Anybody have a clever way to get rid of snails? I almost killed my poor dog with snail pellets last year and am afraid to use anything. I know that Sluggo is supposed to be safe but just want ideas from all of you experts!
Snails
Sluggo is the only thing that has worked for me. It will not harm your dog either.
Diatomaceous Earth http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/469794/
Yes, but you must use horticulural grade DE. The DE used for some pool filters has been heated which takes the sharp edges off the Diatoms etc, and it's the "broken glass-like" feature that makes DE work.
K :~D
I also use coffee grounds & you can spray them with coffee if I actually saw any. It takes about 5 minutes for the coffee to kill them. (I bought Cannas that had slugs in the pots experimented on using DE & spraying coffee. The DE curled them right up and I assumed they were dead when I threw them away??
Kachinagirl what is the source of your info, please. I have searched the Internet and didn't find a related article. There are various recommendations for and against both using food grade and pool filter but that was all I found. Have you tried the pool filter DE? I haven't tried the Ag DE since the pool grade appears to have worked for me. My mother has used it for 20 years and swears by it.
Meanwhile I'll be doing more research.
Judy
http://www.ghorganics.com/page13.html
Interesting.... although I don't agree with the DE statement
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/trees/ef407.htm
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG7561.html
This message was edited May 12, 2005 11:41 AM
Here is some info supporting my statement. I think the pool variety still helps with slugs and snails in the same way sawdust does because it is a dry barrier that is difficult for them to negotiate and may help dry them out. DE dust can be bad for our lungs so this is important info. for gardners!
http://www.safe2use.com/safe-products/diatomaceous/garrett-article.htm
http://www.deq.state.or.us/news/publicnotices/uploaded/050407_3841_2300032pn2005.pdf
K
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/501046/
Here's a link to a thread about snails and slugs. You might try posting this question on the organic gardening forum or the perennial forum.
Good idea Pixy, I bet they have all the pertinent info we need there!
K :~D
What about the beer in a two litter bottle. You cut the top part of the bottle off and invert it inside the bottom half and tape. Then poor in the beer and it gets them. Drunk dead slugs and snails.
Using beer would be alcohol abuse!!
Seriously, thank you all for the much needed info.
I'm going to try them all and let you all know which
works for me.
Well you can't say you weren't given a lot of choices!!! lol lol lol
Judy
Given a choice...I think I'd rather drink the beer while putting snails in a bucket to be taken to the trash....(OR I could go dump them on the neighbor's yard who sends his dog to my yard to do his business! Na, that won't work, his wife is a nice lady and she'd probably be the one stuck with snail patrol!) LOL
K @|:~D (snail hat)
uhhhhhhhhhhh what about salt water?
Yep, I have a lot of choices to get rid of these pesty creatures. What about salt water, twenty? I think I'll just drink a beer and pour salt water and coffee on them. How early is too early for a beer???!!
It's always 5 o'clock somewhere......isn't it? Besides, isn't it considered "medicinal" if we are purging snails from our garden? LOL
K
my thoughts exactly, "its 5'oclock somewhere" lol.
i just poor salt, and watch the nasty slimy things wither in pain. gross i know, but to me slugs are the epitome of gross....especially when they are squished between your toes..
going "ugh" just thinking about it
My Grandfather used to walk around with a bucket with about 4" of water and bleach in it. He (and I) would pick up snails and put them in the bucket. Done deal.
K
Ammonia mixed with water in a spray bottle is very satisfying and it does not hurt your plants, but for the times that you don't feel like Rambo and you want constant protection, I use old plastic tubs, like cottage cheese tubs, and cut openings around the bottom. Then I take off the lid, sprinkle in some snail bait (only need about a tablespoon) and pop back on the lid. I keep these tucked around the flowerbeds where they are not visible, and every week or two I take off the lid, knock out all the dead snails & put in more bait. The advantage is that the water does not get in to ruin the bait, and also that you don't have snail corpses littering the beds. Not to mention that a box of snail bait has lasted me 2 years now!
I use copper wire around things with trunks and I had read that tin foil works too, but I can tell you it does not.
I laid some sheets under some pots they kept getting into so I could test it. I think they used it as a slip & slide cuz I found slime trails all over that stuff!
Good luck,
Donna
Well, I certainly have a million and one choices...thanks to all you expert! Thanks a bunch for the hints...off to anihlate (sp?) snails!
Oh........... you live in CA!!! I hear you guys got big'uns out there. Better go with everything!!!!
Judy
You're right judy, these suckers are huge. I guess if you like escargo that's good! I don't eat them, rather smush them. The eggshells and coffee grinds are working on the spot they were working on. But if any of them fail, I sure have quite a few back up attacks!
Weegy12! Just how big?? Are they water snails--like for an Aquarium?? I have BOUGHT a snail but it isn't THAT big and last year I traded for some pond plants and got a bunch of little snails in the deal (all dead now except one--now I have found there are atleast 2 little ones and some eggs so these little guys MUST be hermaphrodites!!). Thinking maybe I could take a couple off your hands?? hehehe I know, I am the only LOONEY TUNES out here!! hehehe
Bonnie
They're much bigger than water snails, these boogers are a nuisance. I've been using egg shells and coffee grinds to ward them off. Been giving them beer too but when I saw them pulled over by the police and being given the sobriety test, that stopped!!! Serious, you want some? I'll take a picture when I see one if you want...gotta be after dark cuz they're nocturnal. (Does that mean they come out at night or go in?!!!) If you want, I'll send them all!
I just hate slugs, which are snails without the pretty house! I just went outside to check on something and discovered about 10 of them marching through the bark towards some stuff I just planted. The leader of this gang was, I kid you not, about 6 inches long and easily an inch wide. What a hideous creature!
I'm not ashamed to say that when I encounter these uglies in the garden during my rounds, I just snip them in half with my clippers. It used to gross me out, but I have become hardened. I must admit, however, they are usually smaller than the general I saw tonight. They all just went the 'way of all flesh', even if I didn't snip them.
Ammonia water works great, but watch the big ones and make sure they die. Some of them can throw a protective coat of slime and shrug off the ammonia. I've watched them do it! But they have to be big.
I agree with Pixy the ammonia works great for the smaller guys but those large ones can do exactly what she described they need a double dose. I try to just pick the ones I find up and place them in a bucket with ammonia and water.
I try not to use the harsh chemicals for them due to pets. I do break down every so often though. Those big guys can devour a new seedling patch in no time!!
Here is one that was headed across the drive 2 get 2 Greener pasture!!! LOL
I threw down a quarter to show his size took a picture and then placed him in the Lethal Bucket of Ammonia... I have plenty to share.....LOL
Well....I HATE slugs. But what I use is good for the garden, but NOT for them--Epsom Salts. Regular salt will kill them too but it will also kill any plant life along with the slugs. Yeah--if you want to post a photo I can decide if I truly want them or am merely certifiable!! hehehe Bonnie
Gardenguy, that is a truly disgusting photo! LOL I use the old ammonia bucket too. But here's a tip I haven't seen yet: we all know that these creatures of the dark live underneath rocks, logs, at the base of tender plants, etc. My sister and I both have rocks lining our garden beds (best use of a local 'resource' that is always available....). She swears by placing the bait underneat all her rocks. she swears you can use the 'bad' stuff that way because the slugs just stay home to eat. I'm going to try it.
Anyone have slugs that don't seem to eat the sluggo stuff? I'm not sure why but I know that in some areas of the yard the sluggo just doesn't seem to impact the slugs. Yes, I realize that they crawl off to die so you don't see the carcasses anyway, but my plants just continue to get eaten so I know at least some slugs aren't getting it.
Epsom salts: good way to go!
Ok, Bonnie, I'll find one and take a photo for you.
Salt will kill them,, just sprinkle it where you see the sluggs or snails and they will dry up.
vicki
I can't kill mine, Bonnie wants a picture and might want some!!! Anybody else?!?!?!?!?
GardenGuyKin, I'm just south of you and that slug is exactly what I am dealing with too. They are monsters here. My proven method that won't harm your plants or animals.....I step on them! Nothing like a good SQUISH!!! (With my shoes on, of course!) Then just wipe your shoes in the grass for a bit and the slime is gone. I did buy some slug killer this spring and it did work really well, but the rain washed it away. I don't remember what it was called but it was a liquid and you just squeezed it out in lines in your flowerbeds. Is that what Sluggo is like?
Mendy
Okay, I was at the Point Defiance Flower and Garden show today and talked to a guy at the Iris Society booth. He's been around the block a few times and he said the secret to getting rid of slugs and snails is to broadcast slugbait (he uses Corry' Slug and Snail Death, a name which says it all..)very heavily in March. He says this is when the breeding happens and so you get the mommas, the daddys, and the babies all at once. If you do this, he says, you won't have nearly as bad a problem. According to him, pay special attention to any rocky areas, or logs, etc that we all know harbor their homes.
I told him I thought it it was the case that slugs and snails are hermaphrodites so the moms and dads would be the same. He actually blushed and said he wasn't sure about that as he'd never looked! What a hoot!
I'm going to take his advice next year and see what happens.
Mendy, I have been know to use your method also...LOL They tend to stick really well to the bottom of your shoe sometimes. Yulk!! What a mess. I have also used that liquid stuff. It's called dead zone or something like that it's a black liquid that you can squirt our around your plant and it does last awhile even in the rain. That sluggo stuff just washes away in the first rain and I didn't get much results from it. Maybe because it rains all the time....LOL some weather we are having right now.. Huh? OH sorry the Sluggo is like really small white pellets which break down quickly.
Pixy, Sounds like you had a fun day yesterday. That Cory's Snail and Slug bait does work really well, ReaLLY well. The problem is that the pets also are very curious with it and about 10 years ago my sister's dog had a Major Vet. bill. The dog was fine after two days but Vet bill of 500.00. It works really well but Just beware using around pets.
Sorry if I offended anyone with the Gross Slug picture. Just had to add him in this great thread....LOL
Kin
Kin, yes, some weather we are having right now.....but, I guess that's the Willamette Valley for ya! LOL
About the slugs...hmm..maybe I should look at the bottom of my shoes better before I come in the house from having a good ol' slug stomp. ;-)
As much as I hate my neighbor's cats using my flowerbeds as a potty box, I think I will stick with the 'good' slug bait. I have threatened to kill them many times, but if they did end up dead and I was responsible, I'd never be able to forgive myself.
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we're in the snail capital of the U.S., I'm convinced. The story goes that French immigrants brought them to raise as escargot and the snails liked it here...a lot! We've got them by the dozens. After a rain, they're all out over the sidewalks having slime parties. Most of them are an inch to an inch and a half long (shell size). I never understood the kids stories involving snails that were supposed to be cute.
When I was a kid, my best friend's mother had snail-gathering excursions on summer nights. We'd go out in their yard with flashlights, chopsticks, and gallon wine jugs (empty, unfortunately). The idea was to stuff the snails into the jugs, without touching them. My chopsticks skills got pretty good. The jugs were set on a shelf in the sun to bake. After reading this thread, I realize that we should have put some bleach in the bottom of the jugs for faster results (sometimes one would crawl out of the jug before it was baked to perfection). But Ruth was way ahead of the curve on organic pest control.
Careful with the Corey's. Another of my childhood friends' dog died after ingesting the stuff. This was in the '60s, and maybe the formulation has changed, but I'm afraid of the bait more than I'm afraid of the snails (which is saying something, since the snails totally creep me out!).
I gave up on the Dead Line too. It just wasn't effective for me.
I like Escar-Go from Gardens Alive. I think it's like Sluggo, and it actually works pretty well -- and I don't have to worry about my dog (who may be a pain, but I love her anyway).
The beer thing may work, but I can't deal with emptying the containers full of dead slugs and snails. I didn't actually find it that effective, but to be perfectly honest I didn't try that long.
Someone suggested handling the snail problem by feeding them corn meal for several days first to flush out their systems, then sauteing them with butter and garlic. Can you imagine?
Jills, I agree that the Bay Area is the snail capital of the world. When I was in highschool I went to visit a friend who lived in Alameda. I was walking to school with her one day and the sidewalks were covered with snails! You couldn't avoid them.....anywhere you stepped you heard the crunch of another shell. Never seen anything like that before.
I didn't know about the coffee way. Is it safe to use around all the plants? I have a woodland garden. The snails eat some epimedium, helleborous, sweet shade, etc. Any suggestion is help.
Thanks,
Fang
I don't think coffee will hurt any plants, it's got acid in it and it's going on the ground not actually on the plant.
Correct me if I'm wrong, I have been known to be wrong a time or 2.