Re: slugs and other thugs
- To: Simone Clark <s*@ento.csiro.au>
- Subject: Re: slugs and other thugs
- From: E* G* <e*@moose.ncia.net>
- Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 23:06:43 -0400 (EDT)
Simone,
What do your 'snail pellets' consist of?
Ellen Gallagher e_galla@moose.ncia.net
On Thu, 18 Apr 1996, Simone Clark wrote:
> Here in Australia we have some huge slugs called Leopard Slugs and just like
> leopards they are carnivorous and so are beneficial in the garden helping to
> keep down the numbers of their vegetatian brothers.
>
> Putting snail pellets down inside narrow pipe can help prevent pets getting
> to it and reduces the effect of rain runoff.
>
> Simone Clark
> simoner@ento.csiro.au
>
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> > In keeping with the old adage that one must know the enemy - here is
> >the beginning of a diatribe on the lowlife that we call 'slugs and snails'.
> >They are mollusks, subclass Pulmonata.
> > Some claim that slugs are gaining a sort of popularity today. They've
> >been chosen to be the SCHOOL MASCOT by the Univ. of CA, Santa Cruz (only in
> >California could this happen...) They are the object of festivals (!) and
> >various retail goodies from T-shirts to dolls and replicas.....Tom, think
> >Anne-Marie would like a SLUG doll? I can't believe it, myself.
> > Slugs come in shades of pink, brown, beige, black and gray with or
> >without spots. Here in Northern New Hampshire, I see the beige variety most
> >often but the brown is second and gray coming in third - always without
> >spots. (I see a lot of slugs that is why I am taking the time to study
> >them - they are the only creature that truly disgusts me and is in a declared
> >war with me.)
> > Slugs thrive in moist, moderate climates like the Pacific Northwest,
> >California and southeastern Alaska (?) but they are found throughout most of
> >the United States and southern Canada.
> > Snails are fancy slugs, condo included. Most often they are a shade
> >of dirty brown with some spots or stripes. (I see snails seldom but the few
> >I happen upon have stripes.)
> > SLIME
> > This is the operant word since both slugs and snails excrete lots of
> >it as they crawl around doing their dirty destruction....this is the red flag
> >for you, the gardener, that they plan to engage you in a protracted
> >battle(s). What works against them one week may be utterly useless the
> >next week. It is crucial to have several plans of attack at the ready.
> > LIFE CYCLE
> > They are hermaphroditic, possessing both male and female sex organs,
> >but need a partner to cross-fertilize. Although it can take them all day to
> >mate, at only a few months of age each can lay hundreds of eggs a year, which
> >hatch in only three weeks, ready to repeat the cycle. The eggs are tough and
> >elastic and not very vulerable to small predators, BUT they will dry up
> >if not kept moist. (One reason JI's have so many slugs.)
> > Extreme weather, either too hot or too cold, causes SNAILS to stop
> >laying eggs and go dormant, a condition they can tolerate for up to FOUR
> >years. (See how long-lived they are!)
> >
> > I am going to give hints everyday for deterrence and/or execution.
> >Today I am going to repeat two things mentioned in March:
> >
> > 1) Handpicking - A predawn flashlight raid where the offenders
> >are dropped into a pail of salted water to finish them off when they're
> >still groggy. Carolyn was right on track when she spritz them with salt (or
> >white vinegar) - leaves them dead in their slimy tracks as does lime juice.
> > 2) Slug juice - remember? - Put the remains of a cup or
> >two of dead slugs into a blender, PUREEING them, and then straining the
> >resulting mush. Spray on live slugs.......kills them, supposedly.
> >
> > Stay tuned,
> >
> > Ellen Gallagher e_galla@moose.ncia.net
> > Lancaster, NH - USDA Zone 3
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