Re: Problems
Brett and Janet Burleigh by way of moose@intersurf.com (Brett and Janet
Burleigh) wrote:
>
> This may sound like a stupid question, but what can be done about slugs and
> snails in your flower beds? I put down slug bate around most of my iris
> beds a few weeks ago and found well over fifty slugs and snails the next
> day.
Janet,
No such thing as a stupid question!!!
Depending on the size of your garden, the best control I have found is to go
around with a flashlight at night or early morning (as early as you can stand)
and pick them off your plants. I wear one of those surgical type gloves and use
a plastic bag the the newspaper was delivered in. After a week or so of
consistant "picking" I find that I only have to keep after them occasionally. I
just tie a knot in the end of the bag an toss it in the trash. You do have to
keep a look out though, I discovered just a few nights ago (after two weeks of
not seeing any) that there was a whole herd of really tiny slugs attacking one
of my raised beds. Something must have triggered an egg hatch. It looked like
there were a gazillion of them. I wished that I had a spray that I could have
used. I contemplated diluting some Deadline and spraying it on them, don't knoow
if that would work, but I seem to have things under control now by picking. One
of the problems with Deadline (or Coreys Snail bait which works well too) is
that you have to get it between your plant and the critters, or at teast close
enought o attract them and I wasn't sure whether the baby slugs were hiding
around the base of the plant during the day or traveling further away. As I
write I am looking things up. One reference says you can spray with mexacarbate,
but the book was published in 1978 and there is a good chance that the EPA has
banished the chemical. Worth checking at your local garden shop for this or a
substitute.
Another suggestion is to put down a layer of diatomaceous earth (swimming pool
filter powder). It has tiny particles that have sharp edges and it cuts the
tender skin of the slugs. I believe it is made of old coral deposits. It has the
advantage of being non-toxic. I need to research what if any effect it would
have on the soil, PH, etc, but I don't remember anything drastic. When I hear
something from the Co-op Master Gardener I will post an update.
--
John | "There be dragons here"
| Annotation used by ancient cartographers
| to indicate the edge of the known world.
John Jones, Fremont CA, jijones@ix.netcom.com, USDA zone 8
- References:
- Problems
- From: m* (* a* J* B* (* w* o* m* (* a* J* B*
