I've seen it posted that Sevin dust breaks down readily on soil, but granules can last longer. Some disagreement about half-life in the soil. That being said, it binds tightly to soil particles and isn't soluble in water, so it won't wash away or leach out. I am skeptical about whether it will kill slugs, however. Slugs are insulated from pesticides by a layer of mucus.

I never use pesticides to "head them off at the pass" and have fewer insect problems than folks who do. Carbaryl is broad spectrum so it kills 10x as many beneficials as harmful. You might try treating soon as you notice a pest that can decimate plants and use insecticide that targets that insect. The only insects that caused damage in my garden in years are Hornworms and Squash Vine Bores that show up about 1 out of 5 years. I hand pick worms before they cause significant damage. I plant squash in more than one location and if I see a svb I destroy the plant and solarize soil. I make it a point not to plant squash in that spot following year. I have a love-hate relation with ants. I put the whammy on Red Imported Fire ants but other ants are allowed to remain unless they invade my home or pose an immediate problem. Ants are amongst many other beneficials killed by Sevin spread around your plants. Aphids and the sticky substance they secret are candy to forging ants so at first sign they send out for recruits to wipe them out.

I agree with klem's sentiments -- why the Sevin? You're killing off the good with the bad. A healthy ecosystem relies on both -- the good needs the bad to survive off of, work on building up colonies of good and you will have by far fewer problems in the long run. Not to say there won't be any problems -- there will, but they will be few and far between and usually of a specific pest. That's not to say insecticides don't have a place, because they do -- for targeted pest control, not indiscriminate use.

Except Sevin is no longer carbaryl. Hasn't been for five or six years. Carbaryl is indeed pretty bad stuff. Sevin is now zeta-cypermethrin which is a pyrathroid that isn't a serious human health hazard. Like carbaryl, it DOES kill bees though, so NEVER use it on flowers. I use Sevin rarely, where the bad is so bad I can tolerate killing off some of the good. If the good needed the bad to survive, it would have decimated it long ago. It didn't.

We will can get army worms really bad. When we dug trenches for our sprinklers it was like Indiania Jone's snake pit at the bottom. Now when I see the first wave show up I sprinkle the sevin granules. Our front yard is still bare dirt so it sprinkle it all over and then around my garden in the back yard.

If the front yard is bare dirt what are you trying to protect?

Garden is bare dirt technically pine needles are mulch but small bugs and slugs are moving on the bare dirt under pine needles. My question is does the bare dirt adsorb to much to make it effective? I am testing my theory as I tpye this. I put mouse traps out with peanuts and peanut butter. Ants find them quickly and in a day eat the entire bait. I sprayed bare dirt around traps, not traps, and will see if ants get to it. I do this away from garden and flowers to minimize collateral damage. First test did not work, it rained an hour later.

A wise woman once said "You can buy them books and send them to school but some people will just eat the covers off their books".

Oh boy..... WHY are you trying to kill ants out in the yard? Are they dangerous fire ants or something? If not -- LEAVE THEM ALONE, they are an important part of the ecosystem and helping you more than you know. They are not "bad" unless they're in the house or fire ants.

Exactly what insect problems are you trying to prevent? I completely ignore insects and slugs, other than root maggots and caterpillars on Brassicas which I use BT in the hope of controlling. You have complained in past years about mysterious insects attacking your plants at night with no evidence, even though you were using poisons.

I think he's using ants as test particles for his Sevin application. He can see them all over the place, unlike the ones eating his veggies, which he can't see. So the question is whether the ants are stopped by the Sevin he's put on the soil, or if the Sevin is somehow made ineffective by soil application.. If they are stopped, then he will presume that the Sevin on the soil will stop bad insects, which aren't as conspicuous. This is not specifically an effort to get rid of ants.

I'll repeat that Sevin is a poor way to get rid of slugs. Not even worth trying. The chemicals you need to repel other bugs are going to depend on the bug.

If the bare dirt question was directed at me I sprinkle it on my front yard to kill the worms so they don't get the rest of my yard. I sprinkle around my garden because you have to wait, depending on the veg, to harvest after doing so.

Pyrethrins, which is the modern Sevin, works well on Army Worms. But so does BT. Army worms aren't worms. They are caterpillars. Of some interest is that modern Sevin (and BT) won't kill earthworms, but old Sevin (carbaryl) sure would.

It did work 100% no ants going to peanut butter for 2 days. It rained, and then they went to peanut butter. I cannot say if they all died trying to cross the sevin or if somehow they knew it was there and avoided it.

I have a big slug problem. That is a separate issue I thought sevin would work but Dan is right it is not, which explains why they are so bad. I have worked hard at hand picking, checking plants often even at night, putting down Cory's snail bait (I had a box - almost gone then switching to sluggo). I am also putting down DE at base of newly emerged seedlings in hopes to get them through a couple nights so if a slug does hit them it does not kill it in one meal. I am finally finding a lot fewer slugs and the ones I find are generally smaller. I think it is my aggressive Cory's slug bait application but I cannot be sure.

I have a lot of earthworms, everywhere always so I have not went to crazy. I am selective and careful with sevin when I use it.