tiny snail chewing my Oncidium PBs

[trdyl]

Not sure about the roots, but they do munch on other parts, flowers, leaves, etc. I don't see why they would go after the roots too.

[stefpix]

found this

Wiley InterScience :: Session Cookies

"In this study, caffeine is shown to act as both a repellent and toxicant against slugs and snails. This research is the first to document the potential of caffeine as a molluscicide. A drench treatment using a 1% or 2% solution of caffeine caused 100% of slugs (Veronicella cubensis) to exit treated soil, and the majority of these slugs subsequently died from caffeine poisoning. A 2% solution of caffeine applied to the growing medium of orchids killed 95% of orchid snails, (Zonitoides arboreus), and gave better control than a liquid metaldehyde product representing the standard commercial control for this pest. Using leaf-dip bioassays, we discovered that slugs tended to avoid feeding on plant material treated with caffeine solutions 0.1%, and caffeine solutions as low as 0.01% significantly reduced overall feeding by slugs. Due to concerns about chemical residues, available molluscicides generally cannot be applied directly to food crops for control of slug and snail pests. Caffeine is a natural product which is approved as a food additive. Therefore, caffeine may prove useful for protecting food crops from slugs and snails."

I could add some spoons of instant coffee to my spray bottle with drops of dish soap/alcohol/water solution. Does anyone think that a coffee solution may cause harm to orchids' roots/leaves

[lycaonpictus]

Don't know if it will work for these snails, but diatomaceous earth is often helpful. It's non-toxic --except if you get up a cloud of it and breathe it in, and then the damage it does is mechanical not chemical.

Anyway, diatomaceous earth looks like powdered sugar to us, but is very, very sharp on the "edges" to something like a snail. They crawl over it, cut themselves up, and tend to dehydrate. This might be a useful alternative if you want to avoid heavy chemicals. You can usually find it at garden stores.

[trdyl]

Originally Posted by stefpix

found this

Wiley InterScience :: Session Cookies

Thanks for the link.

[NYCorchidman]

So what happened?
Did coffee work for getting rid of bush snails???

[DavidCampen]

I may try caffeine, you can buy the pure material here:
NutraBio caffeine anhydrous USP.

[DavidCampen]

Here is a fresh link to the caffeine as snail poison study.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi...ne%20snails%22

I am definitely going to order some caffeine.

[escualida]

I would try suffocating them with CO2, you can use dry ice (but be careful that it doesn't get too cold) or use vinegar and baking soda to create CO2.

I found a tiny little snail in one of my plants last night, I put it in a small trash bag and mixed vinegar and baking soda in a bottle with a hose coming out of it and into the bag. I left it overnight.

You can find more info in these threads:

Eliminating terrarium pests - Orchid Board

Building and Using a Co2 Generator - Dendroboard

[DavidCampen]

I have a CO2 tank that I use for re-inflating tires when I drive off-road so availability of CO2 is no problem. I question though if the CO2 will displace, in a reasonable amount of time, the air in the interstitial spaces between the media where the snails reside; this is why I was considering submerging the pot in water to drown the snails.

So, I ask again, does anyone have an idea of how long it would take for a bush snail to drown?

[NYCorchidman]

I once dropped one in a toilette bowl. It swam until it found a wall to crawl up. lol

These live inside the potting mix as well as on the surface. The ones inside the mix will not come out and you cannot tell if they are all dead.

I guess I'll just try some strong coffee on a plant I don't care for that much to see there's any root damage since no one seems to have any experience.