slugs / snails problems

[likespaphs]

i've never had the beer thing work
perhaps two boards separated by a small space and in the mornings, get rid of the spacers and crush 'em

 

[Lanmark]

I've used caffeine tablets successfully in the past. It wiped out the snails completely. I had those tiny orchid snails, Zonitoides arboreus, which came in on a new plant. I dissolved the tablets in water making a very strong solution of caffeine and then sprayed and drenched everything with it.

 

[Ross]

I've used caffeine tablets successfully in the past. It wiped out the snails completely. I had those tiny orchid snails, Zonitoides arboreus, which came in on a new plant. I dissolved the tablets in water making a very strong solution of caffeine and then sprayed and drenched everything with it.

What was the concentration of the spray?

 

[hhartung]

Are you from Venezuela?
__________________
Ramón


I am German but I live in Venezuela since 1968.

Where are you living?

Helmut

 

[Kavanaru]

Are you from Venezuela?
__________________
Ramón


I am German but I live in Venezuela since 1968.

Where are you living?

Helmut

hehe... born Venezuelan, nationalized German (9 years living in Germany)... currently living in France near the swiss and german borders...

where are you in Venezuela? CCS?

 

[Lanmark]

What was the concentration of the spray?

It was very strong at around 2% caffeine. This is probably not practical for large scale use, but for home use on a couple of small plants I crushed and dissolved 13 200mg tablets of caffeine per 8 ounces (.24 litres) of water. I was treating very small vandaceous plants like Trichoglottis triflora, Trichoglottis pusilla and Neofinetia falcata. I quarantined the infested plans. Then I completely drenched the plants in the morning with the solution and misted them with the solution late in the afternoon. The plants became covered with a yellow crystalline coating. The following day I drenched and sprayed the plants with plain water to removed the caffeine. I repeated this procedure once per week for three more weeks (a total of four treatments). It was probably overkill, but it did the trick. I've never had snails since then.

 

[Clark]

Manually removing at night/early morning worked here.
Thought they came in with the sphag I bought.
Think I got 'em before reproduction began.

IN all fairness, pest was only located in terrarium.
Been snailfree for over a year.

 

[keithrs]

I have used coffee grinds, potatoes, oranges, beer, whisky, yeast mixed in water, sluggo plus, and cinnamon sprays.
I found that a mix of sluggo and cinnamon spray does work the best for me..... They all work and yes, mold does grows on sluggo, but will not hurt anything and will wash away.... You may have to apply it more frequently at first to get the stragglers . slug/snails don't die right away but they can't eat anymore. The cinnamon spray will kill the eggs in the mix/soil as well as any other pest. Cinnamon also has anti fungal properties. You can use coffee grinds on the ground as a maintains thing. That really is the key..... maintains.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I dump my coffee grounds on the bases of my rhododendrons. The coffee grounds are all covered with slug/snail tracks. They certainly don't seem to mind the caffeine.

 

[orchids3]

Snail control media.

Does anyone use diatomaceous powder? I rarely see snails anymore and the small bush snails were a problem to me a few years ago. My mix is simply stalite gravel and diatomite. The diatomite I get from the auto parts store and the gravel from the gravel yeard. Paphs and prags both grow well in it as do 2500 cymbidiums. Think snails dont go into anything that scratches their slimy bellies. The medium is proving guite good for both plants and snail control.
The diatomite I use is for soaking up the oil spills under automobiles. Make sure its diatomite - not something else.
Stalite is a light weight aggregate use for manufacturing light weight concrete. Made by heating shale to 3500 F - it pops like popcorn and forms a very porus ceramic with a rough surface. Snails dont it either.
Maybe put it on your floor if you dont like the idea of potting in it.

 

[SlipperFan]

Is the diatomite you are using in powder form, or rocks? I've used the powder as a dust on hosta leaves and around the plants outdoors. Very effective, but it has to be re-applied often, especially after a rain.

 

[orchids3]

It is a mix of mostly granular with a little bit of powder.

 

[SlipperFan]

Granular? I've never seen that offered, but it should work.

 

[orchids3]

Snail bait of all kinds seems to mold a little (or a lot) but it only takes a few pellets in each pot. It all seems to wash into the media. It has never cause me any problems other than being unsightly for a few days.