SNAILS!!!

FYI - I gave up on the ammonia idea. A 10% ammonia solution does kill them but only after continued exposure to it. I did a test by spraying them with ammonia and rinsing it off after about five minutes. They lived. I don't think orchids would do well if their roots were subjected to extended periods of exposure to the ammonia.

I ordered some of the Orcal Slugfest (25% metaldehyde). We'll see how that works.

 

Thank you for the update! Do you know how long it took to die when you tried it without rinsing?

 

Hi naoki,

I didn't measure how long with how long it takes. I did spray some with a 10% ammonia solution and left them on a piece of lettuce. They never moved again. I assumed it killed them instantly but that's apparently not the case. Have you tried Slugfest before?

 

No, I haven't. Slug-Fest AWF is a high concentration metaldehyde (25%). I have tried liquid form Dealine Force II (4%). Hollingsworth (2003) used 0.78 (v/v)% of Slug-Fest (which gives 0.195 (w/v) % of metaldehyde). I tried to get the same concentration of active ingredient as Slug-Fest with Deadline (12.5TBS/gallon should do, but I don't remember if I used that much). It did control, but didn't eliminate. Marni suggested Sevin, and I feel like Sevin was similarly effective. Deadline Force II was messy to spray, so I stopped using it.

 

I have the Slug-Fest now, but haven't been around enough to experiment with it. I would add, that I believe this is what Andy uses and says is the most effective for bush snails. I know another commercial grower who has used Safari for insects and correlates that to a significant decrease in bush snails as well

 

I checked my records, and I wasn't using sufficient Deadline Force II (I think I did some miscalculation). I was 2 TBS/gallon instead of 12.5TBS/gallon.

I would have guessed that most commercial places would be using Mesurol. I wonder if it isn't approved in CA.

 

Hi Chuck - is this Andy of Andy's Orchids?

 

Yes it is...sorry, should have been more descriptive.

 

No problem. Thanks for that information. I'm encouraged to hear he's using it.

 

Anyone care to share what concentration of Slugfest they're using on bush snails?