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Re: English/Californian Summer & mollusks!

At 11:30 AM 6/24/98 -0700, Michael Barclay wrote:
>	Dear Tim and Listers,			24 June 1998
>
>	Thugs, schmugs--I love invasive plants and have never met
>	one I couldn't control.  Now moluscs are another problem.
>           <snip>
>	What are some of your solutions that really work-I've tried
>	green sand, beer, poisoned bait, sharp chippings and copper snail/slug
>	guard.  We can't stop irrigating for though the summer seems like
>winter
> 	the plants go dry, especially those in containers.  I have a terribly
>	crowded garden so dead-line is useless.  It's making me feel I want
>	to give up.
>
>	So pet your invasive giant Geraniums-they're easy to move.  What do
>	you do to save a massive collection of brooms covered with
>	French brown snails every morning?  Will my hostas return?
>	Will my sanity survive?  Will the sun ever shine again without
>	burning everything to charcoal?  Help!
>
>	Michael D. Barclay
>	Really Special Plants & Gardens
>	opga@wenet.net

Hi Michael - 

I understand you problem.  You and I share the crowded garden syndrome -
too many plant in too small a space!  My garden, slightly south of you in
Oakland, is a bit drier and warmer than yours.  I also do not irrigate
routinely, but none-the-less, with this season's cool weather, mollusks
are still evident (they usually go into summer hibernation by now).

Deb and I enjoy going out with a flashlight in the early evening and
stomp away at the largest guys, but there are always lots of smaller ones
to take their places later.  We've managed to get a real jump on our 
population via the this method:

The following instructions use the 'flaked' snail bait (not the pellets).
I always use these with caution and don't like to use them in general.  I
use virtually no other pesticide and do not advocate their use unless
there is a very specific infestation that cannot be improved with better
horticultural practices.  Snails and slugs do fall into this category.

I place a very small amount of 'flaked' snail bait (Cory's is what's
available in my area of California) in a plastic, sloping sided bowl I
keep around for only this purpose.  Standing near the windless garden
where I know here are snail lurking, I fling the bowl from one side to
another (sort of like I'm throwing a 'frisbee', but without letting go! ;-).
this sends the flaked powder into the air to settle gently over the
shrubs and perennials of the garden.  The idea is to install an almost
imperceptible coating of the flakes throughout the foliage canopy of the
taller plants where the mollusks lurk (often never coming down to the
ground in my garden!).  It is not desirable to have clumps of the bait
in any area - just a finely distributed amount that is hard to detect.
Slightly moist, but not wet foliage helps the bait to stick in place
without deteriorating its effect.

This fine distribution, applied once or twice a week, is far more effective
in killing these pests than clumps of this or other types of bait, and
it is less likely to attract the attention of animals or children.  I have
a cat who love to prowl the garden and I have observed her repeatedly in
the garden after I've applied this bait.  She takes no interest in it
whatsoever.  Routine application is the key.  Our population is so small
at the moment that I do not apply the bait at this time.  When I do, I
make sure and do it for about a month or more at a time.

Most of the other methods seem to assume s snail crossing some sort of
boundary, but I note that these beasties get into place we've never
thought of and always fine a 'way around' out traps and lines of bait.
This overall method is far more effective, killing ALL snails and
slugs actively traveling almost anywhere in the area of application.

Wearing a face mask and gloves helps guard against accidental ingestion
of the bait by the gardener.


 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    (510) 987-0577
 Oakland, California 94610-1459     h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 U.S.A.                             'a garden suited to its purpose'
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