Mushroom Pests and How to Control Them 



F. than higher, since at low tempera- 

 tures the springtails breed more 

 slowly. Dusting the tops of thebeds 

 with powdered lime is also said to 

 discourage attack by springtails. 



SOWBUGS 



Considerable injury is often accom- 

 plished to mushroom beds through the 

 attacks of oval, grayish or slate-colored 

 creatures bearing seven pairs of legs. 

 These creatures are not true insects, al- 

 though known variously by the terms 

 " wood lice," " sowbugs," and " pillbugs." 

 Two species, the greenhouse pillbug* 

 and the dooryard sowbug" are illus- 

 trated in Figures 4, 5, and 6. 



Sowbugs frequent damp, dark places, 

 such as those beneath boards, in 

 cellars, and in the cracks of side- 

 walks. When disturbed many species 

 roll up to form a ball, lying quite still 

 until the danger is past. (See fig. 5.) 

 During the night they issue from their 

 hiding places to feed upon decaying 

 vegetable matter, molds, and other ma- 

 terial present in damp soils, although 

 at times the roots of plants and even 

 the green leaves are not eschewed. 



The young are carried about in a 

 pouch, formed by several modified 

 anal plates on the abdomen of the fe- 

 male, until able to shift for them- 

 selves. When released by the female 

 the young are similar in appearance 

 to the adults, although much smaller, 

 and are likewise capable of damage. 

 There is probably only one generation 

 annually, the young making their ap- 

 pearance in the spring and requiring 

 one summer to reach maturity. 



Pig. 4. — The greenhou&e pillbaig- (Armadil- 

 Jkllumviilgare) extended. Much enlarged 



The destruction occasioned by sow- 

 bugs i.s due to their attacks on the 

 caps or fruiting bodies of mushrooms. 

 These they attack while quite small, 



destroying them or injuring their ap- 

 pearance. They do not, as a rule, at- 

 tack the mycelium, but eat holes in, 

 the young *' buttons," which, on the 

 completion of the growth, become 

 much larger and disfigure the product. 

 Sowbugs are frequently carried into 

 the mushroom house in compost which 

 has been allowed to stand outside. 

 The heat of the manure is relivshed by 

 them, and they collect in numbers, re- 

 maining throughout the growth of the 

 spawn and becoming injurious with 

 the first growth of the mushrooms. 



Fig. 5. — The greenhouse pillhug {Armadil- 

 Jidiinn vulgare) contracted. Much en- 

 larged 



The writer has seen sowbugs congre- 

 gated in manure piles to stich an ex- 

 tent that numbers aggregating a pint 

 or more in quantity might have been 

 collected from a shovelful of material. 



REMEDIES 



Where the mushroom house is small 

 in extent it is possible materially to 

 reduce the number of sowbugs by 

 means of hand picking. The house 

 may be visited at night, when by the 

 aid of a lantern numbers of sowbugs 

 may be seen crawling about on the 

 earthen casing of the beds and upon 

 the boards and supports of the 

 benches. These may be destroyed 

 with a small wooden paddle. 



It is also possible to obtain good Re- 

 sults by pouring hot water along the 

 cracks in the boards and in other 

 places where the " bugs " may be con- 

 cealed by day. This is effective in 

 small establishments, but is somewhat 

 diflScult of application in large houses. 

 In such a case fumigation with hydro- 

 cyanic-acid gas is an effective remedy. 



Another method is to cut small 

 pieces of raw potato, plastering the 

 wet surface with Paris green, and 

 lay them on the beds in the locali- 

 ties affected by the sowbugs. This 

 method is frequently successful in en- 

 tirely ridding houses of this pest. 



A modification of this treatment suc- 

 cessfully used by the writer in the 



' Armadillidium vulgare Latreille. 



PorcetUo laevis Koch. 



