{"id":4613,"date":"2022-04-21T11:17:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/?post_type=pal&p=4613"},"modified":"2024-04-11T10:04:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T17:04:26","slug":"about-diatomaceous-earth-and-slugs","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/about-diatomaceous-earth-and-slugs\/","title":{"rendered":"About diatomaceous earth and slugs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Someone suggested that I could use diatomaceous earth to get rid of slugs in the garden. Is this a good idea? Any drawbacks I should consider?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First, here is a definition of what diatomaceous earth is, from the\u00a0National Pesticide Information Center<\/a>: “Diatomaceous earth is made from the remains of diatoms, which are tiny organisms that lived in rivers, streams, lakes and oceans. Diatom skeletons are made up of silicon dioxide, a combination of silica and oxygen. Silica is very common in nature and it makes up 26% of the earth’s crust. Diatomaceous earth is very abrasive to an insect’s exoskeleton, causing them to dry out and die.”<\/p>\n

Slugs are not killed by diatomaceous earth, though it may slow them down. It is mainly used to control insects with hard exoskeletons. According to the book Mason Bee Revolution<\/a> (Dave Hunter and Jill Lightner, Skipstone Press, 2016), the abrasive dust can damage the bodies of butterflies, spiders, and some bees by causing severe dehydration; it can also kill beneficial hard-shelled bugs. It is considered a relatively low toxicity method of pest control, usually sold as a dust. However, it is not entirely risk-free: wearing a respirator is recommended. Prolonged exposure can cause serious problems<\/a> like silicosis).<\/p>\n

Using submerged saucers of beer will take care of slugs without adverse consequences for non-target species. A potential alternative slug and snail control method that has yet to be researched thoroughly is using wool<\/a> as a compost or in pelletized form.\u00a0 Excerpt: \u201cWool may also be included in mulch or mats where it has been shown to reduce predation by slugs and snails, eliminate weed growth, and reduce soil temperature variation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pesticide safety measures<\/a>, <\/span>Pests<\/a>, <\/span>Slugs<\/a>, <\/span>Snails<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Someone suggested that I could use diatomaceous earth to get rid of slugs in the garden. Is this a good idea? Any drawbacks I should consider?   First, here is a definition of what diatomaceous earth is, from the\u00a0National Pesticide Information Center: “Diatomaceous earth is made from the remains of diatoms, which are tiny organisms that lived in rivers, streams, lakes and oceans. Diatom skeletons are made up of silicon dioxide, a combination of silica and oxygen. Silica is very…<\/p>\n

Continue reading About diatomaceous earth and slugs<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[88,86,91,105],"class_list":["post-4613","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-pesticide-safety-measures","keyword-pests","keyword-slugs","keyword-snails"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/4613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=4613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}