Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Snails

I realize that all of nature is one precisely balanced system with each creature, each plant playing a role in keeping that balance in check.

What I can't figure out is the purpose of snails.

My garden is a breeding ground for Cornu aspersum (formerly Helix aspersa)  And do you know the most frustrating part?

They're not native to California.

They're originally from France, but were brought here in the 1850's to be used as food.

That's right, boys and girls.   After watering the yard, I have enough escargot to feed an entire French village.  Not only do I have to battle the high temperatures, low rainfall and earwigs...wait.

Looking up earwigs in my handy dandy UC Davis site...

Son of a b---- earwigs - at least the ones that eat plants - are not native to California either!  They were introduced, accidentally introduced, in the early 1900's from Europe.

Fantastic.

10 comments:

zannie said...

Fortunately, Sluggo is effective and approved for organic gardens/farms. Its active ingredient is iron phosphate, and it breaks down into fertilizer.

There's also a Sluggo Plus that is supposed to help get rid of other things (I think earwigs are among them) but as far as I know it has not been approved for organic gardening. It's possible it just hasn't made it through the OMRI process yet, or it may just not qualify.

Anonymous said...

Zannie - My snails laugh in the face of Sluggo! They are tres vaillant! :D

zannie said...

Where are you sprinkling it? When I first used it I thought I should put it near the plants I wanted to protect, but I've since learned that since it is a *bait*, it's better to sprinkle it in a sort of defensive border, so the slugs and snails encounter it before they even get to your plants.

It also helps to remove anything around your garden that provides a hiding place during the day, like boards lying on the ground. I know that's not always practical, though.

If they're attacking plants that are in containers, you can put copper tape around the outside of the container. They can't crawl over it.

And then there's always hand-picking them and either smashing them or feeding them to chickens. :) Can be a daunting task, though.

That's about all I've got. I haven't found beer traps to be very effective. Good luck finding a strategy or strategies against your armée d'escargots!

Anonymous said...

Well...now that I think of it, I could be setting myself up for invasion.

My beautiful little garden borders are brick, which means the entire garden is lined with snail/slug hidey holes.

Greaaaat.

Jen said...

Totally unrelated to snails, I have a question for you... Do you know of any reasonably priced CSA areas in South SLO county or (even better) the Santa Maria area? I'm trying to go organic and local and Albertsons just isn't cutting it. I'd also like to start using free range eggs, chicken, meat, etc. Do you have any suggestions around here? Thanks!!

zannie said...

I have brick borders in my garden too (though I wouldn't go so far as to call mine beautiful--they just give me something to stand on when it's muddy, and define borders to beds). You might try sprinkling the Sluggo right there on the bricks. Catch 'em before they even leave the lair, and don't bait them to go near your plants.

Anonymous said...

Jen - Uh-oh...you're getting ready to go down the rabbit hole. :D

Here are a couple links to local farmers:
http://centralcoastgrown.net/site/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

http://www.eatwild.com/products/california.html

Eggs might be the easiest to find. I know so many women who are raising chickens and selling eggs. Let me look around and see if I can find one for you close to home. They usually charge between $2 and $3 a dozen.

You can also hit up the farmer's markets. Trader Joe's has some organic produce and good meats. Their eggs are less expensive than Albertsons. The only problem I have with them is their packaging. So much plastic wrapped around four pears!

As for fish, Giovanni's Fish Market, located in MB, delivers. http://www.giovannisfishmarket.com/ Their prices aren't too bad.

Hope this helps a bit!

Anonymous said...

Zannie -

Brilliant! I think I'll put the Sluggo on and under the bricks.

Any tips for earwigs??

zannie said...

I've always let "my" earwigs be, since I don't think they've been doing any major damage. Golden Gate Gardening, my go-to book, has this to say:

Damage by earwigs is usually worst in spring, as hordes of hungry nymphs mature and find newly cleared gardens planted with tender seedlings. At this time of year, gardeners often attribute to slugs and snails damage that was actually caused by earwigs. The earwigs feed at night, hiding by day uder the soil, in garden debris, or deep in plant crevices. You may need a night visit to your garden with a flashlight to confirm that they are to blame.

You will probably always have some earwigs in your garden, but you can reduce populations to levels that will keep damage low, and the best time to do it is from early spring to midsummer.

Start by cleaning up places they love to hide, such as piles of plastic pots or empty soil amendment bags. If you find earwigs, you can shake them from objects held over a bucket of soapy water, or shake them onto pavement and step on them (a bit of energy is required for this, but it can be done). You may also find earwigs living in fruit or ornamental trees, vines, or weedy areas. Thinning too-thick growth in trees will reduce cover for the pests.

Traps made of rolled damp newspaper held with a rubber band, or pieces of bamboo, will attract earwigs, but must be emptied daily or they will serve as earwig houses. Shake them over soapy water or put them in a plastic bag. (Freeze the plastic bag; then you can compost the insects if you like.) To trap earwigs in a way that doesn't require daily attention, you can put a half-inch of beer or oil in a shallow container. Such a trap can catch up to 50 earwigs a night, clearing from approximately a square yard. Either sink a tuna can so that its rim is even with the soil surface or use a cottage cheese-type container with a lid. The lid helps if cats or raccoons are about. Cut two or three 1/2-inch holes halfway up the sides of the container, sink it to the level of the holes, and put the lid on. Snails and slugs don't seem very interested in beer in my garden, but earwigs walk right in.

Jen said...

Yes... I've been on the edge lately... It's been a big sticker shock to do things the right way but I'm doing it slowly... It actually crossed my mind to get a couple chickens (my husband's grandmother raises them up North)... then I realized I was already crazy with a 20 month old and a 7 month old, chickens would just make it so much worse! If you know of any 'egg' folks, please let me know. I'll have to look closer at TJ's meat products. Thanks for all the help!!