I have read that Roundup is harmful to invertebrae. I am hesitant to use Roundup, fungicides and even to put beer out for the slugs. Any suggestions on herbicides, fungicides and treatment for slugs that won't harm our many toads and salamanders?
fungicides and herbicides safe for invertebrae
Have you looked into Escar Go or Sluggo for the slugs? I haven't read anything about toads or salamanders eating that bait. Perhaps the company that makes it can tell you.
We only use distilled white vineagar as an herbicide. I use a milk&water mix for powder mildew, and the Serenade bacillus subtilis product or neem if a really bad fungus shows up, although I have't had anything worse than mildew for a few years.
Is the vinegar safe for the toads and salamanders (obviously not to be sprayed directly on, but they are always nearby)?
Lay down a board about a foot wide and whatever length you want, in the area where you find most of the slugs. They will congregate (for shelter) under the board and in the morning you just lift up the board and either toss the slugs or dispose of them another way.
The "trick" to limiting the supply is to start early in the spring - March to early April - and then you'll stop that generation from breeding.
Yes, Roundup is harmful to invertebrates. It also is great for killing trees, even if they are 10 or more feet away. Think about it. If you water a plant do you think the water just stays where you put it? No, it travels. So does anything else you put on the ground. SU herbicides such as roundup cause more problems than most pesticides on the market today. They cause what Dr. Carl Whitcomb refers to as "Metabolic Mayhem".
You can mix up your own herbicide using 10% vinegar, available at most feed stores (the kind you get in the grocery store is usually 5%). To one gallon of the 10% vinegar, add 1 or 2 ounces of orange oil and a teaspoon of soap or yucca extract as a surfactant. Mix well before applying. Be careful not to set the spray get in your eyes and avoid breathing it because vinegar this strong can burn even your skin.
Whatever you directly spray it on will usually die, if it is green. It will not harm woody parts of plants. It will not always kill Bermuda grass. About 5 minutes after it is applied, the vinegar gets broken down and actually acts as a fertilizer to the soil. It will not harm earthworms unless you spray it directly on them. You should not spray the soil anyway, just the green stuff you want to die.
It is best to hand pull weeds and fill in with mulch or compost and mulch, but this is not always practical, especially when dealing with poison ivy.
Thank you organic1, you are earning your name.
This stuff won't hurt my frogs or salamanders, I hope?
Where does one get orange oil, and is there a substitute?
Probably at shops that sell oil for candles or the health food shops here that sell all kinds of scented oils for potpourris, etc.
I can imagine what the vinegar and surfactant do, but what does the orange oil do?
Any tips for invertebrae safe anti-fungals?
Here's a whole page, from Google:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=invertebrate+safe+antifungals&spell=1
Arlene, those antifungals are for humans, animals and even fish, but not plants!
Thanks for setting the record straight!
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