This is a good time to do a 15% Ammonia solution all over your Hosta beds. That will help to get those egg masses that are in the garden now. Slugs mate from August through mid-October so get after it now. Below is a link to an article on Fall Slug Control

Ste

Here is a link that might be useful: Fall Slug Control

Steve, does the 15% Ammonia solution kill the slug eggs? I've been using those tweezers that you use to get toast out of a toaster to crush them.

If you have hostas in pots that have been attacked by slugs, I recommend dumping the dirt. While putting my TC liners in the ground that were in 6 inch pots all summer, I found no less than 57 slug eggs (yes, I was counting) in each of those little pots, even though some of them didn't have any slug damage on the leaves.

I read somewhere that going out in November after the leaves have all died back is a good time to get the slug eggs. Knitting needles are supposed to work too.

Gesila

momma.. who is also daddy.. whats that all about ... ARE HUGE RIGHT NOW ... and laying billions of eggs ...

so you are right.. now is a great time to be proactive..

however.. with the cold temps.. they arent moving very fast .. so i would question whether baits would be very effective ...

ammonia ... or vinegar.. i always said 10% ... but i dont see why 15% would be bad ...

remove all mushy old leaves.. throwing out many.. and then spray the crowns and mulch, if any ...

gesila.. tweezers.. lol.. you crack me up ...

never really got a definitive answer as to whether the spray kills eggs.. but with the high ph.. and exposing them to air.. i dont see why they would not die ...

mix the ammonia/vinegar.. and put in a pump tank.. and just wet down every clump ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: for your viewing pleasure ...

Gesila,you have too much time on your hands,to be able to go out and count slug eggs! Lol! Ken,that's TMI for me! I have never seen a slug egg,but then,I don't have a big problem with slugs,either. Phil

Ken,

Do you use ammonia or vinegar? I am sending my DH out to get a pump tank, I guess the one in our shed was broke.

I just caught two slugs mating, they have met a timely death in a cup of salt water I keep in the garden. I pick them up with the tweezers and swirl them around in the water. Instant death.

LOL Phil, I wasn't believing how many slug eggs I was seeing when I was dumping dirt out, so I decided to count them as I was crushing them. Very satisfying to know exactly how many potential slugs I was eliminating for next year.

Gesila

whichever is cheaper by the gallon at the hardware store.. or in the pickling aisle at the grocer ...

if i were to do it today.. i would use whichever i found in the garage ..

as its an either/or .. PRICE RULES ... [and i wouldnt waste gas price comparing, which might double the cost savings]

with the sprayer.. dont forget.. its not perfume.. loosen the wand tip .. and use a course spray ... big drops ... with low pressure ...

and just in case .... slugs are NOT bugs ... so bug chems wont work .. they are mollusks ...

ken

ps: lol.. both of my close grocers are next door to hardware stores.. whats that all about...

OMG, so what I've been cleaning off my rex begonia is slug eggs!!!! I did not know they looked like that.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE indeed!!! It was a learning experience.

Now I've removed all the soil from the plant, and am about to subject the container to a 10% bleach solution. After which I will give it 3-4 hours of fresh water soak.

But the begonia itself, I've washed off all the soil, and gotten down in the crevices of the sweet new growth and found lots of eggs down in that. Are you saying I can do a 10 or 15 % ammonia solution to the plant, leaves and roots, and then rinse it off without killing the plant? How long do I put it in the ammonia bath?

Or, if vinegar works just as well, and I have it on hand, which I do, can I immerse the roots and begonia in that?
Just in case, I split the plant into two parts, to subject it to a different treatment if I kill the first half.

wow moccasin ... some stream of conscious stuff there ...

the acidity.. or pH of ammonia/vinegar.. make the slug drool itself to death.

no different than salting them.. but salt is bad for plants ...

its a contact thing.. no need to soak ... we are hosta peeps.. who the heck knows about begonia... as a matter of fact.. what is a begonia???

with HOSTA... you insert the wand into the plant.. and spray the undersides.. enough that it run down the petiole ... drops of such in sunshine.. will burn a hole in the leaf surface in sunshine .. ergo.. we spray the undersides ...

in fall.. you can hit the mulch ... some peeps just use a bucket and dump a bunch on the crown ... after the leaves are all gone.. hosta do NOT mind the pH ...

i will yell.. I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT SOAKING OR DUNKING .... and i dont understand why that is necessary.. once bare rooted... the eggs wash off with plain water ... so what is soaking them going to do????

ken

Great info. So to clarify in my mind. I wait until most of the leaves have gone and remove them and then spray? At which time it will be late and in frost conditions. Is it too late to damage eggs once the frost hits us here in Happy Valley , central PA?. Incidentally, "go Penn State"!

pshaw on PEE s YOU .. lol ...

uhmmmm.. i forgot what i was going to say ... rotflmbo .....

oh.. what until they are a gelatinous pile off goo [the frosted leaves] .. grab all the mush... pick it up... then spray the ground ... around the pips ...

they teach us words like gelatinous at michigan.. lol ...

ken

Thanks Ken. Where is Michigan?

ahhh, stream of consciousness stuff....well, streaming away over here....
and I do stand corrected about what plants shall nere cross the threshold in these hallowed hosta halls.

Whew, I took too long a whiff of that ammonia as I was laughing about gelatinous words and gelatinous goo and PEE s YOU and good ole MyChickAgain. Oh dear, it gets intense some times, tears coming down my face. :)

I so abhor the gelatinous piles of slimy goo leaving silvery trails in the garden, that I sometimes just lose all sense of perspective. Time to put up the chemicals.

I do stand corrected about what plants shall nere cross the threshold in these hallowed hosta halls

===>>> you know it was a joke???

I took too long a whiff of that ammonia

===>>> thats why i favor vinegar.. i cant stop myself from smelling the ammonia ...

its going to be along winter on the hosta forum..

ken

let me rephrase ...

i have 20 years of experience with hosta ...

i know a lot of stuff about hosta...

i know what works on hosta...

see a theme.. lol ...

i will yell ...

I DO NOT KNOW IF THE 'USE' WILL TRANSFER TO OTHER PLANTS ....

as i have not tried it on other stuff ...

there always has to be the first person to do it ... so go for it.. become the local expert ...

but i still wonder about the acidic dunk on roots????? anything can go into 10% bleach.. so i dont know why vinegar/ammonia would be all that much worse ... I JUST DONT KNOW ....

with full fall cleanup.. simply exposing the eggs to wind.. sun [trees w/o leaves] .. etc.. will cause drying and death.. the added acid cant hurt... but i have never been provided proof that spraying eggs actually works ... but i will not claim to be up to date on the latest literature on such .... wonder if there is anything at the library about such ...

ken