I was trimming off dead fronds on my Washingtonian and Texas Windmills and noticed some of the trunk had fallen off - when I touched the trunk it was a loose piece - took off - there were slugs on the inside. I've been looking all over this site - some of the suggestions- sluggo, vinegar , etc - I have a cat - and I feed the birds - don't want to harm either - from what I've read sluggo isn't available except by mail -I want to take care of this right away - would vinegar hurt the palms? Does it work? I'm in the Dallas area - the palms are about 7' tall - they were planted last spring - except for the few pieces of bark coming they look great- as far as I know didn't have slugs last yr.
ANY SUGGESTIONS?
slugs on palms
My two cats are indoor cats now,but when we had outdoor cats they were never tempted by dead snails or slugs. They usually don't eat dead things that they themselves haven't killed . I used to buy my Sluggo at local nurseries. I don't think I had a problem with birds eating dead slugs.
If you are really concerned about your cat and the birds, first be sure to get rid of all the slugs that are currently on the palm and then wrap a strip of copper around the base of the palm. Slugs and snails won't cross over the copper as their slime reacts with the copper and gives them an electric shock. You should be able to buy the copper strips at your local hardware store or nursery. Don't be shocked by the price, the price of copper has skyrocketed in the past few years. There have been a lot of copper thefts in Austin recently.
Kitty - are you still having slug issues?
TexasLizzy
Sorry it took me so long to notice your post - I haven't seen anymore since I threw out that one piece of trunk. I guess it's normal for pieces to fall off eventually at the bottom - That day I was trimming off the winterkill fronds - plenty of healthy fronds - new ones emerging. So I guess I got worried and worked up about nothing - I love my palms - just the thought of something happening to them scared me - Thanks for your concern! What part of Southlake are you in? I'm by 35E and George Bush in Carrollton.
How's your garden?
Esther
I am very close to the lake. Most of beds are doing great this year. I ahve one area that is covered in bermuda grass! UGH! I need to do some serious digging. We dhosul perhas get together and share gardeing adventures.
liz