With the possibility of have up to 200 slugs on every square yard of your garden in cool humid clime , your cabbage plantsand other brassicas may be in peril .
Such a robust population can reave your garden of cole crops and other vegetable .
And each of these terrestrial gastropod mollusks can make 400 eggs a twelvemonth ; and they are hermaphrodites meaning they all have both manly and female sexual organs and can lay eggs .
Having crushed eggshell stuck to your body is no way to go through life, son.
However , you’re able to fight down back and forestall the wretched demon from damaging your valued plant .
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We will trace methods you’re able to take to keep poke from devouring your cole crops .
Having crushed eggshell stuck to your body is no way to go through life, son.
What You’ll Learn
When You Have Slugs in Your Garden
The glazed lead of mucus is a giveaway that you have biff or snails in your garden .
They conceal out during the day by tunnel into crevices in the soil and hide under rocks , board , or heavy vegetation .
Night is when they do their damage .
What’s at Risk?
Slugs love to eat on all cruciferous vegetables include ( but not limit to ):
Tell - William Tell signs includes orotund fix being chewed into the leaf .
A serious infestation can make a plant look like lace , seriously damaging the crucifer ’s power to perform photosynthesis .
How to Manage an Infestation
Trapping
Graeco-Roman method such as putting cup of beer or milk in your garden are astonishingly effective . The good proficiency is to make a little hollow in the soil with child enough for the container to fit in so the lip is at ground level when the vessel is stick in in it .
fill up with beer or milk and let it sit overnight . The creepy crawlies will be attracted to it , crawl in , and drown . Empty and replace in the morning .
However , you should be prepared to localise out a lot of traps – one every square yard .
A board is another pick . but rate a display panel over fat organic with lots of compost . Slugs will craw under the control panel to launch the heat during the day . Towards after merely lift circuit card , best them up . and either relocate or extinguish ( with salt ) .
To make it even more effective , you also bait your board traps with botany ( snub potatoes , Citrus paradisi hide , or even chou leaves ! ) .
It is important that you condition these traps daily .
Erect a Barrier
Slugs can be surprisingly mobile , moving as much as a statute mile over a few days . Therefore , you want to ostracise them from your garden .
A barrier can be a sound way to do this . you could make a two - foot wide course of crushed huitre shells , crushed eggshells , cinders , Grant Wood ashes , sawdust , or incisive sand .
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Diatomaceous earthis a particularly fearsome substance to mundane mollusks because it is lethal to their cushy body .
Other alternatives let in telegram blind or copper strip .
It ’s not fully understood why slugs do n’t wish to traverse Cu , but it may be that downcast layer of electricity can by nature pass through the strips .
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One bit of advice , many of the copper flight strip sold in garden shop and the big box storage are n’t full enough to be effectual . The strips need to be at least 2 inches spacious to prevent these veg - eating gastropods from arching themselves over the roadblock .
Use Black Plastic Mulch
When you practice calamitous plastic mulch , the grime will heat up and dry out out . Therefore , this will discourage slug from hiding in it .
Avoid Organic Mulch
Slugs like to blot out in constitutive mulch , so your near bet is to avoid it if you have an plague . If you do insist on using mulch , at least thin it out , so the soil will get fond and dry ( and be less inviting ) .
Remember these slimy mollusc can winter in organic mulch .
Plant in Raised Beds
Since arouse beds of chou and other cole harvest are more likely to dry out , they will reduce the likelihood of infestation in your lettuce plants .
Let Ducks Loose in Your Garden
Unlike chicken , which deplete slugs and other pests , but damage your garden in the process , ducks are effective predators of water and body politic mollusks and are much less likely to harm your cruciferous veggies .
Buy Predatory Slugs
Who said that cannibalism is always a bad affair ?
handily , the lick speciesTestacellawill use up other slug varieties and reduce your populations .
Use Slug and Snail Bait
Traditionally , metaldehyde has been a highly effective sweetener / poison in controlling these pesky gastropods . However , this compound has its downside and affects non - target organisms .
Nontoxic Sluggo ® Slug Killer
In contrast , Fe phosphate is an constitutive choice that is almost as effective as metaldehyde and is nonpoisonous to other organism . Sluggo ® is a brand that has organic OMRI certification . It is available from Arbico Organics .
Purge These Slimy Fiends from Your Garden
While slugs can be fearsome and voracious foe , there are a number of techniques you may practice to protect your cole crop .
When these option are used in combination , they can be extremely effective .
And for more melodic theme , consult our guide , “ The Best Natural Methods to Protect Your Garden from Slugs and Snails . ”
And verify to check out some of our other guides covering other brassica pests including :
© require the Experts , LLC . ALL right field RESERVED.See our TOSfor more point . Originally publish September 14th , 2019 . Last updated August 15th , 2023 . Product photo via Harris , Eagle 1 , and Monterey . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Helga George , PhD
