Alcazar del Tejon under (slow motion) attack! Snails?

[El Tejon]

For the past few mornings I have been making my daily rounds at stately Tejon Manor (O.K., I was just taking the trash from the kitchen to my back garage/workshop).  I have noticed snails or slugs on the siding of my house (eastside).

I grabbed a shovel and a plastic container.  Filled the container with salt and beer and threw the slugs/snails into the beer and salt-filled container.

While the beer and salt kills them very quickly, every morning, I have found more.  Where the devil are these things coming from?  I bought the house in 1997 and never had a snail assault before this.

Is there something I can get at the hardware store or garden center for these awful things?  What works?

[280plus]

I don't know about all that but if they're already in beer and salt I say we boil them and see how they taste.

[caseydog]

Well you could probably find some exotic anti-snail poison , you can just stash some shallow bowls of beer around the house (old tin foil pie pans work well) they will be full of dead snails for you each morning, no salt needed.

Ray

[280plus]

Which brings us to the next all important question. What beer for snails?

[Azrael256]

you can just stash some shallow bowls of beer around the house

I tried that one time.  I ended up with a VERY drunk Labrador.

[mfree]

You should wash your house... IIRC slugs will eat mold and algae on surfaces. Maybe that's why I find so darn many on my marble porch?

[Guest]

El Tejon-

Algae is the key!

Do have you "water bearing plants" ?.

Don't ask me what these are supposed to be, just I recall this being part of Algae attraction. Some States and areas are infested with Slugs and Snails.  
I would check with County Extension Office and find out  if there is a problem in your county and what steps they recommend.
I want to say the Slugs and Snails are / can become resilient to certain steps, so changing measures comes into play.

Heck, you paid for it - if the county has "gimmee" measures - take 'em.

---I got another idea---

"Pails and Snails".

Beer and Escargot.  Don't ask me what species of snail are used for Escargot, I just eat the durn things...

See I would invite folks over and charge them ...umm...$10 for a "pail" of beer, and all the Escargot they can eat.

Butter, Lemon should not be much overhead, get the cheap stuff. Fire up the grill out back and put on the Soundtrack to "Animal House" or "The Big Chill". After a few "pails" - they will be fixing and eating "Escargot".

Oh heck, tell them they might find a "pearl" in a snail shell ....

Your are tilecrawler - just like dealing with the public - "work the crowd".

I figure after a bit, you will make enough to buy a new gun...

"Pails & Snails"

El T's Manor

Thursdays are "Young and Nubile Night" Pails are only $7.  *grin*

[Matthew Carberry]

I think I saw a Charleton Heston movie where he had the exact same problem.

Only he was in a South American jungle, and owned a plantation, and they were army ants.  Anyway, you need to build a moat around your plantation, I mean, house and set up a couple gas-fueled flamethrowers.

Now, if for whatever reason you can't get the moats filled you'll need to make an ant (sorry) slug-proof suit by melting down a garden hose and run through the ants (sorry, again) slugs to open the valve.  (wait, that might be from a MacGyver episode, based on the movie)

Anyway, you definitely need a moat and flamethrowers.  Oh, and Eleanor Parker as a mail-order bride.

That should do it.

[El Tejon]

Shallow bowls of beer:  downside, lots of pets and kids in da 'hood.

Algae:  man, I just power washed the Alcazar with bleach in May.  I'll call Papa Tejon and see if he can come up from Indy and do it again.  Maybe over Labor Day weekend.

Steve, no, I'm not going to charge admission and set up an eatery.  I'm rather embarrassed by this infestation.  I really don't want to call attention to it, plus the zoning would be a hassle.  You know how Yankees get their underwear all twisted regarding zoning.

care, tell me more about these mail order brides!:D  If I order an Alaskan mail order bride will it be a bear or wolverine?  Maybe a construction worker named Hank!:D

[doczinn]

Spread a lot of salt around the edge of the house. That'll stop 'em in their tracks.

[...has left the building.]

It is just France's revenge for you making fun of them for all these years.

[Guest]

Powerwash with Bleach "should have" alleviated any mold and mildew.  I "survived" Chemistry, I forget what algae is and all that.

Muric Acid is used on brick I know to "bring out the brick" once laid.  On Vinyl siding , I have used diluted Simple Green to clean, as have others.  Some of these Cleaners are really "harsh" and have butanyl-something or another in them. Simple Green does not have whatever that harsh chemical...

I clean a lot with Baking Soda and Baking Soda and Vinegar.   Does not scratch Fiberglass, countertops, etc.

I'm wondering if Baking Soda sprinkled on the ground would alter [neutralize ?] the soil and conditions for Algae?


Moat?  I'd save that idea to have Zoning Changes Made so Neighbors could not park in the yard.

"Hello Police, Yeah El T here, Cletus done come home and backed into his Moat again, send a wrecker, but don't forget to issue a citation - that goes against HOA...backing into the Moat. Used to parking in the yard...yep, yep, same fella with the Shark in the window..."

[Sindawe]

IIRC, the effectiveness of the bleach in a powerwash would depend on the concentration and residence time.  I mix up a bleach solution of 2 tablespoons household bleach to one gallon of solution and a soak of 20 min to sanitize equipment used in homebrewing.  However El Tejon, even if you did kill off the algae in May, the hypochlorite (bleach) is gonna dissipate in short order (a few days) leaving the surface open to recolonization by algae, molds and the like.

For a barrier, you might try a mix of NaCl and diatomaceous earth.  

See also: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG7561.html

Hmmm...here is another interesting idea: http://starbulletin.com/2000/01/07/news/story8.html

Give the snails/slugs a "hotfoot" LOL

[El Tejon]

Sin, I do not know the concentration as I was on brush duty inbetween the power washings (my Dad blasted it and I scrubbed it with Simple Green and then he blasted the house again with bleach and water).

I'll try your barrier.  But, I confess to ignorance, what is that earth stuff?  You get it at the hardware store or what???

sm, no, I'm not putting in a moat; water would attract more slugs and Viking raiders.  The permits for the drainage and upgrading the electricity were enough.  I cannot imagine what the Board of Zoning Appeals would think of my moat, let alone my neighbors.

The guy that had the shark in his window is south of about quarter a mile.  I'm willing to bet he would approve of the moat.

[Sindawe]

El Tejon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth  You should be able to pick some up at a brewing shop, fish store or perhaps a hardware or gardening store.  NaCl will be washed away by one or a couple good rains, DE is insoluable in water (mostly)

Even straight household bleach would have dissipated after a few days or so.  And done a good job of chewing up the paint on the house.

[El Tejon]

Sin, thanks.  I'll check into it.

No slugs the past couple of mornings.  Maybe I killed them all???

[280plus]

Either that or they know you're after them now and they've been digging in

[Leatherneck]

Tejon,
D.E. is the filler for swimming pool filters of a certain type. Cheap at a pool supply store. Just sprinkle a solid barrier trail around the house where you think they're gaining access. It has sharp edges that slice the little buggers' bellies open. Fitting.

TC

[Matthew Carberry]

Di-atom-aceous earth?

You really think it's worth going nucular at this point?  What happens if the snails start to mutate rather than die?

What then..........?

[Leatherneck]

It'll be OK--Tejon is a responsible user.

TC

[Laurent du Var]

Daniel Flory
2006-08-13 11:15:44
It is just France's revenge for you making fun of them for all these years.

Ha, we got you bigtime !
That's what happens to people foulmouthing la grande nation, soon there will be bigger, meaner ones with pointy teeths.

(what's the matter with you people ? , beer and salt ? , everybody knows that snails go with red wine from the burgundy region ! )

[crt360]

I wouldn't waste good beer on snails.  Hell, I wouldn't waste bad beer on snails.  Just give them salt, or get a dog that likes snails.

[...has left the building.]

Daniel Flory
2006-08-13 11:15:44
It is just France's revenge for you making fun of them for all these years.

Ha, we got you bigtime !
That's what happens to people foulmouthing la grande nation, soon there will be bigger, meaner ones with pointy teeths.

(what's the matter with you people ? , beer and salt ? , everybody knows that snails go with red wine from the burgundy region ! )

La Grande Nation!? [monty python]Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberry![/monty python]

[grampster]

Snails and Zoning.  That's the ticket.  If snails are zoning that means they are not moving at all.  If you can get them in the Zone around the base of your house, they won't be on the siding.  (..gimme 'nother hit on 'at Willy, El T needs are hep'))

[El Tejon]

Washed the house again on September 16th, Mexican Independence Day.  My dad washed it down with Simple Green and my buddy and I followed behind with scrub brushes on long handles and scrubbed it down.

After all the bird govno and dirt was removed, my dad sprayed the place down with a strong solution of bleach and water.  My buddy and I then spread D.E. (wanted to use DE as it will rain a lot here in October) around the landscaping (coloured gravel to hide the drainage pipes underneath).

Have not seen a slug or snail since I killed them in August.  Hope I got them all.

I have a slug-free, clean, squared-away house--I'm such a happy Yankee.