INSECT INFESTATIONS

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Pillbugs are among the most annoying uninvited residents. These small, grey, oval, many-legged, segmented crustaceans—which roll into a ball when disturbed—feed on plant debris and hide under boards and in crevices . . . to emerge when you're not looking and feed on roots and young seedlings. To prevent infestation, remove fallen leaves, plant flats, and other hiding places from the surface of the growing bed. I've also trapped pillbugs under potato pieces, apple peelings, and grapefruit and cantaloupe rinds.

Handpicking even a few pillbugs on a daily basis helps lower their numbers. I have no illusion that my greenhouse will ever be free of them (and they do help break down plant debris); I'll be satisfied if I can just keep them from destroying my seedlings. I often protect valuable new seedlings—like greenhouse cucumbers—by dusting around them with diatomaceous earth.

While pillbugs nibble on seedlings and young plants, another invader takes leaf pieces from older plants as well. If you spot such evidence—and a telltale trail of dried mucus—take a midnight safari into your greenhouse with a flashlight. I bet you'll find slugs, happy in all that damp lushness.

You can trap slugs as you do pillbugs, and also spread wood ashes or diatomaceous earth to irritate their soft bodies. But I just visit the greenhouse several hours after first dark, armed with a thick glove, a can, and a flashlight. If I handpick the slugs for 7 to 10 days, their numbers drop steadily. (My biggest haul was 50 in one raid!)

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