Pests: Slugs and Snails
Drowning
Drowning is an effective and chemical-free method to eliminate slugs and snails from your orchids. Follow the steps below to safely force these pests out of hiding.
Fill a bucket with water
Choose a bucket large enough to have a water depth that will completely cover the plant's root system, pot, basket, or container. This will ensure that the slugs and snails are fully submerged and only able to escape by going up the plant stems and leaves.
Submerge the plants in the water
Carefully place the plant into the bucket of water, ensuring that the roots, pot, basket, or container are fully submerged. If the plant is large, you may need to use a weight to keep it submerged. Leave the plant in the water for at least 20 minutes to an hour. This will force the slugs and snails to come out of hiding and climb up the plant stem/leafs or drown in the water.
Inspect the plants and look for any snails or slugs
After the minimum time has passed, inspect the bulbs and leaves of the plants - the pests climb up the plants evading the water.
Hand pick the slugs and snails
Pick and crush all slugs and snails that crawled up the plant to evade drowing in the water. Use of gloves is recommended. Repeat steps 1-4 once a week until infestation is under control.
