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Subject: Re: Iron salts as slug killers
From: orangerose@aol.com (Orangerose)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 99 14:19:13
Message-ID: <MOD$990411.8314@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$990411.6387@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



>A number of gardeners in the Los Angeles area are now talking
>about the use of iron salts as slug killers.


I was considering purchasing this product but hesitated as it sounded too good
to be true. I guess that just lends to the old adage that if it sounds too
good to be true, it probably is...
I have a couple of questions, though. I have serious, serious snail troubles.
Always have. For the last three years I just planted ornamentals that they
wouldn't eat, but I also had to give up on any veggies because they just
decimated everything I planted. And there is only so much copper I can afford
to buy. This year, someone from a roofing company gave me a bunch of copper
trimming, so I am going to surround my veggie bed in copper. This has renewed
my determination to defeat the snails. I do have some questions about both
poisons--metaldehyde and iron chelate.

*I know metaldehyde is toxic to earthworms and other soil-dwelling organisms.
Is iron chelate, too? (The IPM solution to that is to put the bait inside
covered plastic containers with holes in the side to let the snails in to eat
the poison, but to keep the poison out of the soil.)

*Are the snails dying of poison toxic to predators? (I'm worried especially
about the local birds.)

*How long does it take these poisons to degrade once they are introduced? Does
metaldehyde stick around longer than iron chelate?

*Is there an EPA website where more information might be available? Or is iron
chelate still listed as a fertilizer, and not a pesticide?

It seems to me that if one keeps the bait out of the soil, and the poisoned
snails are not going to kill local birds, and the dead snails aren't going to
poison the soil, that this might be an option for those of us who suffer from
infestations of (introduced, mind you) brown snails.

Kelly