Snails in my greenhouse

[Tango]

Hi!
Since late summer, I have an infestation of snails in my greenhouse. Those tiny ones that reduce root tips to rubble overnight. Slowly, coming into my tiny greenhouse has stopped being a joy. I feel really depressed when I see my decaying plants. They became just salad for those critters.
I have tried several remedies: lettuce and potato traps, coffeine, peroxide... But they always win. I have also tried metaldehyde pellets, but they are too big to stop them.
I would like to know about what growers do with such infestations, I cannot believe there is nothing against them in 2023.
By the way, I don't think I will buy a duck or spread beer around.
Thank you for your comments!
Tango

[estación seca]

They stay in the pots. If you keep treating with coffee you will eventually reduce the population to a very low level.

Metaldehyde doesn't attract them.

Set up time to treat your entire collection in a day or a few. I brew strong coffee, then let it cool. I water the plants so the roots are fully saturated. I pour coffee through the pot. I let the pot sit for an hour, then rinse with clean water, so the coffee doesn't damage roots. This has always worked for me.

I wonder whether putting used coffee grounds on pots as a top dressing will kill snails. It works for scale and mealybugs on other kinds of plants.

[Leafmite]

Caffeine works only with the bush snails. Before trying to eradicate them, you need to determine if they are bush snails or some other type.

For bush snails, I water everything with coffee and then sprinkle instant coffee crystals on the surface of everything so that when I water, it keeps working. I got rid of a severe infestation of bush snails doing this.

I had a terrible problem with slugs eating all the roots of my orchids and decimating many of my other tropical plants last summer. This year, we had a rainy spring and early summer but I used two products, together, and did not have any issues. I have not found Sluggo and other baits to work with bush snails but have not had the opportunity to try Captain Jack's. I keep a jar of instant coffee on hand for that.

Captain Jack's....

Bug & Slug Killer – Captain Jacks

and Sluggo Plus....

https://www.montereylawngarden.com/product/sluggo-plus/

If these methods do not work, try Carbaryl dust. It tends to kill everything but mites. Dust all the plants, benches and floor well with it, put it on the soil and then water some into the soil. It should kill them.

[Tango]

Thank you for your reply,
Estación Seca: I tried with a coffeine solution 2%, I found it was a heavy deterrent for the snails, but it did not kill them. The roots of several plants did not like the treatment at all: I did not rinse and coffeine recrystallised destroying quite a lot of them, so it was not a feeling of winning anything.
Leafmites: I guess I may sprinkle coffeine crystals around the roots (coffeine only dissolves in very hot water), but I'll try to get the chemicals. I do not like to use poisons but sometimes a nuke may be needed :-(
Thank you again, I'll let you know how it goes
Tango

[DirtyCoconuts]

get copper tape- use it around the legs of all tables and on any surface that they can access- it will help over time.

[Tango]

Hey that sounds pretty easy, I'll try it also.
Here in Spain apparently we don't have Sluggo, but there is a similar product from a German manufacturer, it's called Ferramol and it is pretty cheap and available. I feel silly looking for expensive chemical poisons...
Really depressing, to see all those roots and buds damaged. It spoils the joy of growing the plants. This year I started with scale, thrips, and when it looked under control then came that snail invasion.
I'll try coffeine + rinsing, the crystals around the roots and the Ferramol combined. The copper tape for the tables and shelves. Thank you for your help. It's great to know that there is people with experience ready to help just one click away from me.
Great community!

[estación seca]

Not all baits attract all snails. The product sounds like it might contain ferric phosphate. I would read about whether this product attracts and kills bush snails. They ignore many baits in the US.

[Roberta]

The ferric phosphate bait works for slugs and "full sized" snails. So if either of those are involved, will kill them. (The copper tape keeps them from climbing up in the first place... it gives them an electric shock that they don't like) For bush snails, the ferric phosphate bait doesn't do anything because they don't eat it, but the coffee treatment seems to work on THOSE.

[Bayard]

If you can, repot everything. Rinse the roots to wash off the eggs.

[Tango]

Hi,

the snails are tiny but get to 5-6 mm with some time. I don't know exactly which species they are, but definitely look like bush snails :-( I'll try to get some in a box to see if they eat the bait. Yes it is 1% ferric phosphate. I got it already.

In Sommer I got some snails and put them in a plastic tupperware with paper wetted in a 2% coffeine solution. They did not move for a couple of hours, but the moment I got them out they started to behave normally. Probably it was too short to kill them.

I think that 2% coffeine may work well with orchids that stay wet all time, but for Vandas, Cattleyas and dry Dendrobiums it was definitely a bad idea, as coffeine recrystallises killing the roots. Lower coffeine content? Just ordinary coffee? Coffeine dust? The coffeine powder does not solve well in cold (20°C) water. Maybe water with suspended coffeine crystals?

How often do you treat your plants with coffee? Estación Seca's method sounds relatively easy. Roberta and Leafmite: how do you treat your plants?

Bayard: Unfortunately, repotting is not an option for me, there are too many other plants around and the critters could survive in any pavement crack and in the begonias and peperomias and ferns and and... That grow below the orchids. I was happy seeing the mini jungle rooting around on the floor and even on the walls, but now of course it turns out that I have a perfect home for the snails.

Thanks for sharing your experience,

T.