Background...

I have a mini 4-tier plastic covered greenhouse... The plastics got damaged... but I hate the greenhouse anyway because the last couple of years, it has let in those slimy little monsters (slugs / snails) - no matter how much repellent/killer I put down.

I'm growing in my parents garden, so there is only one place I can put the greenhouse, and that is next to the fence... so I'm not really surprised that the beasts can get in...

If I had something on a lower level, I think I could pretty much store it anywhere... but I want something that'll protect my plants... and I think I've actually gone a little paranoid.

Last year, I bought and tried out the smallest piece of Shocka Mat - it's brilliant, so I will be putting this underneath any plants I grow (it means that my guinea pigs can run anywhere they want in the garden without risk of getting poisoned etc)

The Question

What do you recommend as the safest method of protecting my plants against slug/snails, where my plants can be kept warm?

I've looked into other style greenhouses, including blow-up ones, temporary ones, pop up ones, clotch tunnel thingies... other mini greenhouses...

But maybe I'm just paranoid?

Let me know your thoughts, ANY comments will be helpful (even if you want to laugh at me and call me stupid... but the first yr I tried gardening, we had a huge infestation of those 'slimers', and they damaged/ate EVERYTHING, literally [including onions? They left those till last?])


Thanks for your feedback,
It's greatly appreciated.

Katie

K8eP wrote:
_BACKGROUND..._

I have a mini 4-tier plastic covered greenhouse... The plastics got
damaged... but I hate the greenhouse anyway because the last couple of
years, it has let in those slimy little monsters (slugs / snails) - no
matter how much repellent/killer I put down.

I'm growing in my parents garden, so there is only one place I can put
the greenhouse, and that is next to the fence... so I'm not really
surprised that the beasts can get in...

If I had something on a lower level, I think I could pretty much store
it anywhere... but I want something that'll protect my plants... and I
think I've actually gone a little paranoid.

Last year, I bought and tried out the smallest piece of Shocka Mat -
it's brilliant, so I will be putting this underneath any plants I grow
(it means that my guinea pigs can run anywhere they want in the garden
without risk of getting poisoned etc)

_THE_QUESTION_

What do you recommend as the safest method of protecting my plants
against slug/snails, where my plants can be kept warm?

I've looked into other style greenhouses, including blow-up ones,
temporary ones, pop up ones, clotch tunnel thingies... other mini
greenhouses...

But maybe I'm just paranoid?

Let me know your thoughts, ANY comments will be helpful (even if you
want to laugh at me and call me stupid... but the first yr I tried
gardening, we had a huge infestation of those 'slimers', and they
damaged/ate EVERYTHING, literally [including onions? They left those
till last?])


Yes your paranoid, snails are the least of a gardeners problem.
Get a product called "Sluggo" for those pesky snails.

http://www.pestproducts.com/sluggo.htm

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

hmm... okay - Thanks for your feedback
I will be using the Shocka Mat... (I do have some poisonous pellets still in my shed)

But since I have to get something new anyway... is there anything you would recommend?

In article ,
K8eP wrote:

hmm... okay - Thanks for your feedback
I will be using the Shocka Mat... (I do have some poisonous pellets
still in my shed)

But since I have to get something new anyway... is there anything you
would recommend?

The active ingredient in "Sluggo" is ferric phosphate, a.k.a. iron
phosphate. It is only poisonous to gastropods, not mammals, for whom it
is a nutrient. Other producers make snail bait using "iron phosphate" so
check labels when looking at snail baits, or ask for "iron phosphate"
snail bait.

http://www.plantea.com/slug-baits-coffee.htm
--
- Billy
³When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist.²
-Archbishop Helder Camara
http://peace.mennolink.org/articles/...acegroups.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth...130964689.html

K8eP wrote:

slugs n' snails

Pet duck.

Clean out an empty tuna can and pour it half full with the cheapest beer you
can find. Set the cans through your planting area. The slugs are a drunken
bunch!

This may sound crazy -- but I am currently taking a Master Gardener
course -- and this was one of the methods recommended by the instructor.

Kate in Michigan

"K8eP" wrote in message ...


_BACKGROUND..._

I have a mini 4-tier plastic covered greenhouse... The plastics got
damaged... but I hate the greenhouse anyway because the last couple of
years, it has let in those slimy little monsters (slugs / snails) - no
matter how much repellent/killer I put down.

I'm growing in my parents garden, so there is only one place I can put
the greenhouse, and that is next to the fence... so I'm not really
surprised that the beasts can get in...

If I had something on a lower level, I think I could pretty much store
it anywhere... but I want something that'll protect my plants... and I
think I've actually gone a little paranoid.

Last year, I bought and tried out the smallest piece of Shocka Mat -
it's brilliant, so I will be putting this underneath any plants I grow
(it means that my guinea pigs can run anywhere they want in the garden
without risk of getting poisoned etc)

_THE_QUESTION_

What do you recommend as the safest method of protecting my plants
against slug/snails, where my plants can be kept warm?

I've looked into other style greenhouses, including blow-up ones,
temporary ones, pop up ones, clotch tunnel thingies... other mini
greenhouses...

But maybe I'm just paranoid?

Let me know your thoughts, ANY comments will be helpful (even if you
want to laugh at me and call me stupid... but the first yr I tried
gardening, we had a huge infestation of those 'slimers', and they
damaged/ate EVERYTHING, literally [including onions? They left those
till last?])




--
K8eP

In article ,
"Kate in MI" wrote:

Clean out an empty tuna can and pour it half full with the cheapest beer you
can find. Set the cans through your planting area. The slugs are a drunken
bunch!

This may sound crazy -- but I am currently taking a Master Gardener
course -- and this was one of the methods recommended by the instructor.

Kate in Michigan

"K8eP" wrote in message ...

Look for a snail bait whose active ingredient is "iron phosphate"
(ferric phosphate). "Iron phosphate" is only poisonous to slug and
snails, not people, or their pets. It is sometimes used as a nutritional
supplement for people. I have used it for years, in areas of my yard
where my cats and dogs have access, with no problems. Use it 24 hr.s
ahead of planting, and it can be safely used to the day of harvest.
--
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZkDikRLQrw