How to Get Rid of Potato Bugs

Get Rid of Potato Bugs, Bugs abound in the garden, and fortunately only a few of them are pests. Of those, potato beetles are one of the most voracious.

Before deciding if you have a "potato bug" problem, it's critical to first identify the "bug" that you mean. The name "potato bug" is often applied to land isopods, also called pillbugs or rolly-pollies. Some isopods don't roll up, and are called sow bugs or wood lice. These creatures are not "bugs" at all - that is, they're not insects, though like insects they're arthropods, creatures who wear their skeletons on the outside. Isopods are crustaceans, and the ones found in the garden, under rocks, or under rotting wood are the only crustaceans to live on land. These small creatures are mostly harmless in the garden, and do a great deal of good, munching away on dead plants, grinding up scraps in the compost heap, and generally minding their own business. Sometimes they'll go after emerging plant shoots, and then simple deterrents like ashes or diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the young seedlings will keep the pillbugs at bay until the plants are large enough to fend for themselves.