Veseys

Gardeners’ Forum: “slugs and earwigs”

• slugs and earwigs

  Posted by peihobby on Thursday, June 28, 2007 11:24 am ADT

  What is the best way to keep these pests off my plants without using a pesticide? I'm tried of going out nightly to pick them off, not to meation its not working they have eaten my marigolds.

  • re: slugs and earwigs

    Posted by Terry Hurst on Friday, June 29, 2007 3:12 pm ADT

    If you don't want to use pesticides, then put out little saucers of beer around your plants in the evening. The slugs love it and will crawl in get high and drown. Problem is you will have to replace the beer all summer. It won't do any thing for the ear wigs unfortunately! Good Luck!

  • re: slugs and earwigs

    Posted by Karla on Friday, June 29, 2007 8:11 pm ADT

    The beer works really well for slugs, they just can't help themselves... Another solution that may take care of both is crushed eggshells around the plant, the earwigs are deterred as are the slugs because of the sharp edges of the shells. The only drawback is that the shells need to be replaced.

  • re: slugs and earwigs

    Posted by Debra on Monday, July 2, 2007 3:37 am ADT

    With earwigs you can put crumpled newspaper out at night. They will crawl into them overnight and in the morning you can dispose of them by either throwing out the newspaper in a tightly closed garbage bag or by shaking them out into soapy water.

  • re: slugs and earwigs

    Posted by gail metcalfe on Tuesday, July 3, 2007 11:01 am ADT

    I also use crushed up eggshells.... apparently the sharp edges are harmful to their bodies. I store my egg shells all winter and in the spring put them all around the emerging shoots on my hostas and it seems to have worked quite adequately--- I have a LOT of hostas and very few holes from insect damage.

  • re: slugs and earwigs

    Posted by Pauline on Saturday, July 7, 2007 7:08 pm ADT

    Metamucil, the fiber laxative, in the powder form. Great to kill snails, ants, sprinkle it around the plants, it will not harm the plants, the snails and ants eat it, makes them puff up inside and die. Seriously. Don't know if it willhave the same effect on earwigs though. (?)