Best way to keep slugs off C. microspadix?

[southlatropical]

I am very much new to palms and still don't know much about growing them. I planted some C. microspadix today and I remember reading that slugs like Chamaedoreas. Seems like I've read about all kinds of methods to keep them away like epsom salt, pennies, saw dust, ect. being placed around plants. Would epsom salt also be benificial to the palms?

[sonoranfans]

I might try lots of coffee grounds in the root area on the surface, they tend to repel bugs of all kinds.  Be careful with epsom salts, you can over do it, and it can hurt your palms.

[Scott Mcintosh]

I have used Epsom salt for greening lawn grass. I guess it may work on palms. But beware to much of a good thing may become a bad thing

[Wai`anae Steve]

They like beer.  Put out a sauser with beer in it.  

Or just buy commercial slug bait.

[TikiRick]

I use slug bait from any home improvement store. It is made by Ortho and is small pellets that you pour out around the base of any plant. It does not hurt plants and I have had great success with this product. You may have to reapply after a heavy rain or a few weeks.

[PalmGuyWC]

I use powered slug bait and it works like a charm and your pets won't eat it.  They might eat pellets. I make a circle around the plants I want to protect and it doesn't take much, just a light powedering.

Dick

[Joe palma]

Dick - do you remember the name of the product?? I have not seen the powder form before and I agree, less likely for the pets to get it.

I have been looking for what works best for awhile, having one type of pellet that is OK around animals (I have 5 dogs!), I can't remeber the name but is a white pellet and I think results are marginal. Trying coffee grinds now. Slugs and snails love the microspadix the most! Maybe plumosa or metalica second!

[southlatropical]

I went searching today and found this thread.

http://palmtalk.org/cgi-bin....l=snail

These products were mentioned............

Corry's Slug & Snail Death flakes

Sluggo

Also mentioned were preditor snails and wrapping copper wire around the base of the palm.

So, I have lots of copper wire laying around and that's already done. I make a cup of coffee every morning so I'll just start putting the grounds around the palms. I have'nt yet talked myself into giving them my beer. JK  Thanks for the help everyone.

[LJG]

Interesting this thread appeared now from the experience I had last week. More later...

I have used Corry's Slug & Snail and it is good for slugs when they crawl over it, but for snails that seem to move all over the place each night, it does not seem to attract them. Same with the child and dog safe stuff. Unless the snail crawls over it, it will not get them. The stuff is more like a snail landmine.

The other pellets that attract snails seems to work best. How do I know? Because my 2 1/2 year old son will collect hundreds of the dead shells and put them in a pile. He finds them all over the yard. But back to my first comment...

My dogs got out one day after I put it down. About 1 hour later one was flopping on the floor. I knew right away it was poisoning. Got the dog to vet where she almost died. A $10 bag if snail bate cost me $1200! The vet says that the bate uses molasses and that attracts snails and dogs. I had used it hundreds of times before. But this one time the dog could not resist. So my point is adhere to the warnings on the bag! Don't use around pets.