Hi,

I live in southern California and I have planted 8 roses and primose in my garden and I need to get rid my the snails and slugs. I have a puppy that eats everything so it has to my natural. Any ideas?????

Thank you so much Joni

Joni.Collect egg shells from the eggs you are using. Store them in a container in the freezer. When you have collected a fair amount,put the egg shells on some aluminum foil in a 250 degree oven and dry the egg shells. Put the dried egg shells in a blender and crush them till they are real fine. Sprinkle this fine powder around the effected plants,about 3-4" from the plants stem.

Joni, we just got back from southern california, and I'm still trying to readjust to the cold. Came back to winter's last blast out here and this morning it was a balmy -29c. I have no idea what that is in fahrenheit, but I do know it is ***m cold!

There is an earlier thread on slug control you could look at, but personally, I have tried it all and nothing has worked naturally except hand picking. Having said that, I'm sure you have more varieties of slugs than I, so I can only speak from dealing with those little grey guys that rarely get bigger than an inch.

I've heard of a pet-friendly product that came out last year here in Canada, but cannot remember the name. It may be on that earlier thread.

Hi, We have lots of slugs and snails here in Newfoundland hand picking early in the morning is the best way to get rid of them

hi i am sorry it's off the topic but i also just got back from south CA an hour ago, i sure missed the cold air here. i went to long beach and beverly hills very nice landscape and houses and yards but the ppl there seemed to be rushing all the time

I have had trouble with snail/slugs for past 2 years. Tried, the beer in a dish, didn't work well, tried the bait but it is harmful, this year I am going to try the copper around the plants these darn creatures like to eat. You might want to try this method.

Yep your right Israel, they are in a hurry. WHY i do not now. I say get up early..take your time..everything that needs to be done will be done................joni

Lorraine, save your money. Unless different slugs react differently, my slugs used the copper as a little slug highway. It didn't even slow them down. I was very disappointed.

A product by "Safer's" came out 2-3 years ago that is safe for birds and pets. It is called "Slug & Snail Bait". It was developed by a local fellow (local being Vancouver Island) and contains an iron compound. This apparently causes these things to stop feeding. They slither away and off they go to slug heaven. It works. I have ligularia and hostas that are left intact...a true test! Early morning plucking works. Some people call this "hand-picking" but don't take that literally. Use tongs...I get queasey just thinking about these slimey beasts. We have very hefty specimens in Victoria... Good luck...seems you've quickly got caught up in this delightful passion called gardening! gwen

Safer's Slug and Snail bait is the best product on the market...you need to buy it early as when the time approaches for these slimy little pests, the product seems to dissapear from our store shelves. In Thunder Bay, the market only brings in so many.... However, I need to share with you a novel way of hand picking with great success...I own a cat...and I also have these great gloves for removing loose hair from my cat. The palms and fingers of these knit gloves contain numerous little rubber bumps on them and they make for very speedy pickups and discards into a pail or plastic bag. Works supremely better than tongs or tweezers.

thanks for the hint re: rubber-bumper-gloves...sound great...can one get them at a pet shoppe?, Can. Tire?, the Bay??, or?? If you need more bait, put out the call and I'll send some east...we use this stuff year round in Victoria...lucky us! gwen

I remember hearing about the Safer's product, but could not remember the details. I will look for it in the spring, if spring ever gets here. Very little snow all winter and the last week- boom.

One slug removal method that worked for me was my daughter. She is a biologist of some sort and adores the slugs. She loves to race them down the sidewalk. She even puts up obstacle courses. A few years ago, when the slugs were particularly bad, she would pick 60 to 80 slugs each evening. After she went into bed, I "disposed" of the slugs. She never knew. She assumes they just crawled back into the garden until the next night.

And yes, the neighbours do "borrow" her slug hunting talents.

A quick trip to your neighbourhood hairdresser with a big plastic bag. Fill it with clippings, and spread around your fleurs like mulch -

I have had great success with copper, but it has to go ALL THE WAY ROUND THE GARDEN, with no way under, or over.Even one long branch that reaches over the copper will give them a way in. I have raised beds made of railway ties, so I just nail the copper on the tops of the beams. Egg shells have not worked very well for me, but round sanding disks, the rougher the better, (the ones with the holes in the middles) is a good obstacle course.C<- Put the stem of the plant in the hole. Same theory as the egg shells, rough on the crawling underbellies of the snails or slugs. Sometimes adding rough sand (the kind used to sand blast) on top of your soil will help too, till the rain washes it away. Beer works but: have to put it in a plastic cup buried up to the rim. Have to put an umbrella over it to keep the rain out and dump/refill almost daily. Work to set it up, but it sure beats picking the things off one at a time! One more: Pepper spray. I will have to go look up the recipe in my tip file. Back atcha with that. Human hair is good for keeping deer out of gardens. Never heard of it used for anything else.Irish Spring soap bars hung up in mesh bags works better than hair for the deer anyway. Stinky but effective! LOL Judith (aka Gimpy2)

Pepper Spray: In about 1 gallon of warm water add:2 small hot red chili peppers, 2 cloves of garlic. Blend. Let it stand for 24 hrs. Strain (sieve with J-Cloth). Add 1 tablespoon dishwashing soap (this is so the spray will stick to the plant), Pour into a spray bottle. Spray liberally over top undersides of plants. WEAR GLOVES! DO NO SPRAY IN HOT SUN! COVER EYES! Best sprayed early morning or just before dark. Repeat spraying after a rainfall. Works well on whitefly too. I hope one of these solutions works for you! Good luck. Would like to hear how you make out with all this info!LOL Judith (aka Gimpy2)

Gimpy 2 again. How to make a slug trap. Tried to cut and paste a drawing of slug trap. Doesn't work. So, will explain with words: 1)Take a pop bottle. 2)Cut off top just above the bulge. 3) Insert neck into other half of bottle, neck inside. 4) Put beer or slug bait in bottle. 5)Lay bottle on ground with rim slightly under surface the soil. Slugs and snails can crawl in but not out. remove bottle from garden to clean slugs out bottle with garden hose.That way you don't have to touch the slimy things.

I read that one cup of white vinegar mixed into one gallon of water and sprayed around the soil and plant will take care of the problem. I haven't personally tried this but am planning on it as soon as the slimy little creatures show themselves near my prize hostas. Marilyn

Hi Joni. The best and surest way is pick them up and destroy. You can put them in a can with a lid. The next best way for me was using grass clippings.

Here is more information on HOW TO DETER SLUGS

Crushed eggshells: They can be microwaved for a couple of minutes to dry and then store. Scatter heavily the crushed shells around any plants that slugs are attacking. Crushed oyster shells are also said to be effective. Human hair adheres to their bodies. Cayenne pepper, ground ginger, ground chili, slivers of raw garlic. Any of these sprinkle around susceptible plants. Copper strips: strips, 10 cm/4 inches wide. Place rings around plants. Aluminum foil wrapped around the stems of the plants Sand paper cut into circles, cut and slit to the centre and another little circle Coffee grounds or tea leaves, Woodchips, oak leaves, woodshavings, sand, fresh lime or metal barriers, Rosemary cutting placed around the plants Slug/snail resistant plants. Try surrounding the garden with plants that they don't like Beer/yeast Take a container cut 4 or 5 ¼ inch holes in the sides about a half inch from the top, dig them up to the holes in the garden. Pour two inches of beer or (non/alcohol beer works same) and close the lid. You can also use bakers yeast and a spoon of sugar mix this with water in the container. Ammonia mix (1part to 9 parts water) about 1 cup, all around the base of your plants Remains of grape fruit/citrus halves turned upside down in garden and left overnight. Old melon peel can be used Kale, lettuce or spinach leaves. Leave them to wilt. Celery sticks left out overnight. Wipe off slugs and put back Damp sponges place on the ground around plants will attract slugs. Lift and remove slugs after a day or two. Greasy margarine containers. Half bury the containers. 50% ammonia 50% water solution Rubbing alcohol Epsom salts sprinkled lightly on the ground or diatomaceous earth around the base of the plant. Bleach. Chlorine bleach applied straight killed snails Boards. Lay out boards near affected plants. Dryer lint place around the base will help keep the slugs away Potatoes, cut potatoes in half and place under each plant Grass clippings-slugs hate it for its sharp edges Aluminum phosphate, 1 part aluminum phosphate, 3 parts garden lime, mixed dry and spread over the area to be protected. Ashes, don't let ashes touch the leaves 1 tbsp. Molasses or honey, l tbsp. Cooling oil added to 500 ml plastic container full of water Newspaper, wet newspaper under plants then throw it away with the slugs attached. Slug and Snail product by Safers

Garlic Brew: 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, 1 small pungent onion and 2 hot peppers (or 1 tsp of ground cayenne pepper). Place these ingredients in a blender with 1 quart of water and blend until liquefied. Allow the brew to sit overnight, then strain it through a cloth. Add 3 drops of liquid soap to the mixture as you pour it into a pump spray bottle. Use this brew on pests that are eating plant leaves. Apply at sundown.

Make a tea out of wormwood and water. Steep a chopped-up handful of the wormwood (Artemisia) in boiling water for more than 10 minutes. Strain and pour the cooled mixture around hostas; this will kill off overwintering slugs. I also remove any big , luscious leaves that would provide a breeding place for bugs and slugs. Leave the rest to make glorious shadows on the snow all winter."

As far as the bleach goes... 10 to 20 % for direct plant applications or plant soakings. Crown rot and the like..(I have used higher concentrations). And I use up to 50 percent if not full strength on tools in my gardens.

You can leave clay pots upside down under the plant leaves and then bring them out into the hot sun the next day.

Spread Bran on ground and lay cabbage leaves around the base of the plant.

Put slices of turnips in beds where slugs frequent.

I have just used recently used a mix of one tablespoon of canola oil, one tablespoon of baking soda and a few drops of dish soap in 1 quart of water and it worked.

http://www.ghorganics.com/page13.html#Barriers

http://www.powerup.com.au/%7Eswimskins/slug_snail_FAQ.html

http://www.safers.com/insects.html

Hope some of those help you. Some of the above work and some don’t. You have to try to see if it works for you.

I read that slug problems can be promoted year after year by using unsterilized packaged manure as they often contain slug eggs. Truth or myth? haven't a clue but I won't use any manure that hasn't been sterilized.

Hi snails do not like sand paper. I'm planing on doing this myself. Using 2x4 make a box that goes around your plants. Have about 6" between the box & the plant. Then cover the top 3 sides with 50-80 grit sand paper. If check with any local woodwork shop for used paper. As they climb it cuts them. You may have to change the paper a few times a season. later merwin

The way to effective take Slugs out of your garden is a Swedish product name SlugTrap. Find more info on www.slugtrap.com or www.slugtrap.nu

Hey, let me add my two bits. Here in Ontario, the zebra mussel has made itself to home. I bring back a bucket of their empty abodes when we go to the beach. It seems to work very well. I think Millie wins the prize though.

I live on the Oregon coast and have lots of slugs to deal with. I will be trying the hair thing but have found something that works well. I had plants in buckets last year and the snails would get into them, until my dad told me that he'd heard from a friend that lube grease worked, so I put a line of lube grease around the buckets and the snails wouldn't cross it. This year I wrapped foil around the stem of my newly transplanted tomato seedlings and put lube grease on the foil. They wouldn't cross it but did climb up the stake I had at one plant and ate it, so now I will be putting a line of lube grease around the bottom of any stakes I have to use when I transplant my other tomato plants. I talked to a local master gardener and she said she has hundreds of slugs in her garden and they don't touch her tomato plants, but they love mine. Am I the only one who's tomato plants attract slugs?