I am losing the battle of slugs, snails and red lily beetles. Are there are SAFE things I can

[GreenPartyVoter]

apply to my flowers that won't hurt anything but the slugs, snails and red lily beetles?? I am going away fro a week and a half and I will lose most of my flowers since there will be no one around to pick them off.

I am not sure if hubby will let me buy beer for religious reasons, but I did look into NEEM and industrial slug and snail bait (or yeast anyway). I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with either of those kinds of products.


These are red lily beetles. They got transferred here to New England from overseas and they utterly destroy any type of true lily.

[femmocrat]

1. Never heard of red lily beetles. Did you try beer for the slugs?

Also, you can put sand or ashes on the ground around your flowers. The snails and slugs won't crawl over it. Doesn't work if they are already hiding on the plant, though.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. I don't think I can try the beer. :^( These lil buggers are getting into my containers and

window boxes too. Not sure if the sand will help in all cases but I will try it. :)

[AlCzervik]

2. for slugs i use the beer in the pie plate thrick and it really works.

lily beetles i don't know from.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. I asked hubby about the beer. He was rather shocked. I might see if my dad

will get some since he will be watering the plants a couple of times while I am gone.

[blogslut]

3. A nice turtle?

They nom nom nom on slugs snails and insects.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Hmmmm. There's a thought!

[Orsino]

5. You might try an insecticidal soap.

http://www.weekendgardener.net/organic-pesticide/insecticidal-soap-060706.htm

Some are even organic.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. I will check that out. I tried a home-made dish soap solution but that burned them. :^(

[lazyriver]

9. I have slugs galore in my wet little corner of Maine. I use a multi-

pronged approach:

1) Beer in shallow cups as traps works but only use it if you already have slugs in place. It will draw them in over time because it works so well.
2) Lay some bark or wood pieces every few feet around your garden. During the day, slugs & snails seek out shade and will hide under the bark. Check each piece in late morning and dump them in a cup of beer or soapy water to kill them.
3) Go out at night with a headlamp or flashlight and catch/kill slugs when they are most active and crawling around.
4) Once you have eliminated them from an area, get some diatomaceous earth (garden centers sometimes carry it but you can try a pool supply place if you can't find it elsewhere)and pour a thin line around the purged area as a barrier they cannot cross. It works great...until it rains, then it needs to be reapplied. It works way better than sand or any other barrier I've heard of and won't harm the plants.

I have never noticed red lily beetles here in northern Maine but I battle Japanese beetles every July & August. I go out to my tiger lilies, roses, peas, beans, etc several times per day whenever I can (best when it's hot& sunny) and knock them into a cup of soapy water. I flush them down the toilet when dead because they will give off pheromones that will attract more if you dump them in the yard. The first time I went on a Japanese beetle killing spree, I got 1500 in one Saturday afternoon, 450 the next day and around 50 - 80/day for a week after that. Very labor intensive, but it worked.

Never use those commercial beetle traps as they will keep drawing more into the area...sometimes LOTS more.

Good luck!

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. We had the Japanese beetles out in Farmington. None here on the coast yet, but these durned

red beetles are here instead.

The trouble is that these things have 10 days of vacation to decimate my garden and I don't want my dad to have to flush them all out. That's why I am hoping to find something that can be applied. He might be amenable to spraying or sprinkling but I can't ask him to do a plant-by-plant search. It's just too much.

[lazyriver]

19. In that case, I'd try Safer Soap...an organic insecticidal soap.

Only works for a few days if no rain. There might be a safe dust-type product you can apply as well. Soaps seem to work for beetles but not so much for slugs in my experience.

Put the beer cups inside a perimeter of diatomaceous earth as soon as possible.

[Zomby Woof]

11. I'll buy the beer on your behalf

As long as I get to drink 20% of the proceeds. ;-)

Perfect loophole. :beer:

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Heheh *hugs*

[Critters2]

13. Diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle it where you see them,

and anyplace you think they may be. It's harmless to anything but insects. It loses its effectiveness if it gets wet, so you have to reapply often. Any garden supply or farm store should have it. Do not get the kind for swimming pools.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Sounds like something to look into after I get back from my trip. :^)

[Critters2]

15. I'm really not sure it'll work on slugs,

but it should be effective against the beetles.

[vadawg]

16. you know slugs are just escargot without the shells, some garlic and yummy

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. I have a batch marinating in salt n vinegar with a dash of dish soap. I can

let you have 'em for $10 per slug/snail. :P

[vadawg]

18. you know i cant eat snails or slugs but whelks mmmm yummy

though my misses cant really see the difference.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. I'm with the missus on that one.

[vadawg]

21. lol i think most people are, but whelks are spectacular

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. Lots of people are in love with lobstah and crabs and I don't get the appeal of them either.

But even though I won't touch whelks I will eat clams, scallops, and mussels with relish. (Not the kind in the jar, the kind in my heart. :P )

[vadawg]

24. i kinda got fed up with lobster and crab when i was younger

though i do remember cooking mussels and cockles on the inner drum of a washing machine with a fire in it, yummy

[GreenPartyVoter]

26. When I was little my dad was a sternman for a lobster fisherman who

paid him in lobsters. Mom had to trade them to friends for things like peanut butter and milk.

Ya can't use washing machine drums so much anymore. Lots of them are plastic nowadays. Stupid planned obsolescence. x( I had a pair of Kenmore Hand-me-downs from the late 60s that served us well for another 5 years before they finally died. I am now on my second replacement. The first one died after 3 whole years.

[vadawg]

28. i remember scouring the garbage for stuff to use as a kid

not sure how good all the crap would be nowadays, used to get tonnes of good metal for scrap and to make shit out of. I still stop to look at trash piles just in case and my partner has more than once got pissed at me for stopping to look at road kill when we are on patrol. Old habits die hard i guess.

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Beer for the slugs and snails is the cheapest way, and Safer soap for the beetles.

You've already gotten this advice but I thought I'd chime in as another recommendation.

Diatomaceous earth is great but $$.

[LiberalEsto]

25. Has anyone suggested Sluggo or Escar-Go?

Both contain iron phosphate. It kills slugs, doesn't harm pets.

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

[GreenPartyVoter]

27. I ran across it in my search. I am really liking the looks of that and the Neem.