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  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
    • Lawn Alternatives
    • Lawn Grub Control
  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
  • Propagation
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    • Growing Seeds Indoors
    • Taking Cuttings
    • Seed & Plant Catalogues
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    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
    • Rhododendron Leaf Spot
    • Plant Rusts
    • Black Knot
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    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Dahlias
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Evergreen Clematis
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum
    • Poinsettias
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Ornamental Kale
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
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Slugs & Snails

Amanda's Garden Consulting Co.
slugs,snails,slug & snail control,diatomaceous earth,slug baits,mollusk control,geese,value of slugs,the garden website.com,Amanda's Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett
Slug damage appears as irregular holes and a tattered looking plant.
Spring rains, overcast days and plants putting on their best new growth is a beacon for snails and slugs to gather round and eat. Their slimy trails are proof they are on the prowl. Young shoots of spring bulbs, primroses and other early risers are most susceptible. Venture forth on those dreary rainy days and evenings – if you are so bold - armed with a flashlight and pluck them up one by one. Encourage them to congregate by placing boards, pieces of raw potato, wet newspaper or cardboard in the garden to make eradication easier. Use latex and rubber gloves to pick them up and drop them into a container of salty water as you go. As tempting as it may be, don’t drop salt while they are on the ground or dining on a hosta. Not only does it injure plants, it contaminates the soil.  
slugs,snails,slug & snail control,diatomaceous earth,slug baits,mollusk control,geese,value of slugs,the garden website.com,Amanda's Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett
Slime trails mean that slugs are on the prowl.

Slug Baits

If plucking slimy mollusks off your plants is not your cup of tea, consider using slug saloons loaded with slug bait. They protect the bait dry so you don’t have to reapply it after watering and after a rainfall. Slug saloons also protects pets, birds and other animals from ingesting toxic baits. Apparently they are attracted to it too. There are some baits that are not toxic, such as the Safer’s Slug and Snail Bait, but I still place the pellets in slug saloons as they are protected from rain and any animals that get to them before the slugs do. Besides, I really don’t want anything eating them other than slugs and snails. Another common non-toxic bait alternative is beer. I don’t use it as it become a disgusting mouldy mess – and it’s a waste of beer. 
 
You can buy slug saloons, but I like to make my own using clean, empty margarine containers. Near the top of the container, cut windows in the sides. They should be large enough for the slugs and snails to slime their way through.  Add about ½ inch of the slug bait and attach the lid. Bury the container so the bottom of the ‘windows’ are in line with the soil surface so the slugs can crawl in, eat the bait and die. Put a rock on top to act as camouflage and to keep it in place. 
slugs,snails,slug & snail control,diatomaceous earth,slug baits,mollusk control,geese,value of slugs,the garden website.com,Amanda's Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett
Safer's non-toxic slug bait and a slug saloon.
slugs,snails,slug & snail control,diatomaceous earth,slug baits,mollusk control,geese,value of slugs,the garden website.com,Amanda's Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett
Protect bait from animals and water by making your own slug saloons.
slugs,snails,slug & snail control,diatomaceous earth,slug baits,mollusk control,geese,value of slugs,the garden website.com,Amanda's Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett
Windows cut into the sides or a plastic tub, lures the mollusks to their demise.

Barriers

​Strips of copper and copper mesh repel slugs and snails by giving them a wee electrical jolt. I like the mesh as it is easy to cut with scissors. The mesh comes as a tube so you can open it up and place it around small plants. 
 
Other worthy, non-toxic barriers are crushed hazelnut shells, eggshells and diatomaceous earth. Just place a plentiful amount around susceptible plants, somewhat like a moat around a castle. Crushed eggshells are effective for a limited time and as an added benefit, they provide calcium to the soil. Diatomaceous earth is often sold as a flea repellant and is available at home hardware and garden stores. It is made from fossilized skeletons of single cell aquatic organisms called diatoms. Like eggshells, it’s sharp and slices any mollusks that dare to cross it. Alas it does not hold up to rain and must be reapplied, but all of these barriers are totally non-toxic and safe to use. 
slugs,snails,slug & snail control,diatomaceous earth,slug baits,mollusk control,geese,value of slugs,the garden website.com,Amanda's Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett
Copper mesh is sold in a tube that can be cut to size.

Professional Mollusk Assassins

Picture
If you wish to introduce professional slug and snail slayers to your garden, consider ducks, toads, frogs and birds (robins, owls, thrushes, jays and crows). Encourage ground beetles and centipedes by leaving a nice layer of leaf litter on the ground. They love fresh escargot.
slugs,snails,slug & snail control,diatomaceous earth,slug baits,mollusk control,geese,value of slugs,the garden website.com,Amanda's Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett
Slugs & snails have their role in nature. They eat plant debris turning it into compost. And, they are food for many animals - yummy!
​Despite the damage mollusks do in the garden, they are an integral part of the food chain and provide protein to many animals and insects. Speaking of which, plants in gardens beds that are left bare and have no leaf litter or other mulch, are especially vulnerable to mollusk attack. Slugs and snails devour leaves and other plant debris, whether it’s dead or alive. They are also responsible for breaking down dead organic matter, thereby releasing nutrients to enrich the soil. There are an integral part of the soil food web. If there is no mulch for them to eat, their only food source are plants, so a 3 inch layer of an organic mulch is a good idea. 
Escargot anyone?

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Copyright © 2017
  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
    • Lawn Alternatives
    • Lawn Grub Control
  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
  • Propagation
    • Growing Seeds Outdoors
    • Growing Seeds Indoors
    • Taking Cuttings
    • Seed & Plant Catalogues
  • How to Garden Topics
    • Fall Garden Chores
    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
    • Rhododendron Leaf Spot
    • Plant Rusts
    • Black Knot
  • Container Growing
    • Choosing a Container
  • Feeding Plants 101
    • Fertilizers & Ratios
    • Nutritional Deficiencies & Toxicities
    • Organic Plant Food
  • Plant of the Month
    • Spring Flowering Bulbs
    • Colourful Fall Plants
    • Abelia
    • American Sweetgum
    • Ash (Fraxinus) Trees
    • Astilbes
    • Aubretia, Rock Cress
    • Aucuba, Japanese Spotted Laurel
    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Dahlias
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Evergreen Clematis
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum
    • Poinsettias
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Ornamental Kale
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
    • Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens
    • Witch Hazel
    • Wood Anemones
    • Yews
  • Garden Tour Blogs
  • Monthly Flower Arrangements
  • Website Index
  • Subscribe
  • Need Help?
  • Garden Club Events