As I read here in the US this method has not been tested completely, and is therefore not yet for sale. I am really looking forward to use that instead of the pellets and putting dishes of good beer out there to give the slugs a good feeling.

UK-hostaman,

Let us know how this works for you. This new method of control is a promising one and hopefully will be available in the States soon.

I'm excited for this to come to the US. I saw that this mfr also has a cutworm control too. I know many hostaholics were having difficulty with them last year too.

Last year there were a few postings about people having problems with nematodes.I went on the link that uk hostaman put up and this treatment is natural nematodes. I suppose there are several different species, but I'm not familiar with nematodes.

I've always wondered about nematodes. The "natural" guy on the radio is always touting "beneficial nematodes". How do they differ from what happened when those folks brought starlings to the states, took cane toads to Australia, released nutria in the U.S. and unleashed Johnson grass on us? If it's a living thing and it doesn't belong where ever you are putting it, isn't it be a potential problem?

bkay

Bkay,

That's why these beneficial nematodes are currently under study. Not everything that is non-native is a problem. Hostas are non-native to North America.

I use beneficial nematodes to kill grubs in my garden which keeps the raccoons from tearing things up. The nematodes go after larvae, not earthworms. Most garden centers have them in refrigerators to keep them dormant.

They don't work below 50 degrees, and you need to spray them at dusk and water them into the soil so they can be happily underground before the sun shines. We have a lot of snails, in addition to slugs and sprays don't touch them.

I'm happy with iron phosphate for slugs and snails.

-Babka

Of course, when I saw this, I was thinking, geez, I wanna get RID of nems! But that thought was short lived when I recalled that what is a threat to hosta is the FOLIAR nematode: Aphelenchoides spp., including strawberry crimp nematode A. fragariae and chrysanthemum foliar nematode A. ritzemabosi.

This product uses Heterohabditis megadis.

Not only are these a different species of nematode, they're a different genus too!

This is very interesting. Does anyone know if these are the same nematodes that go after black vine beetles? It would be nice to kill two birds with one stone.

Using such nematodes would revolutionize hosta keeping, no more running around at night with flashlights or dropping all those pellets. Using nematodes would perhaps guarantee hole-free leaves and increase hosta sales, though the pellet industry would lose their market.

I agree with Steve.... not only with the leaves that touch the ground, but with a multi-eye hosta where a slug can crawl up an eye toward the center of the clump without ever touching that shield.

I like the iron phosphate products because the snail bodies don't pile up and bring on the flies and they go away and hide to die.

I treat Sluggo as I do all my other garden products and insect controls. I use them only according to instructions (don't leave the pellets in piles attractive to dogs). I don't allow grandchildren to play with them. I have plenty of earthworms, and no holes from slugs and snails in my hostas. When used as directed it doesn't harm pets or kids.

-Babka

Yes, but with the Ortho product in my slug war I can count the dead enemies and see where they are coming from and where I have to apply more or less. With Sluggo you can only count the number of hosta holes to see if it helped. Piling up of dead bodies? No they slime themselves away, shrink until they look like a brown bean, look part of the mulch, in one night. Via Ortho product I save a lot of money, Sluggo costs 3 times as much. I have never seen a dead worm, never a sick cat or dog, no human ever complained, same as Sluggo.
Bernd

Bernd,

What is the "Ortho product" you are referring to? Is it also Iron Phosphate or is it some other chemical? I have a dog who is very curious about the things I do in the garden, and I can't take the chance of leaving something dangerous that she might ingest.

Steve

Steve,
I use BUG-GETA Plus now for 2 years. My front yard is open, so stray dogs can walk around. My back yard is fenced in, only cats, mice and squirrels would be able to eat that. I also use poison pellets which I throw deep into vole/mouse holes. I am not aware that neighbor cats have become ill. I have never seen an ill or dead squirrel, except on the road.

There were posts here in which one contributor explained that some components of Sluggo are not safe either, and to point only at i.e. Bug-Geta is unfair and incorrect. There were European studies, I remember reading. That might be the same article mentioned above by a poster.
Bernd

My brother is an electrician and for years I had him bring me his copper wire scraps (all is recycled these days). A quick twist of a couple strands and I had my own free homemade version of the "Slug Shield". I used to also use Sluggo but after reading the article at the Hosta Library and then searching the web on my own, I've stopped that. A 10% ammonia and water solution compliments my "copper rings" these days.

From the Hosta Library article:

"Dog poisonings are being reported and two recent studies concluded that normal usage kills earthworms. The Ohio State study says the EPA reports "5 domestic animal deaths, 8 major domestic animal incidents and 106 moderate and minor domestic animal incidents from the use of iron phosphate slug and snail baits" as of 2008."

Also pointed out in the article is that iron phosphate, in and of itself, does not kill slugs or dogs or anything else, that's why it's deemed "safe". The added EDTA as an "inert" ingredient is the chelating agent which releases the iron to poison it's target (or non-target in the case of dogs). Unfortunately wheat gluten is also an inert ingredient which makes the whole cocktail tasty for dogs. And although I've not read anything on it, I'd suspect natural predators like toads are likely to be adversely affected as well.

I have dogs I'd like to keep even if it means (gasp!) some holes in my hosta. ;-)

tj

Thanks, TJ. That was very helpful.

Steve