i would NOT allow it on the leaves ... burn potential ... otherwise you can apply it all year long ...

are you using 10% solution???

is it cheaper than vinegar ???? which can be bought in bulk in the pickling aisle of the hardware or grocery store ..??? and used interchangeably with ammonia ...

ken

Even here where there is still snow on the ground in spots..I found a slug the size of my pinky today! Let the battles begin!

I never compared vinegar to ammonia but ammonia is cheap. Everyone always talked about ammonia solution so I dont know how vinegar would do. It's too late anyway. We had major storm which popped hostas up another inch. On Friday most of mine were almost up. It rained Saturday. I went outside to push mulch off the the one that were trying to come up. I was going to do solution today but got up this morning to find almost all the the ones I pushed the mulch back on, popping up. I dont know what happened over night. It is suppose to rain tonight, by Tuesday they will all be leaved out.

hey val ... ammonia.. vinegar.. either/or... its just the high ph that makes the slug slime itself into dehydration ...

salt will do the same.. but it isnt good for the plants ...but if you find them on the sidewalk.. its nice payback.. to watch them die .... though it might make you start craving escargot .....

either can be mixed in a sprayer.. and you stick the wand in.. and spray the undersides of the leaves.. no burn .. and let it wash down the petioles..

i dont get why you think this year long war.. is already over ...

just remember.. high ph .. and sunlight.. can burn a hole in the leaf ... so just stick the watering can into the leaves.. and pour away ... and avoid hitting the leaf surface ...

isnt there an FAQ on this stuff???

just dont give up now ... its too early ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: ah yes.. there is ....down the page a bit ...

Last year, the Hosta Mill Garden was raided by brown garden snails. They are exotic imports (mediterranean) and don't belong here. They have NO natural ennemies, because the shell is to hard for birds and hedge hoggs. They are hermaphrodites and lay up to 400 eggs each, starting in april, continuing all season, little ones mature in 2 months. Left untreated that's like a zillion snails in 2 years time.

HOPE THAT'S SCARY ENOUGH !!! IT SHOULD BE !!!

But there is a "SOLUTION".
All year round (starting in april 2010) I sprayed all the hostas regularly with 10 % ammonia solution, only at night.
And picked them by hand.
Estimated guess: killed around 15.000 of them in 1 year.
(33%/67% hand picking/spraying).
NO burn damage, some damage to the wax coating.
Ammonia decomposes very quickly after spraying, mostly nitrogen (fertilizer).
Remove as many hiding places as you can, especially piles of dead tree leaves and weeds.
This year I did not spray yet. Caught about 700 of them so far.
Last night I went out, checked the whole garden (1/4 acre) caught maybe 10.
Having been there, I know what chance I'd take: some wax gone and some leaf damage vs. snails: ammonia spraying is a safe bet.

I'm an advocate of the 10% ammonia solution as well. Ammonia is a fert, vinegar is toxic. I target the stems and the surrounding mulch. It is a contact killer, so it does have to hit the slugs to melt them. The leaves will tolerate it, but as mentioned above, it may affect the blue ones. And keep the spray away fron brunnera. Dang near killed one of mine one year.

tj