Re: Snails and Possums (was Earwigs)

Susan George wrote:
> 
> Yes you are right snail bait and poisoned snails can/do kill blue tongue > lizards. 
Susan, 
A safe way I have found to use snail bait is to put it is  simple
home-made trap, which ensures the poisoned snails do not die where other
creatures can ingest them.

All you need is an empty plastic soft drink bottle and a pair of strong
scissors. First cut a centimetre or so off the neck to widen the hole
slighrly. Thn cut round the base of the tapered part of the neck. This
forms a simple funnel.

Now reverse your funnel and push it back into the body of the bottle.
You now have something like a lobster trap which is easy to get into but
difficult to get out of.

If you put a few snail baits into this and lay it on its side among the
plnts you will find snails/slugs will crawl in and drop down on to the
bait which most will feed on and some die on the spot, but the ones
which crawl away will become trapped where the cut end of funnel and
bottle body coincide.

So the trap has two environmentally-friendly features. It offers the
bait in a way which will keep out most larger creatures and the pestsdo
not die where other creatures like birds or lizards are able to get at
them.

 
> As to possums - well what a vexed question - I love them but they can do  terrible damage - I personally don't bother with any deterrents as there > don't seem to impact very much on my garden (don't know why because we > have enough about) - but some of my friends have become desperate people > (one has over 100 roses and didn't see a flower last summer). The  consensus so far seems to be that mustard can work but needs to be  regularly applied to branches, arches, fences etc (but readily washes  off) - but that Vicks Vapour Rub (with its oil base) seems to be more  effective and longer lasting. Nobody I know has come up with the perfect> solution - good luck!

If mustard readily washes of why don't your friends try mixing it with
Vaseline?

Some rose fanciers on this side of the Tasman swear  covering the leaves
with liquid fish fertilizer is an effective possum deterrent. At least
by applying this regularly you are also feeding your plants.

Moira

-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index