Snails

From: eduardo gomes goncalves <eggon at guarany.cpd.unb.br> on 1997.06.11 at 13:58:42(818) Dear Aroidelers, I need some militar help: Is there any kind of efficient weapon against snails? There is a gang of these disgusting molluscs trying to destroy my living collection! In the begining, they only attacked some young leaves of Anthurium, and I could easily control them. Now, they are also chewing the base of the petiole of some tuberous aroid, and the war was finally declared when they knocked down my only Gorgonidium plant (it was just a baby!). Too bad... I'm living in a tropical country and our winter isn't enough to stop their destructive activity. I'd like to hear from some of you, before to try a H-bomb!!! +More Thanks, Eduardo.

From: plantnut at shadow.net (Dewey Fisk) on 1997.06.11 at 15:06:55(821) Eduardo, I am sure that you know about the beer method in a shallow saucer... They crawl in and die.. But, there is another method that people here in South Fl have found very effective. That is spreading Diotomaceous Earth all around... This, I am told, will grind up their feet and intestines and they die. Fairchild Tropica Gdn. had a very bad problem and controled it this way. The only bad part is that if it rains, or you water, you have to spread it again. It is cheap and can be obtained in a store that caters to swimming pool owners. Now, I have heard that the swimming pool kind is not as good as another type that is available in some Horticultural Supply Houses... But, I have never seen any problems using it... Don't breath it while spreading and you should be ok . Then there is the old stand-by... any bait with Methaldahyde (spelling?) as the active ingredient. This can be in liquid or in pellets... Snails and slugs love it... eat it and die. Dewey +More Dewey E. Fisk, Plant Nut THE PHILODENDRON PHREAQUE

From: SNALICE at aol.com on 1997.06.12 at 02:12:26(823) Hello Edwardo, An H-bomb would work. It would probably take care of my snails at the same time. +More I have been using C's (can you say a brand in public?) Slug and Snail Death (it probably has what Dewey said in it), and this stuff just eradicates them! The type I have is almost powered, and just needs to be ever-so-slightly sprinkled around. It stays active even after a rain or watering. Another method, is to slice tomatoes in a dish, put these around the yard. They will be attracted to the tomatoes before they find your special plants, and if you sprinkle snail death around the tomatoes, they will die trying to get to the tomatoes, or they may get a taste before they die. Sprinkle it ON the tomatoes, and they have their last gourmet meal. Good luck, Sue Zunino

From: Fausto Ceni <cendot at spidernet.it> on 1997.06.12 at 02:16:59(824) eduardo gomes goncalves wrote: > > Dear Aroidelers, > > I need some militar help: Is there any kind of efficient weapon > against snails? ....... omissis...... Dear Eduardo, I have destroyed snail and slugs in my garden with Metaldehyde baits in pellets. The product is in grain that you should spread on the ground. It is a very common product, avaiable in garden centers or agricultural supplier, and it is cheap and not dangerous fot other animals. Other tricks are not effective. Fausto +More -- Dr. Ing. Fausto CENI - Via Marsala 8 I-25122 BRESCIA (ITALY) Tf ++39 30 3756011 - Fax ++39 30 42435 E-mail cendot@spidernet.it

From: Greg Ruckert <greg at ezi-learn.com.au> on 1997.06.12 at 02:20:29(825) Eduardo, There has been a massive amount of discussion on Dahlia-Net recently as the Americans plants push through. While some correspondents favour sprinkling a layer of oatbran around the plants (I worry about it going mouldy) consenus is that copper strips make a very effective barrier. The little varmits are shocked away from your babies. As we are moving into winter all my Arisaema seedlings (mostly 2 months old) are inside. I found a slug on one of my name tags, no idea where it came from, but took great delight despatching it to the coals in our fire. Greg Ruckert, South Australia Greg Ruckert +More 47 Allinga Avenue Glenside 5065 South Australia Phone 61 8 83795123 Fax 61 8 83642003

From: karenp at sybase.com (Karen Paulsell) on 1997.06.12 at 16:04:32(827) > > I'm living in a tropical country and our winter isn't enough to stop > >their destructive activity. > > +More I live in the warm moist, maritime, Mediterranean SF Bay Area, where we have escaped Escargot rampant in our gardens. I'm a 100% organic (don't poison your mother) gardener, so the bait are unacceptable to me. My solutions: * Lots of hand picking * Copper barriers around precious plants, or extemely young plants I paid $20 for a bunch of scrap copper strips years ago, and they still work. Snails just won't cross it. If you put it around plants already in the ground, do check for a few days to be sure you haven't trapped any snails INSIDE the barrier. And it doesn't work if plants you want to protect are touching other unprotected plants, snails will find the detour to get to something they especially want. * Knowing the hiding spots. The banana-leaves trick sounds similar. I've found certain plants (like Dietes, for example) where they hide way down in the nest of leaves during the day. Making daytime picking easy. Curiously, snails also seem to love junk mail, especially the heavy coated papers. Leave some out in the evening, and come out with a flashlight. > Of course, if you really want it to be like military action, go on > night-time search and destroy missions. I use a small flashlight that I hold > in my mouth to keep my hands free Camping places, like REI, sell "head lights", headbands with flashlights on the forehead. The light shines wherever you look. Very handy, or un-handy, as the case may be. > ducks and geese As long as you don't have tender young seedlings, they're supposed to be great. I used to cart containers of snails over to some friends who had chickens, but they said the eggs got too hard to crack! All that extra calcium in the snail shells.

From: Paul Christian <paul at rareplants.co.uk> on 1997.06.12 at 16:34:26(829) At 21:11 11/06/97 -0500, you wrote: >Another method, is to slice tomatoes in a dish, put these around the yard. They will >be attracted to the tomatoes before they find your special plants. Just a thought, but if you put some garlic and parsley with the tomatoes, you could eat them afterwards ;-) Sorry couldn't resist. Paul :-)) +More --------------------------------------------- Paul Christian - Rare Plants Internet Site - http://rareplants.co.uk e-mail - paul@rareplants.co.uk Telephone - (+44) 01978 366399 Mobile telephone - (+44) 037 44 77 442 Fax - (+44) 01978 366399 Snail Mail to - Dr. P.J.Christian, PO Box 468,WREXHAM, LL13 9XR, UK ---------------------------------------------

From: BASSPROF at aol.com on 1997.06.13 at 19:23:55(838) I bait my pots with bits of fresh lettuce, in late afternoon, then put on a headlamp at 10pm and 'harvest' the snails and slugs. They much prefer the lettuce to the new growth on Anthuriums. Good luck, Lynn

From: SNALICE at aol.com on 1997.06.13 at 20:10:36(840) In a message dated 97-06-13 12:27:21 EDT, you write: << At 21:11 11/06/97 -0500, you wrote: +More >Another method, is to slice tomatoes in a dish, put these around the yard. They will >be attracted to the tomatoes before they find your special plants. Just a thought, but if you put some garlic and parsley with the tomatoes, you could eat them afterwards ;-) Sorry couldn't resist. Paul :-)) ----------------- >> This is true, this is true.................but if you hold the tomatoes, and add butter, you could just go for the snails. >>>>>Sorry couldn't resist.<<<<< I think I know what you mean. :) Sue

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.