|
Posted by Mentally Jones II¾ on June 11, 2006, 9:45 am
If you were Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options >
>> I have a severe slater problem - they are eating just about
>> everything.
>
> I was under the impression that they ate mostly decaying plant
> matter, but
> these guys say they do eat other things:
>
> http://www.heyne.com.au/gardencentre/factsheets/factsheet.php/Chewing+Pests.htm
>
> To quote:
> They live in damp compost and areas where there is decaying wood.
> Their main
> food supply is young shoots and soft root tips.
>
> They are known to chew young seedling off at ground level.
Large plants too, not just seedlings. These are ravenous little
critters.
> They cause problems with Tree Ferns, Elk and
> Stag Horns where they feed on the young aerial root tips and they
> are very
> fond of Epiphytic Orchids.
They are leaving all of the above plants alone, prefering my veggie
garden for some reason :(
> The most common garden slaters are the Porcellio Scaber, which has a
> hard
> shell and comes in a range of colours from grey, brown or
> yellowish-orange
> speckled with black. The adults are 9 -15 mm in size and are flat
> and oval in
> shape.
Grey with yellowish-white speckles.
> They are not insects but crustaceans which are related to lobsters
> and prawns.
> The common pillbug (Armadilidium Vulgare) is a similar species, is
> almost dark
> black and rolls into a circle when disturbed.
>
> CONTROL
> They can be controlled by removing their breeding sites (rotting
> timber,
> decaying vegetation matter etc)
The compost bin is not near this garden. They are breeding in the
ground, digging small holes & coming out to feed (mostly) at night.
I have avoided using compost on this garden without any positive
result.
> or sprinkling Naphthalene Flakes,
Tried that.
> Baysol Snail Bait
Tried that & others.
> or LAWN GRUBS, LAWN BEETLE GRUBS AND SLATER KILLER
Tried those previously & 'baythroid' - no luck at all with anything -
they seem to avoid the poisoned baits.
I even went out with insecticide spray at night, night after night,
yet they are still there in huge numbers.
> or BAN ANT.
Have not tried that yet. Many of the ant poisons are not usable near
food plants due to severe toxicity.
> Note that these people sell such products.
>
> Global Garden, OTOH, says slaters
> generally don't do much damage,
I wish.
> and snail bait kills them.
I wish - they don't eat it at all...
> Are you sure slaters are eating your plants, and not snails?
Yes, if you go out to the veggie garden at night with a torch
the ground looks like it's moving!! They are climbing up the plants,
eating their leaves & even chewing off the stems at ground level
with many plants. They even eat fresh Dynamic Lifter (yuk).
We have very few snails & slugs due to snail bait overkill.
I even threw it all around the lawn to wipe out any strays.
I wish there were a biological control agent for slaters.
Even the Blue-tongue & skinks don't eat them.
(we have heaps of skinks, even in winter)
Snail bait didn't help (used heaps previously).
They didn't touch it at all.
I also tried Dipel - no luck though it reduced the little black ants
plenty.
I would prefer to avoid toxic poisons on my veggies if possible yet I
am
running out of options it seems :(
I might try soaking a pack of tobacco in water then repeatedly spray
the whole garden with the liquid as someone else suggested today.
Wish me luck!!!
Thanks mate.
> --
> Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
> (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)
>
> "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim
> jeans. You may
> start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and
> wrinkled."
> Kerry Cue
--
They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security,
deserve neither liberty or security.
- Benjamin Franklin
************************
| 
XML site map