Question
We live in a high humidity coastal climate and have a large population of earwigs and pill bugs. We are highly against using insecticide due to harming of good insects. Are earwigs and pill bugs harmful to plants and vegetables?
David
Pacifica
Answer
Pillbugs, and especially earwigs can be harmful to plants. Earwigs are notorious flower petal eaters. They can quickly destroy Dahlias, daisies, and other prized flowers. They feed on tender seedlings and new transplants. Pillbugs, in small numbers are not as harmful. They feed mostly on garden detritus. In larger numbers, they will aggressively eat seedlings just as they emerge from the soil. Sunflowers, beans, and peas are most susceptible. There is a safe, organic control for these bugs, Sluggo Plus. This product contains iron phosphate, a naturally occurring mineral, and spinosad a bacteria/actinomycete The bait has to be ingested therefore, it does affect predatory beneficial insects. The iron phosphate kills slugs and snails and the spinosad works on ants, earwigs, pillbugs.
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