I love my Brugmansias, but they never come into their best, and even though we spray and put slug bait out, these molluscs have a mighty feast. I see all these beautiful flowering shrubs and can only marvel. Most of the time we have simply bare stalks. Anybody have any ideas how to save them from attack? (My garden is in Barbados, West-Indies)
Slug and snail attack
Bare copper wire i a circle around trunk . I also sprinkle Epson salts everywhere there are plants .
Black beetles eat snails and slugs but the Black beetles grubs are in dirt and eat roots
Thanks Tonyjr, I will give it a try. I also decided to plant them in a bed by themselves with less vegetation around, so the slugs and snails have less of a climbing frame. With the copper around it I am sure we will have gorgeous in no time.
Epson salt, wow I will have to try that. I have been using dishes of beer and its amazing how many slugs and snails that attracts overnight. In my yard I'll have to invest in a beer company.lol
Linda
Tony, how much epsom salts do you put down and how frequently? Nasty slugs destroyed my thin hostas and made a holey mess of my dinosaur food. And I don't think there is enough beer in the world.........
My Brug was looking like a swiss cheese and I thought it was slugs. Then I found out in addition to slugs, I had green worms. I got so desperate trying to fight all of this with sluggo and Bt (several months), last night I just sprayed the whole thing with Malathion!
Malathion is what we use and the slugs still get them, but you should see the slugs! I have had them as long as my hand and 2-3 fingers width. I sometimes think they thrive on the stuff. I suppose the problem is the rain. It washes off the spray.I now have resorted to armed combat, going out at night with my miners-lamp on and just using the snippers. Ugly and time-consuming, but effective. Except that 11 acres take a long time! I will try the Epsom and the copper. But good question, how much to use?
I had the green worm attack, made my leaves all holy. Little buggers are so hard to find. So far I have been spraying with soap spray, haven't seen any for a while.
It seems we are having our own little war here.
Trinnie, To use the copper, you will need to use copper strips. Snails have to come in contact with enough copper to to induce an electrical current to develop between the snail and the copper. It's that jolt that keeps the snail and or slug from getting across. The wider the copper band the better it works. Wrap the base of the plant you wish to protect with the copper strip. Prune any part of the plant that touches the ground so snails and slugs don't have another route to the plant.
Epsom Salt, MgSO4, is a source of the micronutrient Magnesium, but it is a salt and in high enough doses it can burn or kill a plant. If a plant needs magnesium, using dolomite is a better idea. But in small doses, it shouldn't be a problem. If using it to kill snails and slugs, it has to come in direct contact with them. It would have to be re-applied every time it rains. It becomes toxic to the plant by interfering with the uptake of potassium and other nutrients.
Tinnie, something you might keep in mind. In areas other than you garden, consider tilling the land to a depth of 3". Three inches is sufficient to kill snail and slug eggs that are developing in the soil.
Sometimes it helps to use more than one approach.
diatomaceous earth will work too.
I just take a handfull and sling it . I try to keep off the base of plant and leaves .
I'm in zone 9 .
I just finished weeding front yard - about 80 roses - was a 100 20 years ago but some died . Now there are 2 Capusion cherries [ sp ] Dahlias , Irses , Thueas [ sp spare shaped pine trees ] + annuals .
I wear a large size glove . A handful from about 4 roses . Then 0-10-10 and the same withpreem .
Thenfrom 1/2 to 1 inch of redwood compost [ Kellog's ]
The back yard gets the same , but there are a lot less roses - all most every kind of plant with pretty flowers , fruit trees . I will be spraying back yard with Neem , , a copper spray and a dish soap after I weed / finish weeding - Only 1/2 front yard done .
I don't make my own mulch / compost . Too many viruses and bugs live in mulch / compost and I would rather put in a plant or 2 in that area . The next 2 are the driveway and partial backyard .
2nd pic
Backyard - These are from last year and 06 . Could find this years pic's and have not finished weeding front , I
take pic's after major changes like weeding .
fOR SOME reason no picture
Last one from back looking at house .
Beautiful!!! Green with envy here in Kansas..:)
I agree with Lavender, Diatomaceous earth is the easiest to use and it doesn't hurt the plants at all. It's made of tiny sea creature skeletons that when crushed, are so sharp they cut the slugs to ribbons when they try to crawl over it.
Diatomaceous earth - there are 2 type .
One is used for swimming pool filters . The other has been heated very hot some the sea creature skeletons explode .
This is sold as flea powder , ant killer etc . It's good for ants , slugs , beetles , mites , spiders- anything with an ecto - skeletons . It also kills good bugs - praying mathis , lady bugs , earthworms , catapillars , butterflies etc .
Tonyt,
I actually use the one for swimming pools, as we had a swimming pool many years ago and it was left over. Never had a problem with it and I wonder if there really is a difference or if it just enables the sellers to charge more.
The swimming pool stuff didn't seem to work as well , They gave me some busted bags at the hot tub store . It was about 8 dollars for 25 lbs - the roach proof runs about 11 dollars -
about a quart can ,
I use it in a duster around the house foundation and then in yard till I run out in June for termites and spiders , ants and earwigs .
Around here it collects moisture , so I store what I don't use in a mayonnaise jar / pickle bottle with one of the dissacan bags .
I need such a nice pretty yard like that. Yes, green with envy here too. I better get my printer up and running so I can have pictures to push me on into landscaping. Always when I want to print the darn thing decides to stop working.
We have flea buster to sprinkle in house and yard, but it is mostly boric acid and think I could find boric acid cheaper. Have to check around. I know it is great for fleas, haven't had a problem this year...........happy doggies too.
They are hornworms that eat the leaves too.
Does boric acid hurt slugs? I too have been plauged by them especially around the hostas. Since we stopped being able to buy diazanon we have had lots of pest problems.
Puttign pieces of sandpaper under and around your pots helps too. when they try and go over the sandpaper, especially the really rough kind, it rips up their bodies and kills them.
You can at some of the dollar stores find lots of cheap sandpaper
I would think their slime coat would coat the sand paper enough to shield them
If you can do insecticides, try Green Light Snail & Bug Bait. It will do a good job for you.
Kathy.. so far it has worked for me, especially with the hostas. I get the rough sandpape that about 12" wide. They start across but don't get very far. I also use lava rocks in some area too and this has also worked well for me. Puttign the pots on the lava rock beds.
Sounds good texas but I have never seen it at walmart and Walmart is about all we have here and it is a small Walmart.. I am going to have to spend the winter reading everything here and searching for online sources for products. Hate to pay the extra shipping but it is better than doing without. I will definitely try some of the remedies suggested here first.
Starlight, I cannot argue with success. You are right about the one dollar store having it all of the time. I must try it.
This message was edited Nov 16, 2008 4:33 PM
I use epson salts twice a year on my yard for last 3 or 4 years .It has cut way down on slugs / snails .
We water 3 or 4 times a week .
If you have dense or clay type soil , it is a salt and can build up .
You can also buy marigold seeds and grow them as a trap plant
Little green worms have invaded my brugs too, you almost need magnifying glasses to see them. I've started some brug cuttings and most of them are doing fine, hope when I can put them outside I won't have to worry about the worms.
My soil is clay so don't think I should try Epson salt. Will try the sandpaper, so many great ideas in these forums.
Don't be fooled by the little green worms. They get BIG. They defoliated my 10ft brug!!!
It is amazing the voracious appetites some of those little buggers have.
I swear they look me in the eye before I crush them!
oh they do and then they send out the bat signal to their friends.
LOL!!!
by the way if you have datura plants to the worms will eat them up to.
If you hav ein pots, you cna put plastic of some sort down and cover with table salt. That wil kill them slugs fast so as they hit it, they start dying.
I use the poinker seed balls that fall off the liquid amber trees in our neighborhood. you can also use the seed balls from lions head...though I dont know if these will hold up all winter long.
I send my son to all our neighbors homes and have him pick up the pinker balls they are about 2 inches around and look like porcipine spines sticking out all over! lol! then I fill every square inch of all my beds and post with the balls.
These keep slugs and snails out, and also neighborhood kittys who think my beds are their litter boxes :o) AND ...its free...well, except the $5 a box I have to pay my son! lol!
LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!