Catcher
07-01-2002, 09:20 AM
Maybe useful info for some of the gardeners:
Pest control: Wake-up call
Existing commercial repellents for slugs and snails leave crop residues that are
not permitted by food-safety agencies. But caffeine — classed as 'generally
recognized as safe' by the US Food and Drug Administration — has
now been shown to do a similar job. Slugs are killed by a 1% solution of
caffeine sprayed onto leaves, and concentrations as low as 0.01% significantly
reduce feeding. In orchid snails, a 0.1% solution is enough to make the
heartbeat weak and irregular. It is not yet known how caffeine exerts its effect,
but its high solubility in water — a key component of molluscs' locomotor
mucus — could make it an effective contact poison.
For the full text:
http://www.nature.com/nature/links/020627/020627-8.html
Pest control: Wake-up call
Existing commercial repellents for slugs and snails leave crop residues that are
not permitted by food-safety agencies. But caffeine — classed as 'generally
recognized as safe' by the US Food and Drug Administration — has
now been shown to do a similar job. Slugs are killed by a 1% solution of
caffeine sprayed onto leaves, and concentrations as low as 0.01% significantly
reduce feeding. In orchid snails, a 0.1% solution is enough to make the
heartbeat weak and irregular. It is not yet known how caffeine exerts its effect,
but its high solubility in water — a key component of molluscs' locomotor
mucus — could make it an effective contact poison.
For the full text:
http://www.nature.com/nature/links/020627/020627-8.html