Slugs

LAst year someone posted that they put something on the Hostas for the slug eggs that keeps them from hatching out and I forget what that was..Can anyone help??? Last year I had soo many slugs that I would like to get a head start on them this year......

blue,
I just popped into another thread and read that Ortho Gug-Geta Plus is great for slugs, earwigs and I think snails. I don't know if it gets rid of the eggs along with the slimmies or not. Looks like it's available at places like Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware and such.

I will be interested in what others recommend, I lost my "No Mercy" supplier last year and have to find something new.

Kelly

People recommend a drenching with diluted ammonia...something like 10:1 water to ammonia or weaker. That is supposed to work on both the eggs and the adults. I used about a 15:1 solution all summer last year to hunt and destroy them as I found them. Whenever I go out in the Spring and start poking around to find the eyes, I always find the slug babies nestled right up close to those eyes, just waiting for the snack bar to open. So this year I plan on drenching the areas around the plants before they even come up.

Good idea. Time for me to stock up on ammonia.

Thanks!

It's our local gardening guru - has a radio phone-in each week. He recommends 1:10 and using it as pre-emergent aroun the base of the plants where it will get adults AND eggs.

Noreaster,
I will try that ammonia spray. (I think Ann posted that info quite awhile ago and I just plum forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder. Do you need to actually spray the live slugs themselves? Also is this done with my trusty headlamp strapped around my forehead during a midnight slug raid during which all of my neighbors could see me and Know that I have completely lost it or can it be done during the day? How early should this be done and how often?

Thanks,
Kelly

Kelly, you just described me last year! Yes, I did wear the headlamp, and yes, I'm sure the neighbors thought I was absolutely nuts!! I swore I'd never go night slug hunting, but you gotta do what you gotta do when you're as infested as I am. I have dogs, so I don't feel comfortable using some of the more toxic options, and Sluggo is something that just doesn't seem to work for me. I believe I killed far more slugs last year with the ammonia/water than Sluggo ever did in my yard.

My plan of attack usually included two rounds- one at dusk, and one before I went to bed. Early morning would also be a great time, if you're an early riser. During the daytime I did it when it was raining. So all those would be the optimal times when the slugs are active. Otherwise during the day you could look for them under rocks, or trap them under damp boards laid on the ground. Yes, you have to spray the live slugs directly. Use a pump action garden sprayer if you have a lot of ground to cover.

Tell them about the lettuce traps. That was a great idea!

I was too embarrassed, Pirl. LOL! Yeah Kelly, Romaine lettuce is my secret weapon out there. I figured out last year that slugs love lettuce...more, in fact than they love hosta leaves, which is saying something. So I spread leaves of Romaine out in the garden and that is where I would find the slugs and kill them with the ammonia water. Sometimes the leaves would be absolutely covered in slugs....worked great and I know that's why I was able to kill legions of them last year.
Getting ready to fight the good fight in just about two more months!

Don't ever be embarrassed for such a great idea that worked so well.

I'm going to grow extra romaine just for the slug fest.

Sounds like a good idea to grow extra lettuce for the slugs. reminds me, I didn't see any lettuce seed amongst all my seeds when I was winter sowing. Better get some.

BTW, when I was out late at night, I saw about 50/50 slugs and earwigs; so I filled up my bottle with SOAPY ammonia solution.

Is soapy ammonia better somehow than regular amonia?

The soap in the solution will kill earwigs and I'm sure they do half the damage.

I don't really bother adding the soap because it seems like I rarely see earwigs to spray them. I know that they're out there, but they're just too darn hard to catch in the act.

Aren't we thankful slugs don't move as fast as earwigs?

I'd take up knitting.

Yes, that would be horrrible. Earwigs really give me the heebie jeebies. I tried to grow some Basil in a pot on my deck last year, which is the only direct sun we get. Well that is the one place where I had no trouble finding earwigs- they were all over the Basil. I couldn't even eat it after seeing that.

Yes but VERY satisfying to spray a cavity in the fence with soapy water and see them come stumbling out and drop down DEAD!

I knit anyway!

Yesterday I checked one of the slugs and earwigs favorite hiding spots under some pieces of bark and there weren't any of either pest.

Don't we sound like a bunch of nature's criminals with our enjoyment of killing those miserable things?

then I guess you all are saying that once the hostas start to peep through the ground to spray with ammonia on the plant and around it??? I did use ammonia last year on the big ones...Out there at night with my flashlight and spray bottle...Got rid of hundreds it seemd like...Want to get a jump start on them this year.....thanks

That's my plan, bluepoppy. I have to decide if I'm going to truly drench things, though, which seems like it would be a big effort, lugging around a vat of ammonia water. When I have found slug eggs, they are usually buried pretty good under the mulch, so I think it would need to quite a drenching to knock those out. So I might just concentrate my efforts on targeting the newly hatched babies that I know are always nestled right up against those emerging eyes...so I will mainly be dousing the area right around the eyes. Once the foliage unfurls, I don't like the get the ammonia on the leaves if I can help it. ( I do spray the petioles and crown).


We've had such a mild winter...I wonder if they will be showing their ugly, slimy little faces soon.

They first emerge here in April.

Check garage sales, tag sales and thrift shops for open golf carts that can hold a tank sprayer and be wheeled instead of carried.

p.s. another great benefit of night slug hunting with the head lamp or flashlilght is that you sometimes catch cutworms, which cause horrible hosta damage!

We've had the head lamps since 1992 when walking the dogs at night because it was so dark out here with so few street lights. Now I can use it for slug hunting after I warn the new neighbors.

We've used sterilized cans with both ends cut off to protect pepper plants from cutworms. Seems as though it would work for hostas as well.

can someone tell me what snail eggs look like????? I found a pile of very very small white eggs and wonder if they are snail eggs.....Quite alot in this pile...

Here's a photo that I cropped. They're clear and smaller than tiny peas.

ewe,,,they look just as bad as the adult slimmers.

I will have to try the lettuce leaves - we have had a very wet fall and winter and still going. I have to get started before they mow my hostas down. Of course, with the new puppy, they might not have a fighting chance this year.

ah, yes, I have some major holes in one of my hosta beds from the little digging devil Kia. That's another thing on my list for this spring.

Hey Kelly, where have you been for so long? Good to see you back!
Brenda

Hi Brenda,
Good to be back. Well, not doing much of anything. Have started cleaning out closets, bookshelves, DVD's and jewelry to list for sale. Was in a funk for quite some time and it seems that it has given me a break now for awhile. Can't wait til spring this year, last year, not so much time in the gardens but this year I have TONS of work to do in them. I'm sure they look nasty.

Have to find some good new stuff to get rid of the slugs. My supplier (Foxfire) is no longer in business. Didn't treat last year so my hostas looked like lace. Have heard about Bug-Geta Plus so I think I will try that,,,,and maybe my handy dandy forehead light will be put to use at night. Bill hates it when I go out at night with that thing on,,,says all the neighbors and passers by will think I'm nuts,,,,

I bought a set of LED flashlights at Christmas and it had two forehead lights - told hubby, now I can slug hunt in the dark easier. He and my daughter laugh at me going slug hunting in the dark. No doubt the neighbors think I am nuts too! That's okay with me.

I saw my first slug on Wenesday this week....EEEEKKKK! Way early for here, but we had a very quick and sudden warm up. I will try the lettuce trick and the spraying. Thanks for post the picture of eggs. I had know idea what to look for.

I'm going to try the lettuce too. Makes sense... no effort climbing up a stem. Am thinking that some of those thinner lettuces might be better ... less substance. Why did you pick Romaine, Noreaster? By the way, a visiting horticulturist told me that slugs prefer decaying matter. What about little piles of decaying matter. Any ideas anyone?

I tried only Romaine and green and red leaf lettuce, and I preferred the Romaine because generally the leaves and bunches were much bigger, so therefore more bang for the buck . Also, the sturdiness of the romaine made it last quite a while out there, which came as a surprise for me. One piece of lettuce, if not placed in direct sun, would actually last several days and the slugs didn't care if it was fresh or not. It never got gross and slimy...it just got eaten. I never had to pick up and throw out any lettuce. Also I found that the slugs liked to eat the stiff centers of the romaine leaves, much the same way they like to eat the centers of the hosta petioles. And lastly, I would frequently turn over the lettuce to find the slugs, and the stiffness of the leaf stems also made that task a bit easier. I did not notice any prerence by to slugs for romaine or green leaf...they seemed to like it equally.

This message was edited Mar 12, 2010 3:14 PM

If your local supermarket has someone who trims lettuce (not all supermarkets do it) they could save the trimmings for you. Heads of lettuce being discarded are also a possibility - it doesn't hurt to ask.

Hmm

Are you sure you are just not creating a healthier strain of slugs? LOL

Gary

I was wondering about that too, Gary .... but I think Noreaster is diligent enough to get that healthier strain. Besides I can't see lettuce being any healthier than hosta leaves. BTW has anyone tried hosta leaves in their salad?

Um, I have to say the same thing Gary did,,,,lettuce is good for you,,,Give me granule's anytime,,,,much easier,,,I know, I'm a lazy gardener.

irawon,
Have heard of doing that but never tried it.

Kelly

I use Slug and Snail Bait that I got at Wal*Mart. I guess they still have it. It was about $5.00 and it works great!

Doe41,

Thanks I'll mark that one down. I lost my No Mercy supplier last year and have to find something new,,,also was told about Bug-Geta Plus