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Snails and Epson Salt

scarpetti

scarpetti

Does anyone know if epson salt will melt away snails like other salts do? I haven't started my chili plants outside yet, but everything else in the yard is getting attacked. I use Sluggo on the ground, which works, but there's tons of little babies in the leaves. They've eaten 1/2 my lemons! I was thinking of epson salt and water in a spray bottle.
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Snails tend to avoid copper. You could try to make somekind of copper barrier with copper foil or thick copper wire like cable. If i remember right the acidic slime of snails causes electrolytic reaction with copper and somehow the snail won't crawl over the copper. They might get tazed or something...
 
I used phosphogen plant food (salt form) to sprinkle on slugs and snails.

Works well. Although they taste better with sea salt.
 
I use crushed up egg shells or diatomaceous earth on the top of my soil, its sharp edges cut up the slugs/snails
 
The Sluggo on the ground keeps them from climbing up my lemon. My problem is there's a ton of little ones up in the twisted branches. I need to kill all those before my good stuff is put outside. I put copper around the rim of my pots last year and they wouldn't dare pass it.
 
Oops, I didn't fully read the first post. I'd say knock them off the leaves with a hose, but you probably wouldn't get them all. Maybe a dusting w/ DE would get the rest. I have a feeling they would not be bothered by a solution of Epsom Salts.
 
To keep them away from your plants take a copper scouring pad (or three or four) and stretch them all out and make a "fence" around the stalk of the plant. Works wonders and you can get those pads dirt cheap at the dollar store.
 
Problem comes in greenhouses when the plants touch the glass. The slugs then don't have to pass the stem or over the soil to reach your babies.

Chris
 
Man, I HATE me some slugs and snails.
As for the babies on the plants- seems like that would be relatively easy to take care of, just pick 'em off. If you use something else to kill them directly on the plant, it will not be good for the plant. As others have said, copper (love the Chore-Boy tip, Sickmont!) and Sluggo work. The beer trick works, but it's labor intensive. Another trick to use is to place a piece of scrap wood near your plants so that there is some space under the wood- every day, pick up the wood and scrape all the lurking bastards into the trash.
 
Sacrifice some beer to the great God of Peppers (CAPSICO!) and make a beer trap. It's basically Moe's Bar for slugs and snails, only once they fall in, they never come back out.

Alternatively, find hungry French people. (or hungry upper class Brits) :P
 
Hinky said:
As others have said, copper (love the Chore-Boy tip, Sickmont!) and Sluggo work.
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Anytime. My old man was a champion tomato grower, and for some odd reason i managed to remember some of his tips and tricks(or "madness", as my mom would call it).
 
Sickmont said:
To keep them away from your plants take a copper scouring pad (or three or four) and stretch them all out and make a "fence" around the stalk of the plant. Works wonders and you can get those pads dirt cheap at the dollar store.
Click to expand...
They cost $1.75 at our 99 cent store! And, Toleman, that's my problem. some of the branches sometimes are touching the fences. They just crawl up the fence and on to the branches. I think I'll just tear down all the fences tomorrow. I'm to lazy to move my pots. I'm sure the neighbors won't mind the lack of fences and privacy! And with no fences I'll get more sunlight on them!!! Yes! I'm brilliant. Now, where is that sledge hammer? I got some work to do.....
 
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