Snails & fruit trees (forum)

Liam starts with ...
Hi, I planted two apple trees, a stella cherry and a plum. they are being attacked by snails. I pick them off and feed them to my ducks then the following morning, there are more on there. any suggestions?

Time: 22nd October 2008 9:41am

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About the Author Liam
SA
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Jantina says...
Hi Liam,you could set some beer traps( a container of beer that the snails are attracted to, they drink some and fall in and drown)or put a band of sharp grit or sand at the base,or even sawdust(snails do not like to cross it)or a band of copper tape around the trunk.You can get the copper tape from Green Harvest or your local hardware shop might have some.You can also go out at night,especially if it is damp and pick them off by hand If all else fails there are always snail pellets,be sure to exclude children and pets from the area or even better put some in a dish at night and store in a safe place during the day.Lots of luck ,Jantina.

Time: 22nd October 2008 4:22pm

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About the Author Jantina
Mt. Gambier S.A.
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Dekka says...
These days you can buy a strip of copper foil that goes around the trunk like a bangle and the blighters will not cross over it.- Much better than poison pellets. I have resident blue-tongues so rarely see a snail.

Time: 22nd October 2008 7:28pm

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About the Author Dekka
Newcastle
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Pauline says...
The copper does not work, they just go straight over them.
Other than pellets the only thing which has ever worked really well for me is going out with a torch and a stomping shoe at night.

Time: 22nd October 2008 10:53pm

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About the Author Pauline
Adelaide
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Pauline says...
Ohhh yer, forgot, I was reading something in a magazine this month about coffee grounds. It said that if you put them down and snails and slugs go over them they then have a heart attack and die. I have not tried it though.

Time: 22nd October 2008 10:55pm

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About the Author Pauline
Adelaide
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davewastech says...
Anybody ever tried the aluminium flywire barrier around the trunk of a fruit tree as shown on
http://www.getdirtyandgrow.com.au/paw-paw-snail-barrier/
(I've got snails chewing the skin of my pawpaws)

Time: 2nd September 2014 12:07pm

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About the Author davewastech
WILLOUGHBY EAST, NSW
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Julie W says...
Sounds like a good idea dave. Most flywire today is fibreglass, but I guess you can still buy the metal type.

Time: 2nd September 2014 12:47pm

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About the Author Julie
Roleystone WA
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davewastech says...
I tried the aluminium flywire trick to stop snails getting up my pawpaw trees and chewing the pawpaws. (see above post). It's been in place for about 2 months now, and I would say it looks like it has resulted in less snails getting up the trees. But there are still the occasional snail that crosses this barrier. Of course it could be that there's been less snails because the weather has been drier.

Time: 17th November 2014 7:59pm

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About the Author davewastech
WILLOUGHBY EAST, NSW
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denise1 says...
Along with the other means, you can put some crumpled plastic sheeting at many places where they prefer to hide. Then squash em.

Time: 18th November 2014 7:29am

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About the Author denise1
auckland NZ
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