Pill Bugs & Slugs, Oh My!

Hello All, so far, I am seeing a multitude of doggone Pillbugs and Slugs, rather than (and I am NOT saying this loudly) Stink Bugs. What are you all seeing?

Lots and lots and lots of slugs this year. I keep forgetting to sprinkle the Sluggo about -- thanks for the reminder.

Started out with a ton of aphids this Spring. They disappeared pretty much, only to be replaced by these two. I bought some "Sluggo Plus" - Boy! $$$$! How come, I wonder?

Thank goodness I've only seen little slugs(they don't gross me out as much as the really big ones) but tons of them beer did not attract them so I need to get some Sluggo
Also something is doing this to a lot of my plants

Anyone know what this guy is?

Gracye---

I do not think Pill Bugs are damaging at all. They just like to live UNDER things...
My Composter is full of them--and thank them for "doing their thing"...They are all over the place....


Slugs are different story! You can use slug Bait if you want...However--the are allover the place where there are moist
conditions. Deal with the any way you know how to....

Gita

I don't know why Sluggo is so pricey. Might be a good thing to buy in bulk for a swap.

what did you pay for which size container of sluggo, Gita? I may have to get some also... all the rain means they're really numerous this year, and they're doing a number on some of the smaller plants. I have them in all sizes... so far, biggest I've seen this year was about 4 inches long. He's eating too well!

A little seems to go a long way with the sluggo, too.

You can also remove a lot of them by putting down a board in a moist spot and periodically lifting it and scraping the slugs off into a bucket of water with a little soap or salt.

Palmbob's article about slug deterrents from a vet perspective (read if you have pets!) http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/781/

Toni Leland's "Slug those Slugs!" http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/736/

This year there are slug holes in plants they usually ignore, and I hate to think how many plants they have probably devoured whole that I haven't yet noticed are missing, especially small hostas.

Jen- those long thin antenna go with something in the tree cricket family, I suppose that sounds like something that eats plants in some way, not sure.

Anyone try the beer -saucer thing for slugs?

Yes me too on seeing lots of both. I think pill bugs just eat rotten stuff.

I've read that the problem with the beer saucer thing is that while it traps some, it feeds others - a very good meal I might add - so it stop into the population growth.

Jill--

I do not profess to buy "Sluggo" or anything else identifiable. Just any old product for Slugs.

I pick up my Slug bait stuff at places like "Good Stuff Cheap" for a few $$.

I am also VERY negligent about applying anything to control stuff....Just don't care!
I see the silvery trails when I go outside and think: "OH! I need to sprinkle some Slug bait all over"...
Then I seldom do.
I will! I promise! They do a lot of damage to my annuals. I only have ONE Hosta--and is is in a
big pot by my shed. Slugs would need to take an elevator to get to it.....

BUT_ I have a pretty big brick "pad" by my shed door. Perfect grounds for slugs. All those nooks and crannies...
Need to do something......But--when you get to be in your 70's--all that get up and go--
has long gotten up and is "gone". Things just do not matter all that much.

Work and rest----work a little more--and rest a lot more....Go inside and watch TV--and all is well....
I remember I could haul from morning to dark. No more.....It sure takes a lot out of me!
Saturdays (my full day in garden at HD) kill me! My back hurts from standing around and talking to customers...
and my feet hurt as I have "Plantar Faciatis" and have to wear orthotic insoles in my tennis shows.
And--as a rule--we are supposed to WALK the customers to the product they are asking about....Ouch!
I hang in there--but it takes a toll on me....A big smile covers it all.....

Gita

Gita

Gita: Watch out about the non-organic slug baits that use Metaldehyde -- they are very very nasty. Apparently accidental poisoning of dogs is quite common: http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neurological/c_dg_metaldehyde_poisoning. Sluggo can trigger iron poisoning, but that is very unlikely to occur. So we now just use Sluggo. Sorry to be all gloom and doom.

Happy--Thanks!

Good to know to pass on---I have NO pets--and neither do my neighbors.
Think we are semi-safe!

What is "Sluggo" made of that it is safe to all living creatures????

Gita

Baby slugs galore here in my little yard. Was SO not happy they were munching on my 'Frost Proof' Gardenia. Went in and grabbed the neem oil/murphy's soap/alcohol/water mix and sprayed the little suckers. Without going into gory details (I kinda felt bad - I'll be honest) - lets just say - the mix took care of them. Not to say there aren't more lurking....but it took care of the ones on the plants I found. I have to be careful in my front yard as I used the herbs out there for eating - making oils etc.

check out both those articles i linked to... "Sluggo" and similar are iron phosphate, which is "relatively" safe. (I still sprinkle sparingly but have only used it a couple times here... maybe I just have enough tender little weedlings to satisfy them most years LOL.)

Good to know Chantell!
Here is the formula, copied from a post by tapla sometime ago.:
1 pint rubbing alcohol
1 pint very hot water
1 tsp pure, cold-pressed neem oil
3-4 drops Murphy's oil soap

Add neem & soap to hot water & shake well. Add alcohol. Spritz plants thoroughly, covering all surfaces - especially underside of leaves & leaf axils. Be sure to shake vigorously as you use the spritzer to keep the neem mixed with the solution. Works great - the neem oil renders all the insects it contacts unable to complete metamorphosis or reproduce, while the alcohol provides reasonable knock-down for current generations.

I wonder if its just the alcohol portion that does in the slugs so, um, dramatically?

Is this for slugs in particular, or for all bugs?

This is 'tapla's' all purpose ''spray any bugs on houseplants'' formula
One container of neem is pricey but makes so many batches. Just need to repurpose a sprayer

I have some neem oil floating around. My garden supplies are a complete mess so I don't know where it is. Some are in the garage where various people (myself not included) have moved them multiple times, making it impossible to find anything. I had others in a Rubbermaid shed outside, but then some contractor emptied to do some work behind the shed and left the stuff in a tub (without telling me) where it got rained on -- maybe two years ago -- and I'm still ignoring it! Can you imagine how gross that is going to be if I ever attack it?

Thanks, Sally! And, God love you, Gita! Boy, I'd love to join you! Working so hard these days, and in my mid-fifties, am getting tired of work. I want to garden (different type of work!). I actually sat under my HUGE old Maple Tree this morning, and the sun hit my legs, and oh! Heaven! I decided to admire all that is good, instead of decide on what work I need to do next...it was just lovely. And rare. Of course, I had hit most suspect plants with "8" insecticide, before I sat down...got these new "Artist" ageratum, and spent many moments gazing at them...day lilies are just in bloom, and those are some that got the "8" after looking at all the aphids...I don't want to get rid of everything, but I can spot a doggone "plague" when I see one. Wonder about the effects of the splurge I had in early Spring, doctoring my land with "Milky Spore."

Slugs are a big issue here, too. I just haven't bother to do more than cuss at them. They love my stone wall, the best luck I have had in controlling them was the year we let the Chickies patrol the wall. That worked just great till they decided to hang out on the front porch and we had to restrict them to the back yard.

I tried to ignore them, but when I unpacked my baby Dahlias ordered from Burpees, and set them in a nice, sheltered spot to "liv in" before I could plant them (about three days), they were et up! And I KNOW it was doggone slugs.
When I planted them, saying many prayers I might add, my husband just shook his head and said sagely: "Well, I know you like Dahlias, but some critter likes them even more than you!," I knew the writing was on the wall. And so, onward with the "deslug" program.
I'd taken the trouble to over-winter some tall Dahlias, and they started sprouting when I planted my little ones. Slugs, almost overnite, ate everything except the spines. Horrible.
And I am wondering if slugs are the reason my Rhubarb was et up last year? Can you imagine? Those poisonous leaves? Killed one plant before I noticed.

Well I'm not seeing any slugs or snails but every time after a good rain at night I'm not seeing a bunch of my flower seedlings either!! Ouch I bet I had 50 flower plant seedlings eaten last night.
Of course my vegies look great!!

Well, I am sure that slugs were what ate my Clematis that grows by the potting shed. The blooms disappeared pretty fast.

I'm having major problems with this guy, grrrrrrrr
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/843/

flowAgen; Those look like one of the potato leaf beetles,there are many and as you already know I'm sure,They will eat everything. I have a really large red beetle species running circles around me,yours look like one of the smaller,man are they tenacious or what!!?

Four lined plant bug...talk about naming something just for exactly how it looks...as soon as you approach them they quickly scatter and hide behind the leaves