"Sluggo" or other iron phosphate baits work great on molluscs. Fed some
to a snail;
he thought it was icecream, he couldnt stop "licking" it.
could also use cocoa mulch only not foolproof as have seen a fgew
crawlin round on it; softens up a bit after a few waterings.Prolly does
better if allowwed to crust and dry, then its crackly and sharp; again
,a deterrent only, but worth it as have seen noticable decrease (major)
in damage....
billevans
Irma McVey wrote:
Kevin Chisholm wrote:
Old order Amish taught me to use crushed eggshells around plants that
slugs eat. Irma McVey
Hello to all,
Kevin recently posted that he had once again failed to prevent the excape
of a test slug.... I know that Kevin is trying to use good scientific
protocol with these tests that he is trying but... I would suggest
that a much less deterent barrier could be used to keep slug damage
below a level that affects yield than would required to prevent a
slug from escaping.
Last week I noticed that I had 50' by 10' patch of rape that was
completely infested
with aphids... my mind started switching into attack mode and i decided
that it was important that I cut down all the rape to prevent the aphids
from spreading to other plantings..but being a freneticallly busy grad
student
i had to head back to the university before I had time to cut down the
rape.
I returned to my family's land this week to find that the rape and few
remaining aphids are hosting the largest population of ladybugs
and larva that I have ever seen... most plants have more than 5 ladybug
larva ! I have moved some of the little larva/alligators about to other
plantings...
We have discussed herbivorous insect preference for weak plants before on
this list. I have certainly observed this phenomena... however I doubt
that
an insect would avoid eating a leaf from a healthy plant if both
were in bottle. I suggest that insects/mollusks make choices (probably
not through deductive
reasoning) and if you remove all but one option they may choose that
option even though it would not be a prefered choice if there were other
options.
So we need to think about how to give pest options that they prefer
over our crops...
Joel
It is with significant regret that I must admit that the slugs
have bested me again. :-(
I made a circle of Geotextile Fabric, 8" outside diameter, 4"
inside diameter, and put a slug in the middle. I was hoping the
rough surface of the fabric would discourage passage of the slug.
In short order, the little booger did about 1/3 of a circle on
the Geotex fabric, found his bearings, then scooted off to what
he thought was Freedom and the Good Life.....
Remay is a synthetic fabric also, but unlike the Geotex fabric,
it is transparent to light, and has a much smoother surface.
I will be testing Gil's concept of aluminum screening collars
around the tomatillos, with and without the "picket fence
effect." This is the last of the socially acceptable slug control
measures I can think of at this stage.
If anyone has any other neat suggestions for possibly superior
ways to foil slugs, please let me know.
Kindest regards,
Kevin Chisholm
OGr's:
I think Joel has hit the nail on the head by giving the pests more
attractive options. I have had a major problem in the past with Japanese
Beetles devouring my beans and sweet potatoes. The best luck I had was
using pheromone traps which was fairly successful as long as I emptied the
bags daily (gathered about 1 cup of the suckers per bag per day).
Last year I got tied up with a construction project and neglected
the garden fairly much and a 50x50 area became overrun by some type of weed
(I haven't got a clue). Anyway, the beetles evidently thought this stuff
was candy because they quickly left MY food plants and defoliated these
weeds like a fly-by with agent orange.
Needless to say, this year I have recognized some of these weeds
coming up again in the garden and am actually transplanting it around the
edge. It's not a terribly attractive weed, but who cares what works! Beats
the alternatives (and is cheaper too!!)
Walker Bennett
mailto:wbennett@caldwellspartin.com
mailto:wabennett@gw.total-web.net
mailto:w_bennett@msn.com
"If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties?
How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around
your neck?"
- Linda Ellerbee
Hello to all,
Kevin recently posted that he had once again failed to prevent the excape
of a test slug.... I know that Kevin is trying to use good scientific
protocol with these tests that he is trying but... I would suggest
that a much less deterent barrier could be used to keep slug damage
below a level that affects yield than would required to prevent a
slug from escaping.
Last week I noticed that I had 50' by 10' patch of rape that was
completely infested
with aphids... my mind started switching into attack mode and i decided
that it was important that I cut down all the rape to prevent the aphids
from spreading to other plantings..but being a freneticallly busy grad
student
i had to head back to the university before I had time to cut down the
rape.
I returned to my family's land this week to find that the rape and few
remaining aphids are hosting the largest population of ladybugs
and larva that I have ever seen... most plants have more than 5 ladybug
larva ! I have moved some of the little larva/alligators about to other
plantings...
We have discussed herbivorous insect preference for weak plants before on
this list. I have certainly observed this phenomena... however I doubt
that
an insect would avoid eating a leaf from a healthy plant if both
were in bottle. I suggest that insects/mollusks make choices (probably
not through deductive
reasoning) and if you remove all but one option they may choose that
option even though it would not be a prefered choice if there were other
options.
So we need to think about how to give pest options that they prefer
over our crops...
Joel
Irma McVey wrote:
Does anyone know for a fact if anyone actually made a ring of crushed
eggshells, or a ring of diatomaceous earth, and then put a slug in the
middle, and watched if he could escape?
Kevin Chisholm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_06A7_01BEAED7.1A8CF680
Kevin wrote:
Kevin,
I believe I have stumbled on to something this year. I always plant a =
large number of marigolds (Tagetes patula) throughout my veggies. We =
have a significant number of banana slugs dining here every night and I =
have lost many a marigold to them, but they pass right by the peppers, =
tomatoes, and eggplants, in pursuit of the marigolds. Wow! So far, it =
seems that all I have to do is replenish the marigold supply every few =
days and my veggies are happy and safe. I find this easy as I start =
marigolds from seed and always have a lot in flats.
I'm watching this carefully and with much pleasure to see if the =
marigolds really are the slugs chosen dinner or ??? If so, Wow--how =
neat!!
judy
------=_NextPart_000_06A7_01BEAED7.1A8CF680
Needs to be a wide ring, and in the end he will escape or starve, but it
takes a long time before he tries it and he doesn't seem to enjoy the
process
You need to take into account with all these various slug control attempts
that sooner or later the slug will cross anything not actually lethal if
that is the only way to get to food
kathryn
Kevin Chisholm wrote:
Kevin,
Your keenness to carry out experiments is admirable - and may produce
some valuable insights - but for the purposes of ordinary everyday
gardening, it is enough to put /adequate/ difficulties in the way of
predators, so that they will go and find easier prey elsewhere.
It is analogous to protecting your car from car thieves. A
steering-wheel clamp, or any similar device will not stop the thief who
is absolutely determined to get YOUR car, but it will be enough to deter
the casual joy-riding adolescent, who will note the protection and go
and look for an easier car to steal such as one which has had the keys
left in the ignition.
Putting a slug inside a barrier with /all/ available food on the outside
will determine whether that barrier is an absolute "stopper" (this is
the technique used in designing a predator-proof fence to stop larger
wild animals), but "in real life" a slug will always prefer easy prey to
something difficult to access, so barriers such as crushed eggshell have
(I understand) proved effective - so long as the slugs have access to
tasty weeds, or the next door garden, or whatever, although if there is
no other alternative they can climb over eggshells. They just /prefer/
not to have to.
Tony
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
snicker, snicker
Judy wrote:
judy
What an interesting observation! It extends the usefulness of the
posting I sent to the list recently, pointing out the role of some
weeds in luring insects away from crops, by showing it can work for
molluscs also.
I feel we are on the brink of many new and less invasive techniques
which will revolutionise organic approaches to pest control in the next
few years.
I shall do some experiments myself next spring, but should love to know
how you get on meantime.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Reply from Kris Johnson to #99.6908359 From WBennett@CALDWELLSPARTIN.COM(Walker Bennett
Walker,
How about getting out your wild flower book and identifying this "weed". It might be useful to know and try for the rest of us.
Kris
--- Original Note #99.6908359 From WBennett@CALDWELLSPARTIN.COM(Walker Bennett
Kris
Kris Johnson - Habitat #22004 - gardening in
Williston, Ohio (near Toledo, close to Lake Erie, zone 6)
KRIS_JOHNSON.parti@ecunet.org
