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+--- Thread: ratlung worm on the rise again (/showthread.php?tid=8875)
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - Lin W - 05-30-2011
Mentioned this to a friend who grew up in India. He said all produce there was soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate to make it safe for eating. Looked it up on Wikipedia and it seems like it would work, and easy enough to obtain and use. My only concern would be what it might do to good bugs in cess pool/septic system. It can stain things purple but proper handling should ameliorate that issue. Just thought I'd throw it out there as another possible option.
blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - mary - 05-30-2011
to HotinHawaii,
you do have a very valid point there. but i figure if you put the greens into big bowl, with hydro perxo mixture in it, after about 5 minutes all the bugs fall off to the bottom of the bowl including slugs, so it would be kinda hard to eat the not so dead nematode. plus then i go ahead and rinse the greens in clean water under the faucet which insures that there are no more slugs/bugs hiding in the leaves.
i am not sure if vinegar would do the same job. it might, i don't have enough info on vinegar other then apple cider vinegar is great to drink with water diluted if you have fungal infections.
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - hotinhawaii - 05-31-2011
To mary,
My concern about this disease is greatly heightened because I knew all three of the people who were devastatingly infected in 2009 as referenced in the article. I watched my friend, Graham, for three months in a coma not knowing whether he would live or die. I have watched him slowly begin to recover. He will never be the same again.
To me, the risk outweighs the benefits. I don't want to go through what he went through and I hope no one else ever does either. I no longer eat raw greens from Hawaii. We tore out our lettuce plants and thoroughly cook all of our greens. It is just not worth the risk to me. I would like everyone to understand the risks then address them in the most scientifically sound way possible. If, after knowing the facts, people want to assume some level of risk, so be it.
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - Kapohocat - 05-31-2011
HIH - have you tried growing the greens in pots on a raised deck? We are trying this with copper wrapped around the pot numerous times - actually made the pot look very artistic! LOL...
The slugs do not seem to come up on our deck that is about 4 ft off the ground and the copper is the second safeguard.
But yes, I can totally understand your squeamishness on raw greens. My SO only will eat "white bread" lettuce (aka head lettuce) grown on the west coast because of the slugs.
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - hotinhawaii - 05-31-2011
The same biologist who was coauthor on the 2 documents cited here also tested copper strips with slugs and snails and found them to be ineffective. The slugs and snails crossed right over them!
I am considering making an enclosed raised bed that is enclosed in screening for growing lettuce. I would only use packaged soil to avoid contamination by slug or snail babies.
For now, I too only eat lettuce if it comes sealed in a plastic bag from the mainland.
As for the raised thing, I used to live in a house that was four feet off the ground and found slugs crawling up the exterior walls. It wasn't particularly jungly but was shaded.
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - Lucy - 05-31-2011
Growing height I am sure helps, but by applying slug bait in a continious line on the ground below would help deter the slugs and snails, or if you can manage it, slug bait traps.
(The article mentions slug bait traps.) Both would have to be monitored and renewed. Slug bait would have to be kept from pets, animals and children, as it is highly poisonous.
The other thing is hydroponically growing the lettuce and greens in a controlled greenhouse would seem a better solution.
Greenhouses can be erected on a sharp gravel base, with no vegetation in the vicinity and that would be a good start to diverting them elsewhere, while keeping out the pets/young kids from entering the enclosure.
Mary,
The peroxide sounds like a good thing to do. The problem that still persists is that the slug or snail slime also carries the risk of the parasite, so the produce has to be rubbed to clear of any traces left by the snail or slug.
HIH,
That is so tragic to learn about Graham and it is a testiment to his strength on how well he is doing today. It is tragic for anyone to get this awful disease. It sounds so terrible.
Lucy
Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - Kapohocat - 06-01-2011
Does spreading diatimecous (sp?) earth in ring around plants work? We have used old diatamecous earth from a pool filter for the insects with articulating joints (centipedes/Cockroaches, etc) but wonder what if any effect it would have on slugs?
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - allensylves - 06-01-2011
Check the ingredients on slug/snail bait. If it is the newer iron phosphate type, it is not toxic to people and pets.
Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - csgray - 06-01-2011
When we lived in Oregon we used to bait slugs with cheap beer. I would put the beer in a shallow plastic container, about the size of the smallest poke to go container, cut up an old soda bottle so it made a gazebo over the beer, (otherwise our rain would dilute the beer) and about every other day it would be loaded with dead slugs. I don't know if the slugs got inebriated and fell in and drowned, or if cheep beer is toxic to slugs, but it worked really well, even when it was too rainy to use sluggo or other baits, which was most of the time during slug season.
If you have room for a mix of fowl on your place: ducks eat slugs and snails, geese eat grasses and weeds, and chickens eat centipedes, grasshoppers, and other insects with hard bodies. Between them you end up with broad spectrum pest control.
Carol
RE: ratlung worm on the rise again - pbmaise - 06-01-2011
Aloha,
Graham was two rooms down from me when I had my appendix out around Feb 2009. I'm quite concerned about the raw food festival and communes like the ones down Papaya Farms Road that specialize in raw food. As I understand it this pest has been in Hawaii a long time and it wasn't until the arrival of an invasive tree climber (Slug or snail) from the Philippines that cases increased.
I have seen most people concentrate on removing snails and slugs. I think the better route is removing the rats. With no rats, no rat poop for the snails and slugs to eat. Therefore, the report I recall reading suggested focusing on removing the rats. If you can be assured the slugs and snails are not eating the rat poop the cycle is broken.
I can't imagine how many thousands of rat traps and miles of rat proof fencing could have been purchased and installed compared to the hospital bills incurred in 2009. If anyone knows someone in civil defense..why not ask the open question what are they doing to protect residents from deadly pests.
Phil
Pahoa