# Garlic snails



## Stone (Jul 25, 2012)

How do I totally and utterly and completely exterminate them? (in a reasonably safe way)
I'm talking about the tiny minature ones that come out after a good soaking. Some smell of garlic and some don't. They love root tips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike.


----------



## cnycharles (Jul 25, 2012)

caffeine spray and drench

there are discussions here about 'snails and caffeine'


----------



## keithrs (Jul 25, 2012)

I water at dusk then go on the hunt around 9 to stab them with a skewer and then smash them with my big foot.... In the morning I spray all plants with chili oil diluted with warm water and throw out sluggo or iron phosphate. Ive tried everything under the sun.... This is what works for me.


----------



## abax (Jul 26, 2012)

Mesurol (spelling is probably wrong) does the job in one
application, but there are risks. I lost several species Phals. after spraying with it, but the damn snails were
killing the plants anyway. I used it on bush snails. Orthene 97% seems to have a pretty good first knock down effect.


----------



## keithrs (Jul 26, 2012)

Mesurol is a very poisonous chemical... Use all pro cations when using.


----------



## NYEric (Jul 26, 2012)

Garlic?-- Snails!? the answer seems so obvious!! :evil:


----------



## Ray (Jul 26, 2012)

I believe we refer to them as "Bush Snails" - and not named after our all-time ***favorite*** president, either.


----------



## Cochlopetalum (Jul 26, 2012)

Have you tried to put potato slices in the pots. Snails like to eat them and you can collect a lot of snails that way.


----------



## Ray (Jul 26, 2012)

1) There have been scientific studies that showed that nicotine (oops. I meant caffeine) really didn't work.

2) I collected coffee pot dregs, added about 5% by volume isopropanol to keep molds at bay, and poured it over the affected plants, and all sign of them vanished.


----------



## Stone (Jul 26, 2012)

Thanks for all the tips! I will give caffeine a try. Would it be better to make up a large batch and dunk or is spraying enough? Does it kill eggs? Also has anyone tried pyrethrum?


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 26, 2012)

I always find my coffee grounds, either in the compost or mulch, covered by slime trails. I love iron phosphate granules (Sluggo, Escar-Go, etc) but they seem to only work on slugs, not snails. Apparently snails aren't attracted to the bait.


----------



## abax (Jul 27, 2012)

Absolutely use every precaution when using Mesurol. I had
on what appeared to be a HazMat suit and filtering mask and put a skull and cross-bones on my gh door for a couple of days. However, it killed the bush snails and destroyed the eggs and I've not any snail/slug problems
ever again.


----------



## NYEric (Jul 27, 2012)

Real men dont take precautions! :evil:


----------



## nikv (Jul 27, 2012)

NYEric said:


> Real men dont take precautions! :evil:


Careful now, please.


----------



## keithrs (Jul 27, 2012)

NYEric said:


> Real men dont take precautions! :evil:



Is that way you have twenty kids! oke:


----------



## Ray (Jul 27, 2012)

...or get some nasty disease.

Monogamy has serious benefits (yesterday was out 37th anniversary).

Not bad for having met on a blind date (we lived 400 miles apart) 40 years ago this fall.


----------



## jtrmd (Jul 27, 2012)

Ray said:


> ...or get some nasty disease.
> 
> Monogamy has serious benefits (yesterday was out 37th anniversary).
> 
> Not bad for having met on a blind date (we lived 400 miles apart) 40 years ago this fall.





You can get rid of most of them with a shot or pill.Hell you can live with Aids now.


----------



## nikv (Jul 27, 2012)

Ray, congratulations on your long and happy marriage. Sounds like you're quite blessed. :clap:


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 27, 2012)

Congratulations Ray! And jtrmd....you can't live with AIDS. You die with AIDS. You can live with HIV. But it is not much fun taking all those meds....and there is no guarantee that they will be effective for a lifetime. My son had an HIV scare a year ago in the ER, when a glove tore while he was undressing an HIV+ stabbing victim. My son had a cut on his hand. For 3 weeks he had to take 3 of the HIV meds, prophylactically, and he felt miserable on them.


----------



## abax (Jul 28, 2012)

Happy Anniversary, Ray!


----------



## SlipperFan (Jul 29, 2012)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> Congratulations Ray! And jtrmd....you can't live with AIDS. You die with AIDS. You can live with HIV. But it is not much fun taking all those meds....and there is no guarantee that they will be effective for a lifetime. My son had an HIV scare a year ago in the ER, when a glove tore while he was undressing an HIV+ stabbing victim. My son had a cut on his hand. For 3 weeks he had to take 3 of the HIV meds, prophylactically, and he felt miserable on them.



I hope he's OK now, Eric.

Congrats, Ray. My husband and I recently celebrated our 40th anniversary -- I had to go all the way to Colorado to find him (and he's from Michigan, also!).


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 29, 2012)

Thanks Dot...he's fine. I wasn't even worried...I told him to just relax, and that his chances of contracting it were nil...but he reported it to the hospital, and they followed protocol. He quit the meds a week early, they were so awful. No one should have to live taking those things. Fortunately, he realized, after talking to other Dr's, nearly all of whom had the same experience, that he had nothing to worry about.


----------



## SlipperFan (Jul 29, 2012)

That is good!


----------



## L I Jane (Aug 5, 2012)

Happy Anniversary to Ray & Dot!! We celebrated our 51st in July.


----------



## SlipperFan (Aug 5, 2012)

L I Jane said:


> Happy Anniversary to Ray & Dot!! We celebrated our 51st in July.



You have us both beat! Congratulations!!! :clap:


----------



## hhartung (Nov 6, 2013)

*How did I erradicate all slugs and bush snails in my 900 m2 greenhouse>*

1. I fired the guy who took care of my greenhouse when I observed him spreading snails on my plants.

2. Slugs and snails were in most of my plants and on the floor. So I had to trash about 1,000 catts because they were too much damaged. Than I started to replant the remaining catts into fresh, steamed medium when they were making new growhts and *just started *to make new roots. At this point you can cut off *all* roots and clean the rhizoma with a toothbrush to clean off the *very small eggs *from the slugs and bush snails that may be attached under the rhizoma *and between what remained of the roots* after cutting them off. After planting into the fresh medium you have to separate the plants so there is no contact between plants .... just in case you didn't get the last egg off. 

3. At the same time I bought a couple of 25 kg bags of salt and covered the whole greenhouse floor with it. That killed all the slugs and snails and in six years now after that I never have seen a single slug or snail in my more than 6,000 plants.

4. My opinion is that this is a hard way to get them *erradicated* but I was tired of using the very expensive and plant damaging Mesurol and all the other things normally recommendet like beer, potato, salad etc. Now I also sleep much better because I don t have to check my plants every night with the flashlight. 

Helmut
Venezuela


----------



## SlipperFan (Nov 6, 2013)

For real? Someone was spreading snails on your plants?!

Salt. Interesting. It would probably kill any plant growth on the floor, also.


----------



## Dido (Nov 7, 2013)

a kind I dont know killed an orchid outdoors too a few days ago. 
was not thinking I need to refres the snail corn at this tiome of the year. 
we had that night beofre around 4C


----------



## NYEric (Nov 7, 2013)

I'm still seeing an occasional trail from the little bastards!


----------



## Ryan Young (Dec 4, 2013)

I just found an interesting read on the use of caffeine at 2% solution, kills slugs and snails here:
http://ow.ly/rsdHi


----------



## NYEric (Dec 4, 2013)

Thanks, very educational. Oh Honey, make me a cup of coffee when you get a chance!


----------



## SlipperFan (Dec 4, 2013)

I knew caffeine had to be good for something!


----------



## eteson (Dec 5, 2013)

Ryan Young said:


> I just found an interesting read on the use of caffeine at 2% solution, kills slugs and snails here:
> http://ow.ly/rsdHi



This is very interesting...
Thanks a lot!


----------



## Trithor (Dec 7, 2013)

Whew varied thread! Culinary, marriage, chemical warfare, sabotage and espionage, all in a few pages!
I have found that a mixed approach works best, provided it is on-going. I alternate between a few different brands of slug/sail bait on a regular basis, and an intermittent application of an aphicide (systemic, gets rid of snails, scale and mealy bugs) keeps the problem under control.


----------



## AdamD (Dec 8, 2013)

Do you think this approach would work for pillbugs (rolly pollies)? I thought they were gone but I found 4 this week, killed 3, but John Rambo is still out there munching on root tips after 3 attempted assassinations. I hope he doesn't have any friends lurking...


----------



## Trithor (Dec 8, 2013)

What is a pillbug?


----------



## dodidoki (Dec 8, 2013)

Stone said:


> How do I totally and utterly and completely exterminate them? (in a reasonably safe way)
> I'm talking about the tiny minature ones that come out after a good soaking. Some smell of garlic and some don't. They love root tips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Mike.



Snails really love beer!!! When snails appeared at me I put many tiny cotton pieces impregnated with beer. Every morning I collected cotton pieces with drunken snails and replaced them to fresh ones. I did that while all of snails disappeared. I can take few weeks!


----------



## ALToronto (Dec 8, 2013)

Trithor said:


> What is a pillbug?



Probably the most common decomposing matter-eating insect in the world. I didn't think they ate root tips, just rotten organics. I have them on my living wall, and I don't try to eradicate them. I know they don't like sulfur spray; they run away pretty quickly from it.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=pill...cILSK2QX1-4HICg&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1724&bih=926

Edit: they do eat root tips. Damn.


----------



## Trithor (Dec 8, 2013)

Aaahhhhh! Those little [email protected]&#ers! They cause a lot of damage and are damn near impossible to get rid of. The only time I see some of them dead is after an aphicide drench. What I can assure you, is when they arrive, root tips disappear. They love to hide under stuff, which is one of the reasons why I lifted my polystyrene trays off the floor. I imagine they and roaches will be the only survivors of a nuclear incident.


----------



## AdamD (Dec 8, 2013)

They are great at hiding, and they're never gone. Thank god for clear pots. Now I can see the damage firsthand. Initially I had luck with snail and slug bait, but they are wise to that act. Also found out they can hold their breath for a ridiculous amount of time.


----------



## ALToronto (Dec 8, 2013)

They're actually crustaceans, so they can breathe underwater using gills.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Dec 8, 2013)

They are crustaceans, but they can't survive underwater. Exclusively terrestrial. Their isopod relatives are aquatic, and some can grow large. I have never had a problem with them, but they are ubiquitous.


----------



## limuhead (Dec 8, 2013)

dodidoki said:


> Snails really love beer!!! When snails appeared at me I put many tiny cotton pieces impregnated with beer. Every morning I collected cotton pieces with drunken snails and replaced them to fresh ones. I did that while all of snails disappeared. I can take few weeks!



Oh no, I think I may be a snail... Arghhhhhh!


----------



## Trithor (Dec 9, 2013)

If affinity for beer is an identifying feature, I am not only a snail, I am a whole bunch of em!


----------



## dodidoki (Dec 9, 2013)

limuhead said:


> Oh no, I think I may be a snail... Arghhhhhh!



Limu, I'm JUST a snail.....althuogh maybe unbelivable, but this "therapy" WORKS!!!! The clue words are patience and fresh beer!!! I think snails have very good smellig-machine ( call it nose) and they can feel the smell of beer from relatively long distance. I put this "beered" cottons on every half a meter and I can tell, that in the first few days I could collect at least 8-10 drunken snails from collons/day ( my GH is about 8 m2), however I can't living snails before "beer-therapy" only eaten root tips.


----------



## Carkin (Dec 9, 2013)

limuhead said:


> Oh no, I think I may be a snail... Arghhhhhh!





Trithor said:


> If affinity for beer is an identifying feature, I am not only a snail, I am a whole bunch of em!



You guys will know for sure if you also get a sudden urge to start eating your orchids! :rollhappy:


----------



## Trithor (Dec 9, 2013)

I am more concerned about the prospect of trying to remove beer soaked cotton from between my teeth first thing in the morning. Damn clowns have been eating cotton wool again!!!!


----------

