Slugs and bugs

[Rid]

Well, I just had my first slug massacre with my new orchid collection. I’m planning on doing that weekly, and hopefully I’ll never find so many again. I think I squashed about 15 of them.

I see a lot of millipede looking bugs, pull bugs, another that looks like a tiny roach, and ants. Do I need to worry about these as well? I was kind of hoping the ants would eat the slugs, but that obviously wasn’t happening. I’m in Georgia, USA

Thanks!
Ridley

[Ray]

Look for a molluskicide; stop squishing them. When you do that with snails, you often simply spread more eggs around, so I suppose that might also be the case with slugs.

Ditto with bugs. You need to keep them at bay, not just kill what you see.

Assuming you're growing outdoors, even elevating them on a bench can help.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Ridley, for slugs and snails, I use Ortho brand 'Bug-get-a'. Active ingredient is metaldehyde. It works well. Available in most home improvement and garden stores.

I comes in pellets, use a few on the surface of the soil. Equivalent of < 1/4 tsp in a small pot, up to 1 tsp in a really huge pot.

If you have small children, cats, or dos that could ingest the pellets, take precautions to keep them separated from treated plants.

BTW, I'm in Georgia also (Athens).

[Ray]

Good to know, OW. I thought metaldehyde was a restricted use chemical.