If you want to pickle some peppers for her right away why not try out the first run with some store bought jalapenos. I have always found when you pickle peppers it really kills the heat so you might need to add more heat then you would think.
It was a joke to lighten up the situation. If you are weeping for a wounded seagull (and there is nothing wrong with that) you shouldn't be eating meat from your grocery store if you are trying not to support animal cruelty.
Could try to add some diatomaceous earth to the top layer of the soil. Its really cheap and can be found at garden and feed stores. I have never used it for this before but have used it to kill ants. Anyways here is a little write up i found about how to use it on fungus gnats.
Never used...
Never heard of anyone using lava rock but lots of people use expanded clay pellets. First thing that comes to mind is lava rock is really sharp i wonder if this would hurt the roots and even more so if you decided to transplant. Most clay pellets i have seen are smooth round balls even hydro...