Bark stripped from young Cosmos stems

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ERNIECOPP Vista, CA Apr 13, 2013

What insect or small mammal is stripping the stem cover or bark from my small Cosmos? Similar appearance to a starving mouse stripping bark from a small tree trunk, but the young Cosmos stems are only 1/8 or 3/16" in diameter.

Ernie

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Apr 13, 2013

Snails, slugs, 'roly poly' and any of several other soil type 'creepy crawlies'.

Make a ring out of stiff cardboard (1/2 gallon milk carton is a great size, just cut it into several rings about 3" high.). Sink it into the soil maybe 1/2" deep around the Cosmos, and let it stick up a few inches.

Check at night with a flashlight.

Roll a few sheets of newspaper into a roll that is somewhere between snug and a bit loose. Set these perhaps a foot or two away from the plants. Leave them overnight. If you want to see what you have trapped, open the roll in the daylight into a bucket. Keep replacing the rolls. Never leave them out two nights in a row. You are trapping, then removing the pests.

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ERNIECOPP Vista, CA Apr 13, 2013

Diana,

I will do as you suggest tomorrow. We do have a lot of slugs and snails in wetter places, but that was so dry on top of the ground, I did not think it could be those. They do have some big Statis close by that would give them plenty of cool shade to hide under.

Thanks,
Ernie

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ERNIECOPP Vista, CA Apr 15, 2013

Snails were the culprit, as i put out some snail bait and found a lot of dead ones this morning. But without seeing it, i would have had a hard time believing that a full grown snail could climb a 3/'16ths stem and eat the bark all the way around.

The snails have lived under some Statice plants, which they do not harm, and i have not seen any slime tracks, so did not know they were there.

Ernie

Post #9484962
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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Apr 21, 2013

Snails have a very strong rasping tongue, and are quite capable of damaging plants as you describe. When several of them get together it can be a nightmare. Keep up the bait, eggs will be hatching!

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ERNIECOPP Vista, CA Apr 21, 2013

Diana,

Thanks, I will do that.

Ernie

Post #9492042
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