Worth's 2017 Accidental Garden.

[Gardeneer]

Worth :What did you discover ? What is the killer ?

@ DMF, yes, ethanol is also one of the products of fermentation. So the yeast digest the sugar and produce ethanol + CO2. am not sure whether slug is attracted to the smell of alcohol or CO2.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Worth :What did you discover ? What is the killer ?

@ DMF, yes, ethanol is also one of the products of fermentation. So the yeast digest the sugar and produce ethanol + CO2. am not sure whether slug is attracted to the smell of alcohol or CO2.

I use the Ortho Bug-Geta.
Wont poison pets.
Very particular about what I use around the house do to my cat and the wanted wildlife like lizards and frogs.
The plus side is its active ingredient is 1% sulfur which might help acidify the soil.
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=...0QwIlQE&adurl=
Worth

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I use the Ortho Bug-Geta.
Wont poison pets.
Very particular about what I use around the house do to my cat and the wanted wildlife like lizards and frogs.
The plus side is its active ingredient is 1% sulfur which might help acidify the soil.
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=...0QwIlQE&adurl=
Worth

OK. I have used that stuff for years. In my previous post I referred to it by a wrong name.

[Worth1]

The stuff has reduced the population drastically but not enough.
Last year and the one before that was like a mass herd of bison on the range going through and eating everything in sight.

Using mulch in the spring was a huge mistake.
Now the soil is barren on top and all of the leaves are raked back into a pile in the yard.
I would rather water plants than to feed snails.
I have to over seed in hopes of getting something.
Already I have had to re plant seeds of certain things like cucumber and some squash.
Never in my life have I ever lived in an area with so many of them.
At night it is like stepping on a thousand light bulbs everywhere you walk.

It is this darn forest I live in.
Another thing I have done is shut off the irrigation system.
I have tried to kill by hand in the garden but I would be up all night long killing the things.
It seems like they lose interest after the plants get to a certain size.
I have never looked at snails and slugs with such contempt and hatred as I have in the last few years.
If I see one any place I go out of my way to kill it.
worth

[Gardeneer]

it seems like they lose interest after the plants get to a certain size.

I think it might look that way. The never lose interest. But with a huge plant the cannot cause too much damage. But they can eat a whole small seedling in one sitting.
I have seen my newly planted basil to be all eaten. What was left was a bare stem.

There are couple of ways to hunt them at night:

1) Salt shaker Method. Jus sprinkle a few grains of salt on their belly.

2) skewing Method : Get a 12" bamboo skew and keep pushing its sharp tip thru their belly, one after another. Until you have something that looks like small shrimps on the skew.
Get another fresh bamboo skew ...

[Worth1]

My next option is to put up an electric snail and slug fence.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Using mulch in the spring was a huge mistake.
Now the soil is barren on top and all of the leaves are raked back into a pile in the yard.
I would rather water plants than to feed snails.
I have to over seed in hopes of getting something.
Already I have had to re plant seeds of certain things like cucumber and some squash.
Never in my life have I ever lived in an area with so many of them.
At night it is like stepping on a thousand light bulbs everywhere you walk.

It is this darn forest I live in.
worth

I have found another problem with mulching too early - it did hold in too much water - I didn't have the snail/slug problem. My leaves /mulch are still waiting to be put in the garden.

I replanted both okra and squash seeds yesterday the 21st.

I have been giving a lot of thought to the forest that you live in. We live in one too.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

My next option is to put up an electric snail and slug fence.

Worth

You mean something like for the dogs ?
You have to put some special collar on them though.

[Worth1]

You run two strands of bare wire around the raised bed about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart tacked to the boards
Connect one loop to positive and the other to negative.
The snail or slug completes the circuit and gets shocked.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...fSY6oTvbrQzQEw

[Worth1]

Everybody that looks at the link above should subscribe to the guys channel.
He has an abundance of gardening information and also makes pottery.
He is not pretentious and claims everything he knows is by trial and error.

Today I took advantage of the cold weather because the fire ants in the last bed were down deep.
This allowed me to go in and rake and hoe the bed up without getting eaten alive.
Now I have to go back out and plant the rest of my cucumber and squash seeds water, fertilize and spread out snail and slug killer.
While I was there I picked a huge lemon drop pepper and ate it.
That woke me up.
Worth

[dmforcier]

You got ripe Lemon Drops?? How did you manage that? Did you overwinter it outside?

And, yeah, I bet the little sucker did wake you up.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by dmforcier

You got ripe Lemon Drops?? How did you manage that? Did you overwinter it outside?

And, yeah, I bet the little sucker did wake you up.

Yes I over wintered it and it came back from the roots.
The peppers on it this year are bigger than last year.
The darn thing was almost 3 inches long but I know it is a lemon drop.
No mistaking the taste plus the tag was still there.

[Worth1]

Yesterday I saw a dried up slug on the bed boarder board.
The thing just shut down like some old piece of machinery in its tracks.
Looks like the stuff is working.
Worth

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Yesterday I saw a dried up slug on the bed boarder board.
The thing just shut down like some old piece of machinery in its tracks.
Looks like the stuff is working.
Worth

Glad you found a solution .
Yeah. That is how the stuff works ; make them bleed why going away and die shortly after, dehydrated.
Another weapon is table salt. If it is dry, no rain in the forecast, you can sprinkle some on a piece something (plastic , paper,.. ). Salt melts them like ice by the sun.

[Worth1]

I've used salt before, gruesome.
Worth