Rolly Polly's eating my new ferns

[jodee]

I am new to gardening, and just went out a little over a month ago and bought a couple of ferns and other perenial plants. But since of the heat and dry weather my ferns died down to nothing, but I still kept the grown moist just in case they came back from the root. And low and behold I started to see a little bit of green coming from the grown where one of them lived. I was so happy until the next day when I went out and found rolly polly's all over the grown and my new fern gone. I have been fighting rolly polly's all season, so I went and got my spray can, and powdered bug killer and went to work on the yard again. Like a charm my rolly polly population was back to low status, and a few days later both of my ferns started to emerge from the ground. Does anyone else have a rolly polly problem eating their plants? And what can I do to protect my new perenials?

Jodee

[opabinia51]

I don't know what you mean by Rolly Polly's but, instead of using a pesticide, you might try Neem Oil or research on what eats these guys and plants things that will attract the predators.

[Newt]

Hi Jodee,

Sow bugs and pill bugs aka Rolly Poleys can best be controlled by keeping the area clean of debris or they will soon return. They are more closely related to lobsters then anything else and breathe through gills. Here's some interesting info.
https://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/INSECTS/pill_bugs_sow_bugs_centipedes.htm
https://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/sow_bugs.htm#Controlling_Sow_Bugs
https://insected.arizona.edu/isoinfo.htm

Newt

[Guest]

Jodee I would try egg shells as they are used to kill some insects they cut them selves when walk on them and don't come back my ferns are getting ate also I thougt I try it next year as perennials are all dorment now I'm in zone5 a

[Newt]

Sharon, could it be that you have deer eating the ferns? Certain types eat different ferns at different times of the year.

Newt

[Guest]

Newt deer cant get in our yard we have a6 foot fence my dog likes to dig up the dead ones if I go to plant something he thinks hes helping me by digging a hole he likes to try and bring them in the house how do you stop that

[Guest]

I forgot my dog isnt a deer but is dear at sometimes I got a jack russel cross with a zhizo

[Grey]

Sharon, I also have dogs - one likes to "help" by digging holes. This is slightly off topic but, if you want to keep your dog from digging up plants, you have to be right there to catch him in the act and stop him.

There is no other good, proven method of "explaining" to a dog that his behavior is undesireable. Scolding him afterward will do no good, some people try spraying plants with bitter apple or hot sauce (MY dogs LIKE hot sauce) to no avail.

When you catch him at it, just say "uh-uh!" loud enough to get his attention so he knows you disapprove.

Good luck!

[Guest]

grey I'm going to try the hot sauce h likes to dig but I throw a ball or to distract him it works for a minute or too I thought of given him his own spot to dig

[Newt]

Dogs digging in a garden can cause quite a mess. I have a rescue that lived on a concrete patio all her life until she came to live with us. She digs in the garden when she's bored or smells something interesting like the toads that live here. Walking a dog and giving them exercise will also help to stop them from digging. The more she's walked, the less she digs.

Another of my dogs likes to dig if I add bone meal or blood meal to the soil. I don't use those anymore because of that.

Of course Grey's mention of catching them doing it and correcting them is one of the best ways to discourage them.

Since your dog is part Jack Russel, they are bred to dig out rodents, so it's part of his instictive behavior. Here's some helpful info about dogs that dig.
https://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1276&articleid=1137

Newt

Newt

[Guest]

Hello its me again I love ferns I don't know what would be eating them this spring ii dug alot of boston ferns in a empty lot by my house broke my ankle doing it got my husband to plant them along the fence I must of dug about 200 all together in the garden centers they are pretty expensive some were bitin on the foliage so we cut the foliage before we pllanted them

[Newt]

Sharon, so sorry to hear you broke your ankle! I hope you are all healed by now and had permission from the owners to dig in the lot.

I'm sure you've made a typo as Boston fern is a tropical fern and wouldn't be found growing in your area. Maybe you mean bracken fern? This site lists many ferns found growing in Ontario along with great photos and descriptive info. Maybe you can id your fern and we can go from there to find out what could have chewed on them.
https://ontarioferns.com/

Newt

[Guest]

I thought they were boston ferns but they are fiddlehead ferns I forget the other name for them

[Newt]

Sharon, fiddlehead is just a term for the newly unfolding frond. It's shaped like a fiddlehead. You may have to wait until they reappear in the spring and leaf out before you can tell what they are from that site I gave you. Of course if you see fronds still green during the winter or the brown spikes of Cinnamon fern, that will help to narrow it down.
https://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/plant/1308.htm

There are stick insects that feed on ferns. There is only one in Southern Ontario and Quebec - Northern Walking Stick. Ever see one of these guys?
https://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/natural/insects/projects/stickins.htm

I did find this site about insect and fern associations and it says:
https://www.springerlink.com/content/q10g0kj6650u3w57/?p=143de734647745c9b30d91c6276b4b8e&pi=0

Insects associated with ferns are mainly in the orders Hemiptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, with a high proportion of sap-feeders and specialist feeders restricted to ferns. Most of the ferns affected are polypodiaceous.

So when you find out which fern we might be able to narrow it down.
Newt

[Guest]

Itthink it is the cinnamon fern for sure I was thinking about it and looked it up at first I thougt it was the ostrich fern but it isnt its the cinnamon as we dug lots up where I used to work I had permission to dig them there was alot of english violets growing with them

[Newt]

Sharon, I have been searching for an hour now and can't find any specific bugs that bother these ferns. Wish I could be of more help. Maybe now they are in your garden you can watch more closely next year.

Newt