Need Help with Snails

[jhodgson]

Looking for remedies to eliminate small snails from three plants. These plants are sending out new roots, and the snails are nibbling the root tips off before they get an inch long. I have tried metaldehyde pellets with little success, and I have been using the "cucumber slice method" with some success, but it doesn't appear I am getting them all.

Any help is appreciated!

[Cjcorner]

There is the "penny" method, I've used successfully. Put pennies on the top of the potting material. You can check the plant after dark with a flashlight and handpick any you see. I'm sure you will get other suggestions as this is a common problem.

[orchids^_^]

Ditto to Connie! I think it works very well!
Alex

[Halloamey]

I have tried the coffee dunk drunk method and it seems to work for me very well. You just need instant coffee powder (or a very strong espresso). Add 50 g instant coffee powder (without sugar and milk) to 1 litre of water and then spray this mixture on the plant and also in the media, till it starts to drip from the bottom. The caffeine in the coffee acts on the snails neurotransmitters causing their hearts to fail. But you will have to repeat this treatment after about 2 to 3 weeks to get rid of most of the snails. Other non toxic option would be ferric phosphate baits.

[blrnut]

I'm running into this problem as well. Already lost a bunch of spikes on nobile, crepidatum, Aranda. It will get worse once we start getting our mid-summer showers anytime soon (already had 2 short showers). My problem is once the rains start, they will be all over the place as there is a lot of grass in our community and locally cannot control it. I will try your method Amey. Might have to do this regularly though. Is it necessary that only instant coffee be used or even regular filter coffee would work on them?

[cdayinflorida]

I use a snail bait paste. Vandas suffer snail invasions. The snail can and will eat the crown and any buds. I add the paste to all my vandas.

[jhodgson]

Thanks for the replies. After picking a few more off this evening, I just gave the roots of my troubled plants a coffee bath.

[Dazed]

Another option is to crush egg shells and sprinkle them on top of the media and even around the base of the pot. My mother taught me this trick, that works on frogs too. I give them a washing first though and crush them by squeezing them in your hand, any finer than that and it seems to be less effective.
Hope something works, good luck.

[Halloamey]

Jim let us know if it works for you as different snails react differently, for eg. the snails I have in my greenhouse in India simply love beer, whereas the one here in Germany get drunk and die hehe.

I'm running into this problem as well. Already lost a bunch of spikes on nobile, crepidatum, Aranda. It will get worse once we start getting our mid-summer showers anytime soon (already had 2 short showers). My problem is once the rains start, they will be all over the place as there is a lot of grass in our community and locally cannot control it. I will try your method Amey. Might have to do this regularly though. Is it necessary that only instant coffee be used or even regular filter coffee would work on them?

Satish it is important to have atleast 1500 ppm of Caffeine to kill to the snails, any less and it may not work. The Caffeine content of brewed coffee varies based on the type of coffee and how long and at what temperature it is brewed. Using instant coffee powder brings in standardization 100 gm of instant coffee powder contains atleast 3000 mg Caffeine, so it becomes easy to calculate, but brewed coffee should also work. Espresso works because it also containd high Caffeine owing to the brewing method (high pressure and temperature steam).

[blrnut]

Amey, that is what I was assuming (concentration). I plan to leave the coffee powder in a bowl of hot water overnight and then filter it and use it in the morning. Let me try this out. Just picked up another slug in the morning from the side of a pot