HOW TO KILL SNAILS & SLUGS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 136, 25 June 1937, Page 14

HOW TO KILL SNAILS & SLUGS

Snails feed on weeds as well as cultivated plants, and particularly attack cabbage, cauliflowers, beans, peas, tomatoes, violets. In any plan to rid the garden of snails, therefore, it is essential to remove adjaeent weed growth, accumulated rubbish, or any other shelter jprior to control measures being undertaken. There is nothiug more dishearteniug to the amateur gardeqpr than to have his choice seedlings eaten off night after night. Both slugs aud snails breed very freely and deposit eggs which are laid in clusters of 60 to 90. These eggs hateh in about 15 days, and in a very short time the garden is overrun with the pests. In a small area the snails may be ' collected by hand and destroyed, but when in a larger area, and in large numbers, the snails are best controlled by spraying or dusting the plants, or by the use of poisoned baits. A poisoned bait cons'isting of 11b. of calcium arsenate or Paris green, and 161b. bran is recommended. It is essential that the Paris green should be thoroughly stirred dry with the bran until the whole is thoroughly mixed. Suffi cient water is then ad-ded to make a damp, crumbly mash. This bait is scattered in a thin layer on the soil along the raws of affected plants and other situations where the snails congregate. The bait should be applied late in the afternoon, or at night, to ensure its being moist, as it is useless in a dry condition. This bait proves effective, but may not kill the snails in appreciable number for two or three days. Another method is to spray the plants witli arsenate of lead powder, l^lb. to 4Q gallons of water. Dusting tlie affected parta with 11b, of arsenate of lead powder diluted with 41b. hydrated or slalted lime dust, finely sieved, can be recommended. Boards set out at intervals and baited beneath with portions of boiled potato form attractive traps, where the snails will congregate and shelter by day, and can be destroyed iu numbers.