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HELP! Rollie Pollies... Good?! But they are eat my vegetables!!

 
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Sooooooo, Yes, Rollie Pollies are fantastic composters right? Well, I sheet mulched a section of my garden. Then I waited 6 months. Delicious wormy soil, and Rollie Pollies. Great I think. Then I start to plant my seeds that I have so carefully chosen and am so excited to get into my new living soil. Then they sprouts start to pop! Pop! POP! Next, they start disappearing, and no more spouts. But those damn Rollie Pollies that I love and loved as a kid, are eating all my seedlings. WHAT THE?#!?#? Now what do I do? Please help!
 
pollinator
Posts: 268
Location: Sunizona Az., USA @ 4,500' Zone 8a
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greening the desert
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Check this out - http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/forum/topics/pill-sow-bug-invasion?id=2008067%3ATopic%3A375786&page=2#comments
 
pollinator
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Location: southern Illinois, USA
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These, and earwigs, and slugs are some of the reasons I'm becoming less and less enamored of mulch here in the West, especially around small plants. I've found a dust of DE and wood ash to offer pretty good control most of the time. Straight DE would work, and ash alone might repel somewhat, but I found by trial and error that a blend of about 1/4 DE and 3/4 ash works almost as well as pure DE and so stretches out this purchased input…...
 
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Location: Colo
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Just make sure that the mulch is away from the stem by a few inches. Pollies seem to avoid this 'desert' and stay in the nice moist mulch.
 
steward
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Location: Torrey, UT; 6,840'/2085m; 7.5" precip; 125 frost-free days
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I've had good luck by cutting discarded plastic bottles into rings and using them as collars for seedlings.
 
Lisa Kohlhepp
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Thank you for your replies Wayne, Alder, Jonny, and Ann. I have tried all your suggestions and they ALL work! My seedlings are coming up, again, without being the rolly pollies' dinner.
Next question is, since I was trying the sheet mulching for the first time in my garden, and rolly pollies are helpful with composting, then how in the world do people sheet mulch and directly plant in it without all their seeds being eaten up? Are too many rolly pollies a sign of lack of another sheet mulch ingredient. I did a 3 parts carbon, to 1 part nitrogen, and adding some compost to help ignite the process, with about 5 inches of straw for mulch on top. It's a pretty simple sheet mulch. Any other suggestions?
Thanks so much!
 
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