SP> JF>        I think I had tomato hornworms last year... what
SP> are potato JF>beetles?  Are they those grey things that curl
SP> up when touched?  I've heard JF>people call  them potato bugs
SP> or roly poly's... I don't know my bugs too JF>well...
SP> The grey things sound suspiciously like cutworms, which will
SP> chop very tender or tiny seedlings off just above soil level.
SP> I foil them with cardboard or paper collars placed around my
SP> tomato seedlings. An alternate method is to place a small
SP> twig beside each seedling VERY CLOSE right next to the stem,
SP> touching it. The cutworm can't wrap his tail all the way
SP> around, preparatory to the Big Chomp; so he falls down,
SP> grumbling. But I find the paper collars more reliable. :-)
SP> Cutworms will hide near the base of their latest meal, in a
SP> little mound of soil. Search for these mounds and kill the
SP> nasty critters. Or else get some ducks to do it for you.
If those grey things that curl up when you touch them look like 
they are armored then they are sow bugs.
They are good for your garden and sometimes bad for your plants.
They help aerate the soil and help dead leaves and grass 
clippings to become mulch but they also love roots.
Your collar idea sounds good but maybe a section cut out of a 
plastic milk bottle might be better since it won't dissolve if it 
gets wet from rain or watering.
Katie
kmweber@ibm.net
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 þ RM 1.31 0723 þ Be reasonable ... Let's do it my way.
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