Hosta Plant

[JoyB]

Hi

I have a beautiful Hosta and every year it gets eaten by snails. I wondered if anyone has any tips on how to stop this from happening. I can't use slug pellets because of the pets and children. Any information would be appreciated.

Joy :)

[Neil Bromhall]

I've heard that copper or was it brass strips placed around a container will stop slugs getting to your plants. It sounds good and wildlife friendly (unless your a slug).

[JoyB]

Thanks Neil. I've also heard that copper tape normally works so I might give that a go this year. I've tried ground coffee and crushed eggshells but as I have a large garden and have to water my plants with a hosepipe and not a watering can, they wash away very easily.

Joy :)

[Paul Narramore]

Joy

You say you won't use slug pellets because of pets and children, well we have pets and in the past children. I'm sure that because of the scent given off my slug pellets, pets are simply not interested. If it worries you that much, you could use half of a coconut shell or two with little 'doors' in the sides, to cover the slug pellets.

As for children, there are all sorts of plants and berries in a normal garden which are toxic or at the very least unpleasant. I always made a point of showing our children what plants to leave well alone, and in a matter of fact way rather than a scary way. We never had any problems. I have to agree that I did chop down a lovely laburnham tree before the children were born, because of the poinsonous seeds.

A few weeks ago, I was at a local garden show and was shown a quite clever device called a SnailAway (see www.snailaway.com) which consists of a sticky tape with two metallic stripes, a small box and a PP3 battery. The tape is run around the pot with each end going into the little box, then the battery is put into the box an a tiny electric current then passes around the pot. The seller advised me to remove the hostas from the pot and to wash all the soil from the roots just incase there was some slug eggs in there. Even old and worn out batteries will work (he said) so I have three large pots with hostas and I'm curious to see just how well they work.

[JoyB]

Hi Paul,

I was very lucky with my hosta this year and I'm pleased to say I used child/pet friendly slug pellets and they worked a treat.

I also heard about SnailAway and if I have any problems in the future I'll definitely consider using it.

Joy :)

[smudge]

Has anyone else got any hosta solutions? Mine were ravaged last year and would appreciate some help from some experts!! Did this snailaway thing work?

[JoyB]

Last summer I placed my Hosta plant on a bed of chippings and then sprinkled salt on the chipping and I didn't have any problems whatsoever. I will do the same again this year as it's a cheap and effective way of keeping the snails away.

[Paul Narramore]

An update on the battery-powered Snailaway devices - they didn't really work. As I mentioned, the battery is in a tiny case and it attached to the pots using a length of sticky tape in which a couple of metallic strips carry the current. The 'sticky tape' lost it's grip on terracotta and any pots with any sort of pattern. Also some of the slugs were actually in the compost of the pots, underground. So this year I'm going to try copper rings from scrap copper, and slug pellets. The slugs have already been at the shoots of my day lilies but I seem to have got the slug pellets out in time and the new shoots are unaffected now.

[Great Hostas]

I have managed to grow great Hostas ever since I started to use SnailAway - the little blighters really can't cross it. I read about terracotta pots on the website and apparantly it's the salt content in unglazed pots that makes the tape lift - they suggest putting some matt glaze on the pot. As with everything if you want to make sure your plants are completely free of slugs you need to wash the roots and use virgin soil. I'm hoping to make a slug and snail free raised vegetable bed next by lining it with weed matting.

[MAY]

i have heard that sharp sand mixed with gravel ,sprinkled all around the hostas in the ground will do the trick .


the chap at the garden centre that i vist told me that.

and they have a nice garden full of hostas in the ground . with no slug or snail holes in any of them .


so its worth a try

[Paul Narramore]

May

I think one has to use a combination of methods. I've tried most but not all together.

1. The pot must be off the ground to prevent slugs entering through the drainage hole. All the following tips are pointless if the slug is already in the compost.

2. The electrical devices didn't work for me and could grip in glazed, terracotta or rough surfaces.

3. Egg shells was a waste of time. Sharp sand becomes quite smooth after rain.

4. Perhaps pot off ground, course grit AND sharp sand is the answer.

5. I've yet to try copper bands.

[Miranda]

I've used the copper tape and found it effective. Of course it only works if there are no slugs in the pot and they can't get in through the drainage holes.

Be careful using that tape, mind, it's got really sharp edges. The first time I used it, I was smoothing out a couple of crinkles and managed to cut open both thumbs.

[digger]

I have posted similar on another forum, so i will be as brief as possible, I too have the slug problem and I have been working on a patented copyrighted idea. I call it "The Barrier of Death" it works a treat and once installed it requires little or no maintenance, it is at the moment a permanently installed fixture but I am working on a mobile version, a simple version of the permanent one is, dig a trench around your property like a moat about one spit deep and a good eight inches wide, don't leave any gaps as the slugs will find them ,fill the trench with sharp grit not gravel it's too big. This trench can at certain time be filled with paraffin and then set it on fire ,it burns for ages and nothing can cross it, when the fire burns out it will leave everything in the vicinity bone dry including the grit slugs won't cross the grit, it works. this handles any slugs coming in from next doors but leaves the original slugs on your property, you MUST install the barrier of death first. next I am producing a steel mesh with very fine holes this ,is to be placed on the ground near to suceptible plants, then place a lettuce leaf onto the mesh,next plug it into the mains electricity but use an rcd ,then stand back and wait for the first slug to slither onto the mesh and it will be instantly fried to death, this idea is my intellectual property and can't be copied without my permission, but I guarantee that it works well when used in conjunction with "The Barrier of Death"

[Paul Narramore]

I try to wait until 6pm before opening a bottle of red.......:p

[Bluebell]

I like the idea of the barrier of death Digger! It may keep the Double Glazing sales men out too!!:D

[MAY]

I have just been to barmouth beach and there are loads of shells ,so i have been collecting them to put round the soil in my pots of hosta , i was thinking that they would be a bit salty and the snails may not like that . also i have a newly planted hosta in a raised bed and the shoots are just coming through so i have put some in there as well. heres hoping :)

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z129/pepiv8/P1040520.jpg

[Paul Narramore]

I was in the cafeteria of our local Sainsbugs the other and there was a sign offering coffee grounds so that's what I now have around the hostas this year.

[MAY]

I was in the cafeteria of our local Sainsbugs the other and there was a sign offering coffee grounds so that's what I now have around the hostas this year.
caffeine boost for the hostas at the same time :)

[samsam]

Resident blackbirds work really well.

And a slower method calls for putting on massive amounts of compost - which sounds weird, yet seems to work.

Where my mum lives could be renamed Snail City. I know; I used to live just down the road. One wet night I collected over 100 from the wall of our garage and took them across the road(!) to a vacant section. Her garden was just as bad, and she had little blue mounds of slug bait everywhere. They slithered past, laughing, and full of fresh seedlings.

A local company starting producing a compost mix using bedding and manure from the zoo and we bought some. And it worked. (I mean, if you were a snail wouldn't you be cautious about taking on the elephant you 'know' is in the garden???) It took about three years of annual applications. The soil tilth is great and it holds heaps more moisture over the summer dry. It might also have changed the pH value and made the plants less vulnerable to the gastropod garden jackals.

[Plantsman]

Digger, you made my day - daren't say any more :D