Pet Safegardening
Posted by: sherri
11th Dec 2011 01:57pm
Hi all you wonderful gardeners out there.... she of the black thumbs has decided to give it another go!
I have several apparently tasty young plants sitting on death row out the back and I am a bit concerned that the local slugs and snails think that a new restaurant has opened up in town....and I want to rid them of that idea quick smart!
I am not very keen on the idea of laying regular snail bait because I have a cat and don't want to poison him (OR any of the other cats that come round scrounging because he is too wimpy to chase them off)
I am even less keen on the idea of donning gumboots and 'going the stomp' ....and I find the idea of disposing of drunken snail carcasses revolting.
Someone told me about laying kitty litter around the plants - but that will only work till it rains or I water and it becomes soggy.
So what does that leave? - any ideas?
I did a little research and discovered that there is two kinds of snail bait - the regular (chemical - non pet safe ) kind , and a second sort - a mineral one. BUT i have not been able to find out where to buy it locally.
Why is that anyway? Surely there would be a market for it here in Oz .... (Tasmania).......(and does anyone know the Australian brand-name? )
Anyway.... back to the original question....does anyone know of a pet-safe way of dealing with slugs and snails?
thankyou
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Comments 11
dollymay
i love gardening and watching it all grow, but my little story has nothing to do with your to[pic, i have a very cheeky white cockatoo as a pet, he was out of the cage this day and i was planting little lettuce in the garden, i was so engrossed in what i was doing, when i finished planting them i stood up and looked down there was my cocky going along behind me pulling them up, so i had to plant them all again, it did look funny. i have heard putting little containers of beer in the garden, snails are attracted to it, then they drown,
simla
Hi sherri, just thought i'd add a couple of suggestions. One is that salt kills snails and slugs. They dehydrate.Of course no good on garden beds, but ok on cement, around plant pots on patios and the like.The other thing worth mentioning is that it is not a good idea to squash snails, as the eggs will still hatch, and you will have another generation of snails to deal with. Best to collect them in a plastic bag and put in the garbage.Cheers-Simla.
simla
postscript to my last reply, i thought i should mention, whilst on the subject of pet safety in the garden, i once lost cat from him eating "livingstone daisy" he went for it one day and i carried him away from it',thinking he probably shouldn't be eating that.'went out shopping and when i returned he was curled up as if asleep........but must have been the succulent. it is such a pretty houseplant,with dewy sparkling leaves and lovely shiny colorful flowers. if it had only been in the garden,maybe he'd have left it alone?
simla
hi there sherri,all your ideas appreciated here, will try coffee grounds too. the ammonia also till i save enough grounds. i used to have silky chickens, they are very quiet and wouldn't be a problem even to the most timid cat,may even pal up and surprise you. they don't scratch in the garden either, which is another common problem with "normal" chooks..and fluffy Chinese Silkies make great pets,are a conversation piece, entertain visitors children for hours at a time,and lay lots of reasonable sized eggs. they are a medium sized fowl, not a true bantam. there.problem fixed! cheers, Simla
Brolga
Hi Sherry, if you put some beer into a dish or jar or something that can be covered but have an entrance the snails love it & will go inside & drink themselves to death. They often have special "containers" for this in the Magnamail catalogue. In NZ there is a product called "Quash" which is environmentally & Pet friendly. It also works well. It can be bought at the Warehouse over here. Good luck!
Gae
Depending were you live and if yiu have good fencing a few pekin ducks do away with alot of the pests and you can get a few fresh eggs with them
sherri
thanks Gae - I knew about ducks, but I live in suburbia, and there are too many cats and dogs around that would think that my duck was fair game. (and my cat would not cope - wimp that he is.)
I think I have an answer that works though, - I was at a friend's recently - just as she was emptying out her coffee machine, - And I was able to cadge a lot of coffee grounds. - and YES!! it works!
I spread a layer of about 1 1/2 cm deep in one of my pots, and NO snails. and no more nibbled leaves in that pot, although the pots on either side continue to be lunch. So that is the way to go! (Although I am going to give the ammonia a try until I get enough coffee grounds)
Thankyou all for your help.
thankyou all for your wonderful suggestions.
dragonlady
im not sure but when u find one i would love to know.
paradox
Don't now what happened to get all those pasted repeats. One would have been enough, eh?
sherri
I just thought that you really, really, REALLY wanted to underline your point! - but thankyou for the information...and I will give it a go - (even though I like your first suggestion better, - sadly there is a distinct lack of frenchmen out my way).
paradox
sherri, befriend a Frenchmen???? HaHaHa. Seriously I do not think there is another way to rid yourself of these free-loaders. So, out you go in your wellies like a good little Tassie girl and go a-stomping and a-squashing making good natural fertilizer. I found this little bit of info on the net and took a bit of it to put in this reply:
The slugs I sprayed with ammonia the night before now look like bird droppings on the hosta. For those who missed it, I mix one part ammonia to nine parts water and add a good squirt of dish detergent before heading out at night with the spray bottle and a flashlight. The ammonia dispatches slugs, and the soap is fatal to earwigs. Seeing as you will often find them on the same plants, it's handy to have a double-barreled weapon.
the slugs I sprayed with ammonia the night before now look like bird droppings on the hosta. For those who missed it, I mix one part ammonia to nine parts water and add a good squirt of dish detergent before heading out at night with the spray bottle and a flashlight. The ammonia dispatches slugs, and the soap is fatal to earwigs. Seeing as you will often find them on the same plants, it's handy to have a double-barreled weapon.
the slugs I sprayed with ammonia the night before now look like bird droppings on the hosta. For those who missed it, I mix one part ammonia to nine parts water and add a good squirt of dish detergent before heading out at night with the spray bottle and a flashlight. The ammonia dispatches slugs, and the soap is fatal to earwigs. Seeing as you will often find them on the same plants, it's handy to have a double-barreled weapon. the slugs I sprayed with ammonia the night before now look like bird droppings on the hosta. For those who missed it, I mix one part ammonia to nine parts water and add a good squirt of dish detergent before heading out at night with the spray bottle and a flashlight. The ammonia dispatches slugs, and the soap is fatal to earwigs. Seeing as you will often find them on the same plants, it's handy to have a double-barreled weapon.
Hope it helps a bit , just don't feed the resulting mess to the Frenchmen.