TOPIC: diatomaceous earth

Does anyone use diatomaceous earth for controlling slugs? I was at the local feed mill today and they suggested this product for controlling slugs. Apparently when they crawl across the product adheres to their outer surface and causes them to dry out and die within days. Any experience with it and does it have any adverse effects? What about after it gets wet and how long does it help control. One main plus is the price. About $20/50 lbs.

I have not tried this yet but I have heard it works. Also Composted saw dust works well too from what I have been told. The slugs do not like to move across it. I have pulled all the leaves off my seed beds at my home and the ginseng is coming up nicely. No sign of slug damage either. This bed was damaged badly last year from slugs. These are all 20 to 40 year old roots and the slugs stripped the leaves in two nights. So I will see how the composted sawdust does. Most of your local fairgrounds will have a pile of old composted sawdust that have been used for bedding for the animals. It is not good to put fresh sawdust on anything thou, so make sure the sawdust is at least a year old.

Check out Classicfur's post about \"Deadline\". That's probably all you really need to use for small or large planting areas to control slugs.
Latt

Di Earth is powdered fossilized remains that have very, very sharp edges to the powered particles. It's deadly to soft bodied worms/slug/internal parasites.

I use the stuff on my pet foods. It won't harm the dog or cat, however really puts a hurt on the internal parasites. Like eliminates them by disection within your pet. I feed this for a week - usually a tablespoon on each meal- and my dogs/cats are the better for it. some farmers use it for their livestock as well.

It isn't cheap. there is a limited supply, as it's mined only from certain locations. I am unsure about the other content [like calcium or pH]. I've never used it outside, only with pets.

Hope this assists in your decision.

Sounds appetizing. If it kills the slugs by a physical means vs. chemical does it last for years then uneffected by rain? Even if it was twice as much as pellets it would be cheaper in the long run then and also a more natural or organic approach. Thanks for the info.

Dino

Diatomaceous earth is used as a barrier. It will not kill and eliminate the slugs like Deadline M-ps will.

And when diatomaceous earth gets wet, it is not very effective as a barrier.

With ginseng taking 7+ years until harvest, it is better to use someting that will kill the slugs and prevent them from layinging more eggs and multipying. If you have alot of slugs/snails, they need to be dealt with as they are a serious threat to seedlings and older roots.

Deadline is effective with up to 6\" of rain. I have used Deadline for four years now and the slug population has decreased alot.

You can purchase it in small qty at hardware stores. This is the cheapest place to buy it in bulk.

rosecare1.stores.yahoo.net/deadlinemps1.html

Good Luck!

classicfur

I have never checked in to uses outside such as slug controll. Only, rather used it on pet foods, and have my expereince there. Like dino said, I had heard that it was good on slugs, however will bow to ClassicFur's statements, as to outside uses.

Here's alink to some available on ebay:
cgi.ebay.com/BioGenic-Flour-Animal-Pet-d...;hash=item27b4aea465

I did order some deadline but thought the Di earth would remain somewhat effective on spots I may have missed and in between deadline applications. Also I like the idea of a more natural way of controlling them but agree I would rather get them killed early on and not have to worry about loosing a crop half way into 7 years. Thanks again for the advice.

This composted sawdust thing is working really well too. Some of my larger roots in my seed bed are coming up nicely. There is no evidence of any slugs or slug damage at all so far. Supposedly the slugs do not like to slime their way across the sawdust. Sawdust may be one more precautionary measure to add to the list to ward off slugs. It is great for a mulch and ground cover too. I will take some pics soon and post them.
Latt