Slugs a Persistent Problem

[mremensnyder]

I just tried to post an in depth message about my problem with slugs, but when I went to submit the message (having to log in yet again), it was lost.

Long story short, I have tried Orthene (deltamethrin) which flat out does not kill slugs at all. A specific slug and snail bait with iron phosphate does not attract slugs as advertised, and only killed a test subject (slug) after I managed to roll the pellets around it enough where a pellet stuck to the slug's side and killed it after an hour or so. A friend recommended acephate powder so that is what I plan to try next along with search and destroy missions at night.

I feel I will ultimately fail in keeping leafless orchids (except for the few species which the slugs leave alone for whatever reason) if I don't come up with a real solution for this issue. Does anybody have this problem and are there any other suggestions about what to do?

---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:12 PM ----------

I want to add that this is particularly frustrating due to the fact that I feel like I have finally become a proficient intermediate level grower of the leafless and some miniature orchids I have. Between the weather outside being perfect for growing the species I keep the past few months along with proper watering, fertilizing, humidity, air circulation, mounting etc, my plants are really looking good. So to see my leafless get sabotaged as they are finally showing robust growth and excellent health is just not acceptable.

[Subrosa]

Any chance of utilizing a physical barrier such as a strip of copper sheeting? Or suspending the mounts on strings?

[DeaC]

I don't grow leafless orchids but had a recent slug problem.Had just received 3 masdevallias from CA. all displaying the slime trail and the larger plant had a disgusting hitch-hiker.Didn't have the time to shop around for an appropriate assassinator but checked out the website of Ray Barkalow(First Rays)who contributes to OB and he mentionned a solution of caffeine and water 50/50. I gave it a shot,only 1 application,and have not noticed a problem since.These particular plants came to me very moist so I've kept them a bit drier and airier too. Maybe this will be useful to you as well.

[Selmo]

Slugs can wreck havoc on your plants in no time at all and thay can hide anywhere. You tried Orthene, wow, I bet you cleared out anyone in the area (Orthene has a very pungent smell). Have you tried Bug-Geta (met aldehyde) it is a granular snail and slug killer that you sprinkle in and around you plants. I have used it with good results. Another method to get rid of slugs is to use beer. Pour the beer into a shallow dish and place it in the area that the slugs are. The slugs will find the beer crawl in and drown. This method I have found not to be as effective as using Bug-Geta but drinking the remaining beer is way more fun.

[LizB88]

Maybe I'm too much of a softy, this may me hurt just watching it. However it seems to work!

[mremensnyder]

Thank you for your advice all!

Liz,
What a great idea. I guess I would need to put the wires much closer together since the slugs I am dealing with are much smaller than the one shown in the video. I would also install a strip of copper sheet tightly around the perimeter, for extra protection, since it is easy to do. This will be a good project for this spring, or earlier if it becomes necessary.

Subrosa,
I plan on trying the copper barrier. This seems like the best way to prevent new slugs from entering the growing area. The reason my mounts aren’t suspended in the way you describe is to increase humidity around the plants. Thus, my orchids are either laying flat on a surface of hardware cloth in the large plastic container with water in the bottom, or hanging along the side of another plastic container (also with water in the bottom). I would need to design a totally new setup to make it practical for the mounts to hang, but I may end up doing this at some point.

DeaC,
I had decided to use this caffeine solution to eliminate existing slugs from plants before placing them back in the grow area once the barriers described above are setup. A friend did warn me to be careful that the caffeine does not adversely affect the orchids. I was advised to try the solution on a few common orchids first and plan to do a little more research into the affect of caffeine exposure on orchids.

Selmo,
I certainly have not seen any other living things in the area since applying the Orthene (deltamthrin)! For now (before adding the barriers etc.), I have continued to apply the slug/snail bait (iron phosphate), but will get some beer and put some in bottle tops in the area. I might as well try as many methods as possible, especially since some are so quick and easy. I will keep the Bug-geta in mind!

[Maryanne]

Greetings!
I also have a slug problem. Over the years I've lost root tips, blossoms or buds and tender tips of plants.
You have to do all of the above control measures.
I've heard the beer method only works if the beer is a sufficient depth that the slug drinks, falls in and either drowns or cannot escape the container.
The "slug-go" pellet bait does work, but you have to hope they run into it.
I have inspected the wood mounts very closely. Slugs hide in the little crevices. They can climb up or down the suspending wire. I found a slug in a little hole in a cork mount, and had to go after it with the point of a knife and drag it out.

Slugs will live in the bottom of plant pots or in the bottom of a decorative cache pot. If the plant appears to have lost root tips or other tender tips, empty the pot and inspect the media. You may find a pair of slugs in the damp media. Evict them and use fresh media since they could have laid eggs in there. ickk.

Your new hobby along with orchid grown is night-time hunting. Slugs are only active at night. Arm yourself with a flashlight and a sharp paring knife (or something similar) to spear the invaders. Not only is this method recommended by me, but by our orchid society's longest standing members.

Good luck and Happy New Growing Year~
ML in chilly WMass..

---------- Post added at 08:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 AM ----------

Ooops - forgot one other point.
I just had a slug living in a tree fern mount. I had no idea it was there until it bit off the point of a bud - a first blooming plant. boo hoo. I should have encircled the spike with a little ring of aluminum foil which I've done before. But, I was not vigilant enough during this holiday season.

Again, good luck and be vigilant!

[mremensnyder]

Maryanne,
It sounds like you have had lots of experience with these little beasts! I will indeed employ as many of the measures detailed above as I can at the same time to minimize the problem. You are certainly spot on with regard to the slug pellets. Slugs are not “attracted” to that stuff. My test slug was put in a bowl with some pellets and I rolled the bowl so the little pile of pellets moved against the slug several times. Not until a larger pellet actually stuck to the slug did it finally die. This does not seem like much of a solution, but I have put piles of pellets in inverted water bottle tops around the growing space just for good measure. I also put some beer in my aluminum cage growing area and have yet to see any slugs in or around it.

The adult slugs (about 1” long) are difficult to find in all the holes and crevices of the orchid mounts, but I found a baby slug that so tiny (and almost transparent) as to be just barely visible! Good luck finding where those are hiding.

What would really work (and I would happily do this regularly) is reliable slug poison in an aqueous solution (that is safe on the really delicate orchids) that I would simply dunk each mount (all of the leafless and minis are mounted, about 35 specimens total) in on a weekly basis. I feel that such a measure alone would provide sufficient control of slugs in my growing space. If caffeine is completely safe on orchids at the recommended concentrations, then I will be ordering some caffeine powder on eBay shortly.

I actually found a roll of copper sheet metal in my storage area, so I have more than enough to give some slugs quite a shock.

I have also been engaging in the night hunting lately and haven’t found many, just a few here or there, but any slugs I can eliminate makes it time well spent. Thanks again for the recommendations Maryanne.

I won’t even have my ghost orchid outside, since I have gone to such lengths to obtain and finally keep a healthy plant. If I had a slug take off its one green growing tip, I would be beyond livid!

Happy New Year,
Michael in miserably hot and muggy Central FL