# slugs in my greenhouse



## abax (Jun 22, 2022)

Anybody got a remedy for slugs that can be used on a wet concrete floor? I can't find where on
earth the slugs are getting in, but I found a huge one on one of my Phrag. pots. I had a panic
attack and had to pull the slimy thing off by hand.


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## littlefrog (Jun 23, 2022)

abax said:


> Anybody got a remedy for slugs that can be used on a wet concrete floor? I can't find where on
> earth the slugs are getting in, but I found a huge one on one of my Phrag. pots. I had a panic
> attack and had to pull the slimy thing off by hand.


I wish I knew... The iron phosphate baits (sluggo) don't seem to do anything for my slugs. Metaldehyde worked pretty well, but it is pretty hard on pets and you probably can't buy it. I've tried copper strips on my bench legs, they just slime their way across. Evil little things. Need more toads.


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## PhragNewbie021 (Jun 23, 2022)

I've heard from a reliable orchid grower that if you attach "thin sheet copper" to the legs of your grow tables the slugs won't or can't climb up the legs to your plants. Joe S.


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## abax (Jun 23, 2022)

I've tried copper sheets and slug baits and got the same results as lilfrog...none.


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## tomp (Jun 23, 2022)

I find them living in the pots, out of sight till night. A night time visit with a flashlight can help. If I see a slime trail I repot if I can. 
Also according to the USDA a caffeine drench is said to work, even on bush snails. Caffeine capsules (Amazon or others) 800 mg/gallon. Ray may have an opinion.

There is always the ball peen hammer but that’s kinda messy and emotionally stressful.


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## eds (Jun 24, 2022)

I use copper rings around newly emerging plants in the garden. I also cover the area inside the ring with grit. The rings seem to deter slugs and snails from crossing and reduce the damage on tender, newly emerging growth but they will not stop them crossing completely or completely protect an area.

I also water my garden and greenhouse with nematode worms a couple of times each year. Again it won't stop all slugs but it does knock their numbers back.


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## Ray (Jun 24, 2022)

I found that smearing a swath of “Tree Tanglefoot” around bench legs is a pretty effective barrier. It is a Vaseline-like product that was originally sold as a way to keep pigeons off city buildings, but now is sold as an insect barrier.

I suppose caffeine might be effective, but I don’t know just how effective.


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## tomp (Jun 24, 2022)

Ray said:


> I found that smearing a swath of “Tree Tanglefoot” around bench legs is a pretty effective barrier. It is a Vaseline-like product that was originally sold as a way to keep pigeons off city buildings, but now is sold as an insect barrier.
> 
> I suppose caffeine might be effective, but I don’t know just how effective.


Ray, here is a link to a USDA article on cafine. I don’t know how effective caffeine is either but the concept is interesting and the caffeine capsules are not expensive. My first line of defense is repot. It’s the bush snails that one can barely see that annoy me the most.



Caffeine Foils Snails : USDA ARS


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## JustinR (Jun 24, 2022)

I used to have a lot of slugs but since I put the plants into high-walled trays and started watering by hand instead of spraying water everywhere I have a lot less problem with them.


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## Ray (Jun 24, 2022)

A while back I acquired some Deadline MPs (mini pellets) containing measurol. Only truly effective bush snail remedy I’ve found.


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## Cklinger (Jun 24, 2022)

My grandpa would put out a pie tin/tuna can with beer in it. Apparently snails and slugs seem to like beer and will just end up drowning in the container.


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## skirincich (Jun 24, 2022)

An article in the May issue of Orchids describes the use of Ferroxx.


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## Ray (Jun 24, 2022)

There is an old technique that is similar, that's also supposed to be effective:

Items required: Beer, Chair, Hammer

1) Sit in Chair
2) Drink beer
3) Hit any slugs you see with the hammer.


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## Cklinger (Jun 24, 2022)

Ray said:


> There is an old technique that is similar, that's also supposed to be effective:
> 
> Items required: Beer, Chair, Hammer
> 
> ...


This reminds me of my mom in her garden except she would drink soju and use chopsticks to pick up slugs and put them in a cup of salt water


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## abax (Jun 24, 2022)

Ray where might I find Deadline? I like the hitting with a hammer best, but I can't drink alcohol and there's not room for a chair...damn! I have tried diatomaceous earth and
the slugs just went right on through it. Is measural a sort of metaldehyde?


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## Ray (Jun 25, 2022)

Yes, Measurol is a brand of metaldehyde. I got the Deadline MP's here:









Deadline M-Ps 4% Mini Pellets (10 lbs.) Slug and Snail Killer


Deadline M-Ps has a proven attractant, DB27, and a powerful 4% metaldehyde formula to kill slugs and snails fast. The deadline has been extensively tested. In wet or damp areas, the problem commercial growers and landscapers face when controlling snails is rapid bait degradation. Most...




growerssolution.com


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## abax (Jun 25, 2022)

Thank you so much Ray. I don't think I need 10 lbs. for one or two slugs. I wonder if
the stink of metadehyde might deter deer too.


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## cnycharles (Jun 26, 2022)

The stink of a shotgun would deter the deer  and a freezer…
It’s too bad the other technique doesn’t work for spotted lantern flies; a few nights ago I got home from work and I attempted to smack 1.5 doz nymphs on the plants on the stairs landing entryway and step on others. Even the small larvae jump quickly repeatedly :/ . Need a squirt bottle with killer koolaid to hit them before they jump


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## Guldal (Jun 26, 2022)

Angela, as if you hadn't enough on your plate! 

Maybe the safest bid would be to combine a couple of methods, that you consider compatible...so to speak wage a multifront war: maybe combine Ray's Tree Tanglefoot barrier with something toxic for the li'll b.....s (caffeine or whatever it takes)...
As a window sill grower, I've only had to deal with the slugs and snails, that I've carried with me home, when buying the plants...and for me it has worked pretty well to lure the bastards out of their hide with a slice of carrot and then remove them manually. That's of course in no way sufficiently effective for a GH. But could maybe be used as the final cleaning up, after hopefully some of the proposed methods have taken care of the majority of your nasty intruders!


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## Dusty Ol' Man (Jun 26, 2022)

abax said:


> Thank you so much Ray. I don't think I need 10 lbs. for one or two slugs. I wonder if
> the stink of metadehyde might deter deer too.


Deadline comes in a liquid also. A couple drops in each pot will attract and kill slugs and most snails. I'm not sure on bush snails, but I've had good results in the past.


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## abax (Jun 26, 2022)

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm trying a little experiment of my own to see
what happens...or doesn't happen. Who knows??????


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## NYEric (Jun 27, 2022)

Weird, I thought I had posted here but it may have been another thread. Cinnamon oil works and of course salt.


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## abax (Jun 28, 2022)

Not on my benches Eric!


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## NYEric (Jun 29, 2022)

OK.


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## abax (Jul 1, 2022)

Here's what's working so far...nicotine! The slime uglies don't even try to get past
the nicotine barrier. They just die a horrible death, I hope.


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## Guldal (Jul 2, 2022)

No wonder! Ncotine is extreemely toxic to living organisms - hopefully, you take the necessary precautions to protect yourself, Angela!


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## tomp (Jul 2, 2022)

abax said:


> Here's what's working so far...nicotine! The slime uglies don't even try to get past
> the nicotine barrier. They just die a horrible death, I hope.


Angela,
Details please. 
A row of Winstons, a pile of chaw, Juel capsules, rolled up green leaves, or? ….


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## abax (Jul 2, 2022)

Ive been gathering old cigarette filters and distributing them around under the
benches. It doesn't take all that many and they don't smell (or maybe they do
and the fans clear the smell out). I've not seen a single slug since. There's
always water in the gh floor and it seems the liquid nicotine makes a barrier
the slugs avoid. Wahhahaha!

Jens, I protect myself very well by not getting in the nicotine water. It's in the
floor, you know. I don't often crawl around the gh floor...it's concrete and
rather ouchy on old knees.


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## Guldal (Jul 3, 2022)

abax said:


> Ive been gathering old cigarette filters and distributing them around under the
> benches. It doesn't take all that many and they don't smell (or maybe they do
> and the fans clear the smell out). I've not seen a single slug since. There's
> always water in the gh floor and it seems the liquid nicotine makes a barrier
> ...


Ah, I thought, you had got hold of liquid nicotine, that is sometimes used in laboratories, where they have to make sure that nothing - as in absolutely nothing is alive and kicking! Your low-dosis treatment seems to my relief so much more safe! 
And a pretty affordable strategem!


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## abax (Jul 3, 2022)

Very affordable since the used filters are free from a nephew. I am aware of
lab use of liquid nicotine and I never intend to try to acquire it. The old, used
filters have quite enough nicotine to do the job.


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## TropiCool (Jul 4, 2022)

abax said:


> Very affordable since the used filters are free from a nephew. I am aware of
> lab use of liquid nicotine and I never intend to try to acquire it. The old, used
> filters have quite enough nicotine to do the job.


No doubt, given that cigarette butts that find their way into puddles and streams, and the ocean are known killers. I like the recycling idea as slug killers or repellents. I'd worry however about tobacco mosaic virus getting into the greenhouse ecosystem.


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## abax (Jul 4, 2022)

Ah well, there's downsides to EVERYTHING.


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