has been helpful.

I read from a few sources to place raw potato slices in your garden in the evening and collect them late at night or early in the morning before it gets light as snails emerge after sunset and retreat back into the soil when it gets light. The pill bugs are supposed to like to eat from the raw potato as well. 

Last Thursday, I placed several raw potato slices around my garden in the evening and went out about 9:00pm to check them. They were covered with snails and pill bugs.

So far, just picking the snails and pill bugs out of the garden by hand has proven effective as well as leaving potato traps.