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| Lily holds one of the smaller snails before sending it to live in the ocean. |
Critters have it good here too. Without the winter die-off, they thrive. Constant vigilance is needed to prevent one's home from literally being destroyed by Formosan termites. Fleas are resistant to some of the most effective insecticides. Everything in the kitchen has to be sealed air tight or the ants will find it. I've even turned my microwave into an overpriced breadbox by storing my baked goods in it.
At this point, critters have probably enjoyed more of my crops than my family has. Pepper maggots, aphids, leafminers, and scale were foreign terms to me just a few months ago - now I'm an expert on all of them.
Oh, I knew this was going to be the case. But as a general rule, I don't like to kill stuff. I thought my moral dilemma was going to be focused on cockroaches and centipedes. So far (knock on wood) a centipede has yet to make an appearance in my yard, let alone the house. I've come to an agreement with the cockroaches, which can be as large as a human thumb and sometimes fly. So long as they do their usual thing - only come out at night, stick to the walls and dark corners, and run away from me when I approach - I let them live unless they are inside the house (I did meet one noble soul who, as a Buddhist, is committed to a "catch and release" cockroach management program. Good for her.).
I've begun to reevaluate this agreement, however, since one of the buggers violated our pact the other morning. I was minding my own business, doing my morning exercise on the back patio, when he sauntered right up to me IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. So far as I am concerned, this makes him fair game even if we were outside, but I didn't kill him. I suspect this may have been due to lack of a suitable weapon (a flip-flop). I rolled my exercise ball over him instead. I don't think very clearly in the morning.
No, the conundrum for me has really centered around snails and slugs. Somehow, I have become the scourge of gastropods. The problems started when I installed the rock garden by the mailbox. One morning I came out to discover that my lovingly nurtured creeping thyme, happily spreading between the stepping stones, had been stripped bare to its stems in many places. The next morning, even more leaves were gone. Then the margiolds started mysteriously falling over as if a tiny lumberjack was coming out at night to chop their little stems. It took some time to figure out what was happening, but a nighttime reconnaissance mission with a flashlight solved the mystery. I had planted several vincas around the mailbox, and they had flourished. Not long after, we had a couple weeks of heavy rain. The slug population in my rock garden exploded under these ideal conditions - they would hide in the cool dense shade under the vincas by day, and eat my thyme and marigolds by night.
I am stubbornly opposed to the use of poisons and chemicals unless it is my last resort. Several organic methods are recommended for removing snails and slugs. Most sources maintain that the most effective method is to go out at night and pick as many of the critters as possible. The usual suggestion is to throw them in a bucket of soapy water to drown, but after the first couple dozen, this starts to get pretty gross. And I feel a little bad drowning the little guys, given that death by drowning is my worst nightmare and hey, they're just trying to live their lives.
I should back up a moment to point out that we are talking about very large slugs and snails. The most common snail pest is an introduced species called the Giant African Snail. That's not only creepy sounding, but accurately descriptive: they don't belong here and they're very giant. I was out for a pre-dawn walk one day and stepped over something on the sidewalk in the darkness. A beat later, my brain registered that I had just seen something that was Not Right. I turned around and pointed my phone at the ground like a flashlight. It was a snail the size of my fist.
Not liking the soapy water bucket much, I next attempted brute violence, determining that a quick kill with the trowel would be the most humane. But again, after twenty or thirty repetitions, it began to mess with my head. I was also becoming concerned because the kids seemed just a bit too keen on killing slugs. Some context: a few weeks prior, I had found a Bufo toad in our backyard. Bufo marinus is an invasive species and secretes a highly toxic substance that can kill a large dog if they so much as put their mouth on it. This will also happen to any human dumb enough to put a toad in their mouth (or touch the toad and put their finger in their mouth). I try to discourage toads from visiting our property by eliminating standing water and keeping things dry, but sometimes they show up anyway. Making a snap judgement to kill this intruder in the name of protecting my family and the island ecosystem, I grabbed a spade and swung. He hopped. I gave chase. He hopped more frantically. Now I was beginning to feel like a serial killer in a slasher flick, but conviction drove me on. I cornered the toad by the fence and dealt a swift blow, flattening it - but then, disturbingly, he popped back up. I struck again and this time he ruptured. Ick.
Meanwhile, my little angels were jumping up and down at the back door and squealing with delight. "MOMMY KILLED A TOAD! SHE KILLED IT WITH A SHOVEL!" This was all a little too Lord of the Flies for me. Their eyes still light up when they recall the incident, while I'm having flashbacks and considering treatment for PTSD.
Remembering this episode, I wasn't too happy about letting the kiddos witness me whacking away at the slugs, so I settled on dumping them in the storm drain to become Sea Slugs and live happily ever after in the ocean. You know, like Gary from Spongebob.
A few other tricks for getting rid of snails and slugs:
Reduce habitat and hiding places as much as possible. Think dark, cool and moist. Keep the yard picked up of debris, toys, lawn clippings, etc. and make sure the areas under your bushes are clear of underbrush. Avoid letting grass grow tall and unruly, especially in the wetter parts of your yard. True to their reputation, gastropods move slowly, so their range is limited to how far they can travel to and from favorable conditions at night. This range is extended after rains. When it's very cloudy and wet, you will find them out in the open by day.
Traps are a popular method of organic snail control. Beer traps are widely recommended on the internet, but most authors don't include critical information on how to design a successful trap. So I will tell you: Gather some cheap beer (you can use expensive beer, but why?) and a cup or glass - something at least 3-4 inches deep is sufficient on the mainland, but I usually opt to use tall cups for our megafauna. Dig a hole and seat the cup in the soil so that the lip is even with the ground. Pack dirt around the edges. If your lip is too high above ground level, your victims will not be able to crawl into the trap. If your cup is too shallow, they will crawl back out before they die. Fill with beer. The theory here is that beer attracts slugs and snails, they crawl in, can't get out, and drown. I had amazing luck with this in Utah, not so much here in Hawaii. They do seem to have a preference for Coors Light over PBR, so I guess the local snails aren't the hipster type. Change daily unless you have a strong stomach for rotten snails and sour beer. Keep in mind that if you do this incorrectly, all you will do is attract slugs and snails to the area so that they are more likely to munch on your plants and wash it down with your beer. Then they'll take home some floozie they met all sleazy under the marigolds, and since all they got in high school health class was abstinence training, they'll reproduce like crazy. Don't let this happen to you.
An alternative trapping method has not worked as well for me, but other people swear by it. Wet down an area near slug habitat/feeding grounds and place a board or some other flat structure over it. Prop up one end slightly with some pebbles so that the snails can crawl underneath. Come back during the day, turn your board over and then scrape the slugs and snails into a bucket of soapy water.
Barriers are another common recommendation. Copper, in my experience, is effective. They seem to be reluctant to touch it. You can purchase copper tape for containers in a garden center, or you can get creative with copper flashing or other ready-made devices. Reportedly they hate coffee grounds and eggshells as well, although I have no direct feedback on this (I do spread coffee grounds around certain plants anyway, as they're a good nutrient source. Be careful, however, because the grounds are very acidic and enough of them can alter the pH of your garden soil).
Finally, a word about poisons. I never, ever advocate the use of metaldehyde snail bait. It is extremely attractive and toxic not only to snails and slugs, but to dogs and kids as well. There are better ways. Iron phosphate is safer, although if small children get into the bottle, they can still be poisoned. After I have depopulated an area, I will usually sprinkle a little iron phosphate around to catch the survivors.
Snails and slugs are destructive pests that can ruin an entire garden in a matter of days. Effective control is a bit labor intensive at first, but if you design your landscape carefully and thoughtfully, you can minimize the problems in the long term by reducing habitat. Occasional surveillance will address problems before they turn into a crisis.
Happy slaughtering!
