West Coast Fall Garden Care Should Include Snail and Slug Treatment; Applying Snail and Slug Bait as Part of Autumn Ritual will Help Control Spring Infestation.

ALLENDALE, N.J. -- This time of year, the slogan "Fall is for Planing" can be seen and heard around gardens and garden centers all across the country. On the West Coast, that slogan should be amended to "Fall is for Planting...and Applying Snail and Slug Bait" because by doing so, gardeners can severely limit a major problem come spring time.

While most home gardeners experience a problem with snails and slugs, they do little about it until they see the slimy creatures. By then, a slug and snail infestation could be much larger than it seems. Applying a snail and slug bait formulated with Meta(R) in the fall will not only help control the problem immediately, it will prove beneficial when spring rolls around.

Snails and Slugs breed during the fall, allowing them to lay as many as 500 eggs per year. A fall application will limit the amount of eggs laid and also reduces the number of baby slugs known to hibernate below the soil to survive the winter months. The result will be fewer snails and slugs infiltrating a garden in the spring.

Applying the bait properly is critical to success. As with all chemicals, always read and follow label instructions before using. According to noted garden authority Mike Darcy, the best application incorporates four basic traits:

--No Bait Clumping - Pellets should be evenly dispersed around snails' and slugs' favorite plants, such as hostas, ornamental kale/cabbage, winter pansies and primrose. Snails and slugs can only eat so much, so piling the bait isn't going to produce better results.

--Border Treatment - The application should not be confined to strictly around the plant, however. It should also be applied to areas where snails and slugs hide during the day. These areas can include stacks of firewood, under/around rocks, mulch piles, pots, and ivy or high grass.

--The Wetter the Better - Snails and slugs thrive in moist conditions, which means an application prior, during, or immediately after a rainfall is best. If it's not going to rain, the area should be watered before the application is made.

--Timing is Everything - The bait should be applied right before dusk, if possible. Snails and slugs come out for their feedings when night falls, so an application shortly before the sun goes down will produce good results.

Meta(R) employs a unique, specific mode of action in which a mollusk's mucus-producing cells are irreversibly destroyed. Unlike other pesticides, slugs that ingest Meta(R) cannot recover, even in wet conditions. The result is immediate, precise plant protection.

Thomas Brancato of Lonza Inc. says consumers who look for the Meta(R) seal of approval on packages at retail stores can be assured of the following standards:

--Meta(R)-brand metaldehyde must be the active ingredient.

--The bait must pass a stringent efficacy test by achieving a high mortality rate.

--"Specificity of formulations". Only slugs and snails are targeted; beneficial organisms such as earthworms, bees and carabid beetles are safe.

--A bittering agent and animal repellent is included to address accidental ingestion by children and to deter domestic or large animals from feeding on the bait.

--The pellet size is adjusted to create optimum baiting points on the soil surface.

--The product must remain mold resistant.

Snail and slug baits that contain Meta(R) as an active ingredient include Corry's, and Deadline, and can be found at home improvement, and home and garden centers.

Lonza is a life sciences driven company, headquartered in Switzerland, which generated sales of CHF 2.24 billion in 2003. It operates 18 production and R&D facilities in eight countries and employs 5660 people worldwide. Lonza is one of the leading custom manufacturers of chemical intermediates and active ingredients as well as biopharmaceuticals for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. In addition, Lonza also offers organic intermediates for a wide range of applications and provides antimicrobial and associated products as well as polymer intermediates and compounds. For more information please visit the company's websites at www.lonza.com or www.themolluscicide.com.