Question
QUESTION: Something (I don't know whether it's an animal or an insect) is gradually eating the leaves of my Asiatic lillies. Should I/can I try to stop this? Fyi, I have a Japanese bettle trap not far away from the lillies. This saved my mums but the lillies are disappearing before my eyes. Is this something that just happens in late summer/early fall? As you can tell, I don't have much experience with this plant.

ANSWER: Hello Wendy,

I must say that at first I was alarmed at your note because I thought you had the lily leaf beetle. But you could not have missed that, because your lilies would be covered with excrement.

I think it抯 slugs. Trust me, this is good news, because it抯 easily fixed. Slugs LOVE lily flowers so they climb up the stems to reach them. What you need to do is make it hard for them to climb the stems and reach the flowers.  This is not a difficult problem to solve.  The product to be used has do with your personal preferences.

Slugs can be handled in several ways - really, it's easy. You can use diatomaceous earth, which is the skeletons of dead stuff. They are rough, so when slugs crawl over them they bite the dust (pun intended). The downside is that it washes away with rain and you have to be careful not to inhale it. But it is completely organic and safe for the environment. I have used it with success. Again, don't breathe it in - it can damage your lungs.

Then there are baits with metaldehyde, like Ortho's Bug-Geta (2%) of the active ingredient. Very effective BUT - and this is BIG BUT, metaldehyde is particularly poisonous to dogs and cats, and the pelleted form is especially attractive to dogs. I wouldn't use them if I had children running around the garden. The baits containing 4% active ingredient are more effective than those containing only 2%; however, they also are more toxic, and you should avoid getting them on veggies. I bought some by mistake. It does work.

A much better choice: iron phosphate baits (Sluggo, Escar-Go) are safe for use around children, domestic animals, birds, fish, and other wildlife. This is what I prefer to use, and it ends up in a lot of integrated pest management programs - a very good sign. Chomping even a small amount of this makes slugs and snails stop feeling, and their little toes curl up a few days later. Better yet, you can use it on veggies. And it's thought to be more effective than the more dangerous metaldehyde.

Does this help?  Please feel free to write again if you have any other questions.

Regards,

Donna


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Slugs!

I never would have thought of that. But now that you mention it, I have seen several on the front walk of late.

I will stay away from the metaldehyde, as we have cats and there are lots of dgs in the neighborhood. I'll check a the garden center today for an iron phosphate bait.

But before I do that, I'm wondering if the old tactic of putting out a couple of pie pans of beer around the plants would work in this situation. The slugs drink the beer, get drunk and die. This has worked in my vegetable garden. What do you think?

Also, before I got your answer I brewed up a mixture of water, crushed red pepper, paprika, and jalapeno juice. When it cools I was going to spray this on the plants (or what's left of them) so they'd taste awful to whatever was nibbling away. Should I give it a try?

Thanks, by the way, for sending your answer so quickly. Three or four of the plants went from having some leaves yesterday evening to being bare stalks now. Without their leaves, I wonder if the bulb will have a chance to build up enough energy before the bad weather hits :>(

Answer
Hi Wendy.

Happy to have been of service. I grow lilies myself, and it is most frustrating to wait all season for them to bloom only to have some critter ruin the flowers.  

If the beer fix worked for you, there is no reason not to try it again, especially if you have beer.  I remember reading a book in which a gardener wondered if this technique attracted more slugs to his garden for what he called "the nightly kegger". But again, you did it before and it worked, so why not?

You hot mix would certainly work on squirrels, but I'm not sure it would work on slugs.  I propose that you start with your beer cure, and if that works, your problem is solved!

Best wishes,

Donna