Environmentally friendly ways to murder snails .... kindly

Vivian

I would rather not reveal what happened to the bucketed snails ... It makes me dizzy & nauseas to remember!

What to do with dead, beery snails? I heard a suggestion on the radio this week ... whizz the snails in your blender with water to dilute them, then spray on the areas they usually like to hang out in. Apparently it works, but hey, I don't think I'd feel quite the same about the blender again! Ugghhhh!

An interesting story about the homing snails. Fancy that!

Well, bottled ammonia is already diluted, and I dilute that one part bottled ammonia, one part water.

Diluting it more might still work, haven't tried it.

This thread is fast approaching 5 pages! Not only a testament to the popularity of msolga on this site, but also to the public's fascination with slug-murdering.

I don't care how long this thread goes -- hell, even if it reaches a thousand pages -- I'm gonna be there at the end.

That's how caught up I am in this damn thing.

Thanks, msolga.

getting back to sharp, gritty things ... ground limestone spread around and even over the plants works quite well too. here in eastern ontario the soil is somewhat acid, so there is the added benefit of 'sweetening' the soil ... makes for better and bigger beans, tomatoes etc., besides it's fairly inexpensive, a 10 kilo bag is less than $10. hbg

Hi, MsOlga. My PNW gardening experience is with slugs. We have a few snails, but they seem cute & harmless in comparison. There are many plants that slugs don't like.... I've learned to appreciate them. Among the best -- hydrangeas, lavateria, hellebores, rhododendrons & azaleas. I also have very little trouble with slugs on carnations, foxgloves & snapdragons. They can get really bad on alyssum, marigolds and petunias if they get a chance. I hate 'em.

Beer is a good way to go, though gross, as the dead slugs turn a whiter shade of pale in their final soup. <shudder> Btw, you don't need to use good beer or much of it... the dregs from bottles are perfect fare for slugs & snails.

Sharp and gritty borders are great at protecting favorite plants like hollyhocks. I save & dry eggshells... crumble them up and scatter them in an UNBROKEN line around the plants. You can also use a thick scattering of ashes from a charcoal grill or wood fire. Again, the line must be unbroken and you'll have to check after a rain to ensure that.

There are also somewhat costly strips of copper or fat copper wire that works well wound around plant pots. A double row is best.

Because our yard now fronts on a horse pasture, I've found that we have many less slugs than before. Apparently slugs are no match for horse hooves. Before we had the horse, I would creep out early in the morning with a disposable rubber glove on one hand and a cardboard milk carton in the other. I'd pluck up to a half-gallon of slugs out of the wet grass as they were slimily sneaking back to their hidey-holes and when I couldn't take it any more, I'd seal up the carton and put it into a plastic bag along with the glove, knot the top and toss it all into the garbage can. Gross, yes, but I got rid of a lot of slugs that way.

It is important to find out where the little devils are living and breeding and evict 'em. Under rocks and bricks and the odd pot. Clear that out and your yard will be a lot less desirable to them, I think.

Good luck... so happy that somebody on this green earth is getting ready for spring (as we on the other side of the globe face our fall & winter season).

Slug murdering is indeed an intensely fascinating topic, Gus! I hope you're picking up a few useful tips here! I'm gonna buy some beer today & teach those slimey little critters a thing or two! You should see what they did yesterday, while I was here talking about them. This is war!

hamburger

Thanks for information about ground limestone. Perhaps I should give it a miss here though, as the soil is very alkaline. Something else gritty, perhaps?

Hello there, Piffka!

Slugs! Yech! I have 'em & hate 'em. too! The slimiest of the slimy! <shudder> But I figure that some of the snail elimination strategies will work on them, too? I HATE pulling them off plants. A gruesome experience! <shuddering again, at the mere thought>

Yes, it looks like time for a serious eviction. Today we begin! Then the beer! So now I'm going to save all those egg shells & do you know what with them. Plus the citrus skins. This is bringing out the killer in me, I think. Pity I can have the services of a horse, like you!

Yes, it's spring, Piffka! It is just mesmerizing, I tell you! Every day something new to gaze at in awe. Just now I noticed the first new little red shoots of my Japanese maple. A few delicate little leaves are just beginning to unfold. My first brave little (white) Iris has shown it's face & my little rose bushes are starting to look like themselves again. Two little hyacinths are nodding away in the breeze & I now have two gigantic Bird of Paradise flowers trying to perk over the top of my picket fence (with 3 more to come.). I love this time of year. It's magic!

Hello there, Piffka!

Slugs! Yech! I have 'em & hate 'em. too! The slimiest of the slimy! <shudder> But I figure that some of the snail elimination strategies will work on them, too? I HATE pulling them off plants. A gruesome experience! <shuddering again, at the mere thought>

Yes, it looks like time for a serious eviction. Today we begin! Then the beer! So now I'm going to save all those egg shells & do you know what with them. Plus the citrus skins. This is bringing out the killer in me, I think. Pity I can have the services of a horse, like you!

Yes, it's spring, Piffka! It is just mesmerizing, I tell you! Every day something new to gaze at in awe. Just now I noticed the first new little red shoots of my Japanese maple. A few delicate little leaves are just beginning to unfold. My first brave little (white) Iris has shown it's face & my little rose bushes are starting to look like themselves again. Two little hyacinths are nodding away in the breeze & I now have two gigantic Bird of Paradise flowers trying to perk over the top of my picket fence (with 3 more to come.). I love this time of year. It's magic!

msolga : yes, if you have alkaline soil, you'd want to give the ground limestone a miss. have a look in a builder's yard and see if you can find some really gritty sand - can't remember what it's called - i think it's used for setting patio stones. hbg

Thanks, hamburger. I think I know what the sandy stuff is? ... It's on the tip of my tongue ... Nah, can't remember.

Decomposed granite is what I think you're thinking of. They don't like gravel either, though in our design work we use small crushed rock instead, as it compacts better under foot.

However, as I have snails clutching to my stone wall and the side of my house, when I let them get going, the footing isn't enough of a deterrent.

Thanks for that, osso.
(Been squirting today? )

No, I am a lazy godforsaken gardener. Although I am going to talk to a fellow to help on Monday...

When I did squirt dem snails day after day, they pretty fairly disappeared..

I am just not always in the mood to go snailsquirt after work.., when I could be checking a2k.





edited to improve spelling

Yes, osso, I have that same conflict of interest, myself, at times.

I've been conducting experiments over the last couple of days. I've been a bit concerned about msolga. Is she safe? Are the snails overtaking her? Will she be the victim of a slow and torturous snail date rape?

I couldn't sleep -- images of msolga, screaming in her bed as thousands of snails climbed closer and closer -- it was just too much. She doesn't deserve such a fate.

So, like I said, I've experimented. What is a sure-fire way to eradicate snails, I mused. Beer was not an option -- too many snails, like humans, were not fond of beer. You would in essence get rid of the snail bar crowd, but the regular snail citizens were still there, ready to wreak havoc.

I needed something to kill them all. But what? Then it hit me -- white dots! Friggin' white dots!

The white dot method was first used by the Erinyes, the angry and avenging deities in Greek mythology whose sole purpose was to destroy snails. They threw white dots from the clouds and neatly sliced the offending gastropods in half. Soon, the entire snail population was gone.

Or so they thought. Apparently a few escaped. They made their way to a small village in the lower regions of India and procreated. Soon their numbers burgeoned and they set forth in all directions to once again cause distress to all plant growers.

But they still feared the white dots. In the backs of their little snail minds they knew white dots spelled their doom. So they avoided them.

And to this day, a white dot placed anywere near a garden will supposedly keep the entire snail population of the area at bay.

I placed a white dot by my garden wall, just to make sure. Soon, a snail approached. He tentatively crept up on the white dot and I could tell he suspected that, yes indeed, this was a white dot and perhaps he should flee....



And, sure enough, once he realized the white dot protected this particular garden, he wheeled and headed west, screeching the horrible snail screech as he fled. I could hear the other snails answering. They returned the screech.

It was as if they were saying, "White dot! White dot! Clear the area!"

It's quiet now. The snails are gone. I casually strode out to my garden wall, picked up the white dot, and headed into the house to give msolga the good news.

Your snail is cuter than mine.

Gus, Congratulations! I heard that you have won the prestigious Nobel Prize for inventing the famous slug and snail eradicator.

And mine aren't remotely cute!

Thank you, Gus for that timely news re the white dot method! I'm a little dizzy from sea-sawing from side to side while reading your very wide post, but I think I've got the gist of your information.

OK then! If all else fails it's the dreaded blitz by white dots! :

Now I need to rest my eyes for a wee bit. The dizziness & all ...