Caffeine as a repellent for slugs and snails

The influence of caffeine and thymol on the survival, growth and reproduction of Subulina octona (Brugüière, 1789) (Mollusca, Subulinidae)

“…Vasconcelos et al (2003) (Brenelli, 2003). The molluscicidal and phage inhibitor potential of this substance was observed by Hollingsworth et al (2002) in controlling the snails of Veronicella cubensis (Pfeiffer, 1840) (Mollusca, Veronicellidae). Thymol is also a vegetable substance, obtained from the essential oil of species of the family Laminacea, such as the Monarda punctata L. (mint), the Thymus vulgaris L. (thyme) and the T. persicus L..…”

Effect of coffee on the growth and development of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae

“…The first direct evidence of caffeine acting as an insecticide was reported in tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta larvae (Nathanson 1984), at caffeine concentrations similar to those found in coffee seeds (i.e., 0.8-1.8 wt%). Caffeine aqueous solutions (2.0 wt %) have also shown molluscicidal activity against the slug, Veronicella cubensis and orchid snail, Zonitoides arboreous (Hollingsworth et al 2002(Hollingsworth et al , 2003. Other pesticide applications of caffeine include fungi control (Arora and Ohlan 1997), bird repellent (Avery et al 2005, Linz et al 2006 and pest coyotes control (Johnston, 2005).…”

Uptake and impact of natural diet-derived small RNA in invertebrates: Implications for ecology and agriculture

“…162,163 For example, coffee plants produce caffeine that can repel slugs and snails. 164 There is a large body of evidence that animals employ selfmedication or zoopharmocognosy, a concept which spans from invertebrates to great apes 165 and has been examined in the use of traditional medicine in human societies. 166 This research has led to a model in which animals increase the consumption of specific dietary sources in a manner independent of nutritional parameters to benefit from non-nutritional constituents of the diet.…”