Ortho Bug Getta snail bait is extremely effective. One application each spring and my problem in the greenhouse is fixed over night. I have seen several slugs and snails cross over two feet of concrete patio to get to a pile of 4-5 pellets and then be dead before they got back to the edge. I'm pretty certain I killed all of the slugs from the area around my patio on the first night, so if you are worried about pets you can simply hose them off in a couple of days and they disintigrate into sawdust (or put them in some sort of plastic object where the snail can get in but the dog can't. It works just as well for bush snails and slugs in pots. Just put a few pellets on top of each pot (bark or hydroponic or mount) and some in the drip tray under the pots. Spread them around the yard when you put the pots outside in the Spring, and again in the fall (on ground and in pots) before you take the plants in. Snails and slugs are more active during wet weather so your best bet is after watering.

Unfortunately you have to buy a fairly big bag of it, for about $10, but if snails are chewing up a couple of orchids valued at $25 each it is worth it (factor in the time and effort it takes to soak a pot). The stuff stays good in the bag for years. After bringing in pots during a cold night we saw slime trails on the carpet where they crawled out of the holes in the hydroponic pots...plants that showed no damage so I suggest treating all of your plants at one time.

I can't comment on other brands of snail baits, and I don't really want to try any others.

I was going to start a thread about these ABSOLUTE DEMONS FROM HELL!!!! I know some how, some way they're related to squirrels. I just know it!!

OK, got that out of my system. Can you have just one? Nope in my experience. I've had these things for over a year now and just can't seem to get rid of them. Worse yet, I never ever see them until I repot. The good thing is I rarely find more than 2-3 per pot, but still even those can do so much damage to roots.

I think soaking is a waste of time. Sure a couple might float, but others just hang on to the sides of the pot or whatever until the soaking is over or they get blocked by potting material and can't float to the surface. I started using the Ortho Bug Getta snail bait last spring and can't say for sure if it's working or not. I sprinkled it in every pot, but still found snails last week. I need to treat everything again.

Good luck. I really, really hate these. Sorry, I think I mentioned that already.

K

Yes, Kevin, squirrels and snails are brothers and sisters under the skin/shell. Kindred spirits related through malice.

Last night, I was obsessed, going over the pots with the flashlight again and again.

I've never looked for snails while repotting. Oh, goodie - another orchid compulsion for my list.

Spiced and K, thanks for the suggestion of the Ortho. Just in time to use outside before bringing in those last orchids.

Whitecat8

I know how you feel. I was at a show recently and the peron selling Aussie Gold potting mix said that the dolomite (spelling - I think that is what it is called -little white pebble-like stuff) in the mix is not liked by the snails and that snail will not go into such a mix. has anyone who has used it found that? and if one uses lava rock in the mix would that also prevent snails from the mix? thanks.
sue

This post reminds me to renew the ant stakes and snail bait.

WC
I hear there are rogue snails in MN. 1 just goes nuts and cut himself from the pack. You were the lucky one to get him ;-))

C

thought i would share what i just read: did some research on the net re snails: there is a thread about using coffee grinds in potting mix and how it kills snails: would coffee grinds be safe to use for orchids? also, on another site, it was suggested using fiberglass window screening to cover the drainage holes to prevent the bugs from entering the pot - i think i will try that one since i know that it would not harm the orchids.
sue

Clara - If only it was the 1 rogue snail... LOL You can thank me for killing it before it got to Chicago and multiplied in your pots. It was the biggest Bush snail I've ever seen.

Littlem, I don't have experience w/ Aussie Gold. It seems that Jane was checking it out a few months ago.

Kevin treated his plants w/ coffee one time. If he's using an Ortho product, maybe it didn't work.

As for the window screening over drainage holes - did the site specifically mention this as an option for indoors? Inside, do the demons always enter from the bottom of the pot? I have visions of the devils climbing down the side of one pot, across shelving, and up the side of the pot next to it. Or jumping the half inch from the Phal leaf to the Den leaf.

If we made a B-grade horror movie, we could get rich and buy all the orchids we wanted, the space to put them in, plus whatever remedy to keep the devils away. "The Thing that Slimed New York." Make the snails so big they could crawl over the Empire State Building, spreading their deadly goo. Gotta be more terrifying than "The Attack of the Deadly Tomatoes."

I feel better already.

WC8

WC8,

"I have visions of the devils climbing down the side of one pot, across shelving, and up the side of the pot next to it. Or jumping the half inch from the Phal leaf to the Den leaf."
As long as you don't have the kind that jump on you to hitch a ride while you check out your babies...

"The Thing that Slimed New York." Oh so pick on NY, like we don't have enough slime here....

LOL, c.

Who'd pay to see "The Thing that Slimed Oakville"????? Huh? I rest my case. LOL

WC8

When I first discovered I had these (or rather my plants had them - I'm relatively critter free), I actually lost sleep envisioning them munching roots and leaping from leaf to leaf while I slept. Truly nightmarish little creatures.

Yes, I did try the coffee treatment last winter and I think it may have worked somewhat at killing the babies. I remember lots of little ones dead in my drip trays afterwards. I didn't use grounds, but rather strong coffee diluted 50/50 with water poured through the pots. Don't use this on Masdies, Pleuros, Dracs. I think Clara tried this on them with no-so-good results.

Sue - In answer to your question, snails LOVE lava rock. It seems to provide them with the perfect home. I find fewer or no snails in mixes like fine to medium bark. I think it's harder for them to find spaces to crawl into.

K

Yes kevin is right be careful of that coffe grounds thing. Not sure if it was the spag the Genus or the acicidy. Dracs and Masde's did not like it, but at that time that's all I grew in spag. Seriously, when I did the coffee 1 snail came out. My plants had never been out. Could be a rogue.

You guys have a lot of creatures in MN! Maybe it's because I gorw on a roof. Only got a few ants

Keep that snail without a map. We don't want him down here!
Clara

{{gwi:197278}}

thanks, everyone, for answering my questions.

WC8 - re screen on drainage holes - it was referring to pots outside.

How about Semi hydroponically potted orchids in lava rock and rockwool grow cubes?

thanks.

sue

Richard

If we had snails like that around here, I would move right after I burned the house down and nuked the property. At least you can see the bugger.

Sue

Anything thing with large spaces is going to provide a good home for snails. I don't think any medium will discourage them.

Kevin

WC, the one you found was the one who had forgotten his scuba tank.

I've tried several different approaches and still have the slimy vermin showing up in my terrs.

Yes, hydro pots get slugs, snails, pill bugs, earwigs and the rest no matter what the medium is.

I just found Ortho Bug-Geta Plus on the store shelf. They added an insecticide (Carbaryl=Sevin) to the formula so it should take care of everything that crawls into your pots to chew on roots (e.g pill bugs and earwigs). Sevin is more effective on pill bugs (crustaceans, not insects) than many other pesticides. It should save you from that end of summer pesticide pot dunking.

Littlem, the little rocks in AG are diatomite. And yes, I've read that diatomite prevents insect infestations because somehow it opens up their little bellies and kills them. Don't know if it's true. I never found bugs of any kind in the orchids potted in AG, but that doesn't mean much.

I have read that experiments done in Hawaii showed superior root growth in seedlings that had diatomite in the mix, so I always put a little diatomite on top of the sphag in my phal pots.

Elf, snails are a major pest in California. If you walk outdoors in a garden at night, you can hear yourself crunching them. YUK! Not too visible in daytime, thank heaven. Have to admit we do have them in MO, just not so many that you crunch them as you walk.

helli, mehitabel, thanks for that info. I guess I will be getting some of the diatomite.. I have seen the slugs in California: they are big and revolting. I had never seen so many in one place. here i see the one or 2 under a flower pot or on a tomatoe plant (even one is too many for me). but in Calif. there were literally hundreds on one plant!! my stomach actually turned when i saw that. I was informed that California is actually desert.. so where did they all come from?

sue

sue

Am a bit late joining in this topic. I fell for the latest EOoM free shipping special. The Maui orchids that arrived were excellent, but all had a few bush snails in their media. Being an indoors grower, I prefer non-"chemical" control. Google linked me to at least 1 refereed paper re: the efficacy of caffeine as a slug/snail toxin compared with methaldehyde (the standard active ingredient in most snail/slug control) - see link.

To test this, I got caffeine tablets from the local pharmacy: 200mg caffeine + inactive substances do not seem to be phytotoxic in low doses (coloring, silicates, dextrose, magnesium stearate). Dissolved 1g caffeine to 0.5 liter distilled water and drenched the orchid media. Unclear if % caffeine concentration is sufficient. Will wait and see if this works.

Just thought I'd share this experiment with you all.
alvin

Here is a link that might be useful: Caffeine as snail & slug toxicant

alvin - I had no idea there were caffeine tablets. Great to know. Thanks. I think my original snails came from EOoM. A number of people on this forum have stated the same thing. I guess Hawaii really has a problem with these critters.

Kevin

Kevin: Any student who's had to pull an all-nighter would know this ;) Caffeine tablets are cheaper than coffee in terms of caffeine per $. 1 cup of regular coffee has ~200 mg caffeine (=1 tablet). Also, I found the generic drugstore version to be 30% cheaper than brand name (40 tablets for $6.80), and had less inert additives. I used 1g caffeine (5 tablets) to 0.5 litre distilled water ... who knows if this is 2% caffeine as stated in the study article, but it is potent (I took a small sip). Took EOoM orchids out of original pot/media -> washed plant vigorously -> soak in caffeine for 30 mins -> repot in new media. This was probably too extreme. A minimalist would simply drench the plants in their original pot/media with the caffeine solution. alvin

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia on caffeine tablets

I've tried soaking plants in everything short of something that would totally kill the plant, to no avail. Only remedy that's worked for me was to totally unpot the plant, remove every last speck of media, inspect closely for more snails, then repot in new media and pots. They're really difficult to get rid of otherwise.

Sharon

alvin - I forgot about NoDoz tablets. Yes, I did chomp those quite often in college.

K