Natural Solutions to Things That Bug You (83 page)

HAPPY HOUR FOR SNAILS & SLUGS

Place a mixture of 1 quart of cheap beer, 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar into wide jar lids or other similar container and leave out in the garden. Baker’s yeast may be substituted for the vinegar if you prefer. This mixture will kill off hundreds of snails and slugs in short order. The slugs will really appreciate it if you place a small tent over the beer so that they will have some shade while they are dining.

SEASONING YOUR SNAILS

Use a saltshaker and mix together 1 part iodized salt and 1 part cayenne pepper. Shake the mixture on the snails and slugs to cause them to dehydrate and quietly pass away.

SLIPPERY GUNK FOR SNAILS

The following ingredients will be needed:

7              Ounces Vaseline®

8              Ounces castor oil

              1              Ounce cayenne pepper

1              Ounce Tabasco Sauce™

Place the Vaseline® and the castor oil in a medium plastic container and mix. Add the pepper and Tabasco Sauce™ to give it a real boost. This mixture works great if placed on the trunk of a plant.

SHOWER THEM WITH AMMONIA

Fill a 1-quart spray bottle with warm tap water and add 1 tablespoon of household ammonia them shake and spray the snails and slugs.

USE SALAD DRESSING ON THEM

Mix up 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Ivory liquid soap and 1 tablespoon of red Tabasco Sauce™. Place the mixture in a spray bottle and spray the dressing on them. You can also just place 8-10 drops of Tabasco Sauce™ in 1 quart of water and spray them with this mixture. Actually any hot sauce will do, it doesn’t have to be Tabasco Sauce™.

POWDER THEIR NOSE

Snails and slugs will not cross baby powder, flour or rock dust. Placing these powders around your plant beds will discourage them from entering.

PROTECT YOUR TREES

Place Tanglefoot™ around the base of trees to keep snails off the tree. Tanglefoot™ is made from castor oil and wax and works great as a natural barrier.

If you want to increase the effectiveness add a small amount of cayenne pepper to it. The barrier should be about 1-foot wide to have maximum effectiveness.

CACKLEBERRY SHELLS WORK GREAT

Snails and slugs will not cross an area that is covered with eggshells. It is too difficult for them to navigate across and they will avoid the area.

CLOG THOSE PORES

If you sprinkle diatomaceous earth (DE) around it will clog the pores and the snails and slugs will suffocate. You can mix a solution of DE, a small amount of Ivory Liquid Soap™ and water and spray your plants in areas that are frequented by snails and slugs.
DE will irritate your lungs so try not to breathe it in.
DE also prevents snails from laying eggs, which will reduce the population over the years.

GOOD FOR PLANTS, BAD FOR SNAILS

Alfalfa meal is a high nitrogen plant food that if sprinkled around plants will supply the plant with nutrients and will provide a barrier against snails and slugs. If you do use alfalfa meal, make sure that you do not water the plants for 24 hours after the treatment.

SNAIL BARRIER FROM THE SEA

Kelp or dried seaweed will provide a barrier for snails and slugs while providing your plants with an excellent source of trace minerals. Kelp is high in salt content, which the snails try to avoid at all costs.

HORSE POO, POO

    Horse manure added to mulch and spread around the garden when you are fertilizing is another natural barrier for snails and slugs. There are also other ingredients that can be added to mulch such as pine needles, kelp and rock dust that will keep the little critters at bay.

Formula to paint on tree trunks:

             
1               Bucket of old horse manure

              2               Pounds of all-purpose flour

              4               Ounces of cayenne pepper

              2               Pounds powdered seaweed

Add enough water to prepare a paste that can be used as paint, ask a neighbors kid to do the chore.

BAKE THEM A HOT CAKE

Mix together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper and just enough water to prepare a mixture that can be used in a spray bottle. Spray around tree trunks or the base of plants.

CALL FOR THE COPPER

Copper bands can be purchased from a gardening supply house or hardware store and provide a non-lethal method of keeping the snails and slugs from damaging your trees and plants.

SKINNED SLUGS ANYONE?

If you mix 1½ cups of household ammonia with 1½ cups of water you can prepare a mixture that will literally fry the skin off a slug and kill them. Just place the mixture in a spray bottle and when you see the very small slugs, just spray them and ZAP!

CALL IN THE WORMS

A common snail and slug deterrent is to use Nc nematodes to kill the pests. Nc nematodes can be purchased through most garden shops or agricultural supply houses. They will track down and infect the snail or slug causing them to develop a swollen mantle and they quietly pass away within 2-3 days.

FORMULA FOR STICKY STUFF

Place the following mixture around the base or on the stems of plants and trees to keep off the snails and slugs.

                8               Ounces of Vaseline®

                1               Tablespoon of cayenne pepper

              10               Ounces of castor oil

              ½                Ounce of any red-hot sauce

LIKE BEES TO HONEY

If you don’t mind picking up the little creatures, just attract them with any kind of citrus fruit into any container you have that they can easily climb into.

GIVE THEM A TREAT

Snails and slugs prefer cabbage before any other vegetable or plant. If you don’t like cabbage, just plant a few in your garden and that is where you will always find them hanging out.

CHILI PODS WILL FIX THEM

Grind up 8 ounces of ripe chili pods then soak them in 1 quart of water for 24 hours. Mix well and strain then add 3 quarts of water and ½ teaspoon of liquid soap. Use as a spray; wherever the snails and slugs hideout.

    
GRIND UP YOUR OLD MARBLES

There are a number of barriers that can be placed in the garden to keep snails and slugs at bay. The barrier must be at least 3 inches wide to be effective. You can use marble dust, hydrated lime, ammonium sulfate, crushed oyster shells or wood ash.

SPECIAL MULCH

If your mulch is high in oak leaves or seaweed it will stop the snails and slugs from coming into the garden.

SNAIL-RESISTANT PLANTS

The following are plants that snails do not like and tend to shy away from: corn, grape, bean, basil, azalea, sage ginger, hibiscus, parsley, rose, poppy, sunflower, fuschia and rhododendrum.

REPELLENT PLANTS

There are two plants that will actually repel snails and slugs. These are prostrate rosemary
Rosemarinus officionalis
and wormwood
Artemisia absinthium
. If you prepare a tea with either of these herbs and use it as a spray it will deter the snails and slugs as well.

THE KILLER HAIR

Hair can be used very effectively to kill snails. Either human or horse works great, the coarser the better. Just scatter the hair around areas that the snails or slugs frequent and you can eliminate most of them. The horse hair especially will irritate their soft, moist skin to such a degree that they dehydrate themselves trying to get rid of the hairs that cling to them.

    
TURTLES ON THE LOOKOUT

Turtles like snails and slugs and will go after them every chance they get. If you place a turtle in your yard you will never see another snail or slug.

PROTECTIVE BARRIER

If you border an area with sand, lime or ashes it will protect the area from snails.

NEVER USE ANY POISONS TO GET RID OF SNAILS AND SLUGS. MOST OF THE COMMERCIAL POISONS MADE TO KILL THEM WILL KILL THE BIRDS IF THE BIRDS EAT THEM.

CHAPTER 16