Woodlice eating tomatoes

beer enigma

The little critters have got into my greenhouse & totally wiped out one of my tomato plants !!

Lovely full bush full or fruit yesterday & today - toms full of holes :mad:

Any ideas how I stop them spreading - I've taken that plant out of the greenhouse, but I have 5 others in there all fruiting

looksee

There doesn't seem to be a lot of information about woodlice, we had the same problem with strawberries. Judging by the number of tiny soft woodlice in the holes in the strawberries, they were laying eggs in the hollows and the young ones had something to feed on when they hatched.

Anyway, since I think they cannot fly, you need to make a physical barrier round the pot bases. (are they in pots?) Apparently they have a very slow metablism, I read somewhere at one stage, and are very hard to drown because they can survive a long time under water. I wonder would they deliberately go into water to get somewhere though? How about a tray of water under each pot? Lift the pot onto something so it doesn't get waterlogged.

Otherwise a barrier of something, Vaseline comes to mind, but I don't think that would stop them. Something sticky? A few winds of sellotape, inside out? fly paper round the pots or on barriers that they have to climb over. Maybe there is a 'patent' way of stopping them, but thats a few ideas to get started on

beer enigma

Thanks - they are actually in grow bags which causes me a 'barrier' problem.

Strangely enough, this year I used the 'high feed' bio grow bags as I'm travelling a lot & dont have time to feed as much as I should & although the fruits are better than ever, I have a woodlice prob which I've never had. One website suggested 'feed rich' compost attracts the lice, so I wonder if I've brought this only myself.

I'm considering picking early & ripening indoors as they only seem to go for the softer fruits........

Corsendonk

Strange one, can't say i ever heard them ever attack toms, where are they hiding? Wood lice normally like dark moist places.