Dusty Plants

I must admit that I had a little grumpy spell yesterday. My after a day of hard work, we were just standing outside surveying our work, then I remembered something. In my Neil Sperry egarden newsletter, I read that now was the time for putting out whatever praparation we used for slugs. so Dh went to the shed and got the sluggo and spread it around. No problem there, but we also have cutter worm damage to my primrose leaves, so he dusted all my plants with sevin. I looked at my now dusty plants, and wanted to cry. I told him that it's either chewed leaves or dusty plants...Why do I have a garden if it's going to be ugly? I felt bad later, and apologized for my bad mood, and today, I'm over it.

I know some of you will be upset with me for using sevin dust, but last year, I avoided pesticides, and ended up with a chewed up mess of a garden. Are there any suggestions of a more organinc way to get rid of these pests?

Slugs hate coffee grounds - see this link - http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/492115/ - You can also try "beer traps", but then you have to dispose of the repulsive creatures (a jar of beer buried up to its top in your garden). I don't know about cutter worm, but I sure hope I don't have any...
Christine

Jan, please read carfully the lable of the slug-poison. I hope you have better products in the States than the ones we have here. The only slug-killing-pellets available here do also kill domestic animals (that are also attracted to eat them). Knowing you have a feral kitty colony, I urge you to check this. The slug pellets available here do not have any antidote and I have seen doggies and kitties die a terrible death at a friend's Vet clinic.

Please make sure the product you are using will not harm your kitties.

Ursula

I researched the product "sluggo" online, and found that it's organic, and harmless to humans and pets. When I first noticed that I have slugs, we read each lable, adn all had the same warning about pet safety, so I never bought anything, until I found this. I also have diatamacious earth, which isn't harmful to animals. It says it will kill mosquitos, and I'm hoping that's correct.

Thank you so much for your concern. I'm just like you when it comes to my pets, and I almost gave up the idea of gardening, because I refuse to use anything that will harm them. I'm slowly learning that I can have my cats and my garden.

Jen

jdee, I have heard that the main slug-killing ingredient in products like Deadline is copper. It sort of "shorts" them out. Haven't done it yet, but I've been playing around with an idea to create some containers or decorative edging that would have copper wire or tubing embedded or wrapped around them somehow.

Mark Bowen ("Naturalistic Landscaping") spoke at The Arbor Gate in Tomball last Saturday. One thing he said was that it really is too much to expect to just eradicate all of certain pests, because they will keep coming back for the delicious food we are growing in our gardens. He said we should be aiming for a balance that is tipped in favor of the beneficial bugs, so that they can do the work for us. For instance, asclepias tuberosa, Mexican Milkweed, attracts aphids like crazy. But no problem, that plant is used to it and doesn't suffer from the aphids. In the meantime, the aphids go there, and completely ignore the roses, etc. In addition, all the aphids attract ladybugs, assasin bugs, and some kind of wasp (can't remember the name, but they don't sting humans). Those bugs go after the aphids AND whiteflies, etc. (I have Mexican Milkweed in my garden, and have not seen an aphid on any of my other plants since then, and the ladybug population is way up this year! Plus, it's very attractive to butterflies, and is the larval host for monarchs.)

You could always stand out there with a stick and a shaker of salt. At least you would get a little sick pleasure out of the deal. LOL We all have those days. Then we go plant something else. :)

lol! I was picturing her standing out there with a stick, waving it in the air and threatening the slugs with a sound thrashing!

lol I've actually thought about it.

Well, I think it was konkreteblond who said that threatening her plants seemed to get them blooming, maybe threatening the slugs will work. At the very least, you'll get all kinds of pent-up frustrations out. ;-)

They're just terrible here. I think they leave their slimey trail, then have a salad in my garden, laughing at me the whole time.

I am not usually a violent creature. But when it comes to them or the plants...POKE! Or I let the kids play with them. The stick is probably nicer.

My cats will chase and play any bug to death, but they just arent interested in the slugs. I don't know if it's because they move so slow, or because they feel so icky.

Icky, surely!

Oh yeah, icky, yucky and slimy. I'm amending all my garden beds with coffee grounds, and I'll use the diatamacious as well later once it warms up more. I actually don't drink caffienated coffee, so I'm buying the biggest cans of coffee I can find (i.e., cheap) and sprinkling the grounds on the earth full strength. Some people have said that they can get used coffee grounds from Starbucks and other coffee shops, and that works too.

Yes, I get used coffee grounds from Starbucks to supplement my own- it's just me, and the only coffee I drink at home is on the weekends, so it doesn't add up to much.

You can also use crushed (but not too fine) egg shells around the plants, it's scratchy to the slugs and still benefits the soil.

Thanks for the tip Maggiemoo - except we eat less eggs than you do coffee ... lol ... doesn't add up to one a week ... sigh... I should start a neighbourhood egg shell collection... "It'll be good for our gardens, we'll get rid of the slugs!!"...lol. Seriously though, I'll start saving them anyway and use them where I can. Maybe I'll start baking more... Thanks.

I also use crsushed oyster shell mixed with egg shells and coffee grounds.....works wonders on everything except my hostas, seems the snails and slugs will barve it all for a bite of my hostas :-(

I have a friend who's a hosta fanatic - last count they had about 50 different varieties, including a few miniatures. Every spring I go there, and they have "dusty hostas" too - I didn't realize until now why they were doing it, I better let them know about this, eh! Especially since our respective regions are outlawing insecticides soon. Thanks RikerBear.

Maybe small copper fences, with copper barbed wire on top, and little copper signs that declare "NO SLUGS!" might be in order. Unfortunately, slugs are the illiterates of the garden pest world.

LOL !!

When I moved into my house 14 years ago the backyard was a jungle. We had mutant slugs! They were up to 8 inches long and thick as can be. They would crawl on our garage at night and mate! Eww!!! My husband came flying out of the garage one day with this horrified look on his face and said to me "don't go in there - there's an animal in there - it looks like a snake with two antennaes on it's head!" He had never seen a slug before! Anyway we battled slugs with vinegar and salt and chopping them in half with spades until the glorious day when the Possum family moved into my neighbors garage. Mama Possum was bigger than my dog! No more slugs since then! Apparently possums like to eat them.

So if I get a possom or two, will they hurt my cats? lol

Being a feral colony I think your cats could probably kick some possum butt! LOL

LOL!!

chuckles!

Ducks like slugs a lot too. Cuter than opossums as well :-)

But less cat resistant. :)

Ok, I'm back. Things are pretty serious now. I've already told all of you that I have slugs. Well, today, I think I found thier leader under my pet taxi. EEEWWWWW!!


Edited to correct spelling errors.

This message was edited Apr 9, 2005 12:07 AM

Oh, yuck. Good luck getting rid of them. Have you tried anything else yet?

Hi there :) Have you ever tried putting out grapefruit halves??? I've read that you can lure the little buggers to these like magnets. In the morning, lift up your halves, collect the slugs (scoop with a trowel, maybe) and dunk em in soapy water. Sound like fun??? No way! But, I've heard it works like a charm and after a couple of weeks, slug #s are down dramatically... might be worth it :)

Also wanted to mention that toads are a natural predator of slugs. Are kitties natural predators of toads?? LOL -- really, making your garden more inviting to harmless toads can help control the slugs. They like upsidedown terracotta pots w/ a portion broken out of the rim as a door. The pots offer cool retreats from the sun :) Also, water of course is a bonus or a small sheet of partical board propped up about 3" with a rock on one end, then cover completely with dirt or mulch makes a little toad house :) LOL -- sounds crazy, I know. But, I'm planning on making a toad house next spring when I get my hosta bed going...

Take care :)
Jacci

How funny. I was looking at the garden decorations at Big lots yesterday, and I saw a Toad house. It was in the shape of a mushroom, with a roof on it. I just thought it was a decoration, I didn't know there are really houses for toads. I don't know if my cats would chase a toad or not. Mainly they chase those big tree roaches, locusts, and various bugs. I've also seen them chase squirrels, and the occasional blue jay or black bird that swoops down for a cat food nibble. They did catch a rat and a mole, so they're not ALL bad. Tomorrow, Dh and I are going to go out there together, with a spray bottle of amonia and water. I read in the hosta forum to fill a spray bottle with 15% amonia, 85% water, put the bottle on stream, and shoot them. I'm going to have dh with me, because bugs are too creepy to me. Something I guess I'm going to have to get over if I'm to become a real gardener.