Protaphorura fimata Gisin (Collembola: Poduromorpha: Onychiuridae) feeds on the germinating seeds of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), causing severe stand losses in the northern Salinas Valley of California. Because there is no grower-friendly tool available to monitor P. fimata in the commercial lettuce fields to guide management decisions, we examined the potential utility of potato slices (Solanum tuberosum L.), typically used to monitor garden symphylan, Scutigerella immaculata Newport, and beet slices (Beta vulgaris L.) as baits for P. fimata capture and compared them with P. fimata extracted from the soil using the Berlese funnel method. Results suggest that both potato and beet slices were attractive to P. fimata as they captured greater numbers of P. fimata when deployed in the soil than were extracted using a Berlese funnel. Between beet and potato, beet slices captured significantly greater numbers of P. fimata than potato slices in both years. In addition, two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of extended exposure of beet slices on P. fimata captures. Data suggest that greater numbers of P. fimata were captured with 1-d than 5-d exposure periods. However, there was no difference among 1- to 4-d exposures of beet in the soil.