Does Organic Slug Control Really Work?
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- Опубліковано 14 лип 2024
- Slugs are garden pests that can do a lot of damage in a short period of time. In today’s testing garden assumptions series video I am going to go through the most commonly recommended methods to manage slugs and how I am planning to manage them in my garden.
0:23 Are Slugs a Garden Pest?
1:06 General Pest Management Philosophy
1:45 Passive Slug Management
2:36 Active pest management
2:58 Do Eggshells Deter Slugs?
3:20 Manually picking and killing slugs
3:50 Beer Trap for Slug Management
5:01 Using predators to manage pests like slugs
5:45 Does Salt work to Deter slugs
6:20 Does Copper work to deter slugs
7:14 Is Diatomaceous earth effective for slug control - Навчання та стиль
Of the MANY slug management videos I have watched over the past week, this is the most effective and informative video. I appreciate that you took the time to (1) explain the cause and effect of some of the preventive measures, noting what is not beneficial to your garden despite its effectiveness on slugs; (2) cite some of your references, especially highlighting key areas in peer-reviewed scientific articles. In essence, THANK YOU!
Excellent points, Stephen! We've found in our garden that predators almost always keep slugs, snails, and insect pests in check. When they don't, we intervene as little as possible to help restore balance.
It sounds as if with your garden expansion you have created quite the habitat and ecosystem. I struggle a bit with the small size allowing things to get unbalanced a little too easy.
The most detailed video that I have seen on slug control. Your narration is precise and well researched and your sensitivity to the environment and belief in nature is very commendable.
Can I just say how much I appreciate you getting right to the point and being so informative!! Thank you Sir!!! 👏👏👏🙌
Your videos are getting better and better each time! Jam-packed with practical, evidence-based information. Thanks again for your efforts.
thank you captain! I work hard to keep improving!
FYI, I have worked out a solution for myself, I try to put small ponds in and around my planting areas. Every night, right around dusk a army of frogs, join with the garden toads and literally 'invade' my garden. They don't get every slug, but they keep the population very low. I also enjoy the sounds of the frogs, and seeing so many of them in my raised beds.
That is wonderful that you are able to do that! The land type toads and frogs are wonderful but right now I have an army of birds taking up residency in my garden ;)
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable something that may happen is that the birds will start picking at your shiny fruit AKA tomatoes and anything else that looks appetizing I've had this happen in the past but then again maybe there always be plenty of bugs!!!
so far no damage from them but we shall see ;)
I hand-picked OVER 400 in one fairly small area last week! I was using dead leaves as mulch, and wow, they went to town, created multiple "maternity wards", because they were all fairly small. WHOOPS! It was also quite shady because of the hollyhocks, so I pruned the lower leaves, but yeah they are just everywhere!They especially love day lilies & pansies, too (and columbine petals!) -- all more than hostas. I go out at sundown with a flashlight.I have NEVER had luck with beer traps -- I have watched them drink, turn around & leave. HOWEVER, I am going to make some like you have, with the windows cut into it.I've never seen any slug predators ... literally, never seen a garter snake, despite knowing they're here somewhere. Or toads. Mind you, I have cats, so they'd probably just play with them. I have LOTS of robins that are all over the place in the evenings when I bring my cats inside.THANK YOU for mentioning salt & that you'd never use it -- I get SO MAD at everyone saying "just put a ring of salt around!"ALSO -- I bought some of the copper "ribbon" to put around my composter as an experiment ... it's pretty spendy, and corrodes within 6 months of putting it out. I actually found 2 slugs under it a few weeks go, grr!Thanks for a great episode!
the beer should work, but they don't like the cheap stuff. No one does.
Nice work buddy! I love the simple design of the beer trap for slug control.
it works quite well for slugs and many insects!
Your video is really one of the best videos I have watched on this topic. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Greatly appreciated.
Totally agree Steve. We have mulched our vegetable garden for 30 years (we use grass clippings) and NO slugs in the veggy garden. We have heard that this type of mulch creates a great environment for earwigs which stay off the plants and eat the grass clippings instead. We also heard that the earwigs eat the slugs(do not know how accurate that is though?).
it sounds like your garden has hit a good balance. I hope mine keeps its stability over the long run now!
You have created an impressive series - thank you! There is so much "folk wisdom" in gardening, especially among organic gardeners, that is often difficult to sift the helpful from incorrect assumptions. It is refreshing, but more importantly, extremely constructive to have someone scientifically test various methods and suggestions and provide factual results. Kudos!
Glad I could help!
Great tips Stephen. I have a huge slug problem and they can make you feel like your fighting an uphill battle. I just planted three decent sized squash plants only to find that they had completely disappeared come morning- very frustrating. Manual picking is what I have found works the best, even though the problem still persists. I strap on a head lamp and go out with a mason jar and can easily find 30-40 large slugs in about 15 minutes. I have noticed larger populations of snakes and birds in my yard and even found a salamander in my raised bed the other day. I hope these critters bring this slug population into more manageable numbers soon. Thanks.
They are there to feed on the slugs! I too hope mother nature helps you as much as she did me!
Hand picking is time-consuming, BUT it is super effective! And it's very satisfying to pull them off your prized plants & drown them in soapy water! I just use a squirt of Sunlight dish detergent (and use the same bucket to drown the Wee Harlequin Bugs, and any other bad stink bugs I find (brown marmorated is VERY destructive, as are the Wee Harlequins!)
I find picking them up is the best way too. I have a phobia of slugs (not so much with snails) so I'm using an old pair of salad tossers. I put them in a tub then walk them 200yds away to the edge of the wood, where I release them.....they go on a wee holiday! 😅 I just can't stand the thought of putting salt on them. It's such a cruel death. I DID try cutting some huge slugs up several days ago and they died in about 2 seconds, but I'm still haunted by it! 😬😬 So.....going on a wee holiday, I think, is the best method for me.
So that's why the birds love my garden! I very rarely have slug damage. I have the entire area covered in wood mulch which may be part of it but I see the birds constantly scratching around the mulch. Incidentally that is also how I'm able to top dress compost and have it get worked in. The birds do the work for me 😀
Mother Nature is handy that way ! Glad the birds are helping you out !
"That seems like a waste of beer". Love it, and love your videos. Thank you. Keep it up!
I don't like to waste good things :) thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind comment !
Regarding copper, it needs to be a wide enough strip to discourage your largest slugs from crossing. When a slug encounters the copper, it stretches itself out to see if it can reach the other side of the strip. A two inch long snail can, for example, easily cross a one inch wide strip of copper.
I agree that copper strips are expensive. They are probably best kept for a raised bed that you start seedlings in.
Stephen, I'm pretty sure that was a wood frog, not a toad... You should consider putting in some predator habitat too, I use terra cotta watering trays upside down with a doorway cut in them...
To be honest that was a clip from 2014. I slipped it in there as a visual aid and should have re-recorded that audio but ran out of time. It is a toad in there this year but frogs have frequented the area as you can see.
Stephen, wow, what quality! Thought I was watching a TV programme ;) Very well done and great information it's so useful! How did you do the timelapse shots with the sunlight on your garden?
Thank you my friend. That is high praise coming from another creator !
I have a GoPro silver 4 that o have a battery diverter pack for. I set it on time lapse and plug it in. Usually I leave for work and hope for the best ! Those were the top two clips from this weeks 6 or so.
No worries Stephen! Well that is a great set up you have there ;)
So, I garden in raised wooden beds. After the rain, I take a bar of castle soap and scrub it on to the wooden rims to create a barrier all the way around. Slugs don’t seem to like crawling across lye soap. Just one more step. . .I also keep shallow pans of water on the ground to attract frogs and toads and lizards.
Brooooooo I like the new presentation and you seem more comfortable in front of the camera now. Thanks for the slug info, I hate slugs!
Thank you my friend! it certainly did take some time to get comfortable in front of the camera!!
In my research I have heard that beer traps are not that effective due to them attracting slugs from all around the area thus only multiplying the problem. However, this was an interesting video. Appreciate the tips.
Great information, thanks Stephen.
my pleasure!
thank you for sharing have a blessed day
More great information Stephen. I never thought salt was a good thing to use in my garden. Best wishes Bob.
Salt is a devastating thing to use in the garden !
I am glad you enjoyed the clip my friend.
I pick any slugs I see when I'm in the garden and that seems to keep them in check before they become a problem. I also have lots of birds and toads nearby though so I'm sure that helps out. One thing I have noticed is that using staw in the top mulch layer is pretty much guaranteed to double or triple your slug population. I just don't use it, or cover it with bark or another heavier mulch. I like using straw as mulch, but sometimes it's just not worth the trouble. Thanks for the video!
mulch is really an issue for helping slugs but if you have some birds and toads that is more than alright!
This is very useful! Thank you, Stephen!
my pleasure alexander. You may want to take special attention as tropical zones have a few different slug species.
I like how u use time lapse of your garden as a back drop to your talking
Wonderful video as always matey , One method I'm surprised you didn't mention... Using dry cat biscuits as bait with manual removal, A small bowl left in the garden in the evening will attract 100's , you can keep an eye on the population without killing any , or collect the bowl and slugs together for manual removal.... This way you can also identify any slugs you wish to keep (As some like the leopard slug (Limax maximus) are also beneficial :D
I had not found that method. Thank you. I will research it!
I only have bad slugs here but it would let me know how things are doing and keep an sacrificial draw away from my crops.
If I put dry cat biscuits out, the hedgehog would eat them instead of the bloomin' slugs! 😂
Thanks, very informative! My "garden" is on my balcony, so not amenable to predators, but I have used the beer in a bowl and caught slugs - I really like your trap and the beer substitute. I will have to try both.!
Good luck my friend
Hi for over half a century now I have let nettles and brambles grow wild around
my beds and brassica tunnel I don't like getting stung so the same as them also I mulch with nettles and brambles all over its worked for me all these years happy gardening Richardx
Great video! I've seen a lot of vids that show slugs crossing over copper tape and even running up and down on it but sometimes they do go "hmm" and turn away. That 80% figure is probably right.
...but it needs to be a wide strip of copper to get that 80% chance. Like maybe 2-3 inches.
Good to know, Stephen! I haven't had a slug problem as of yet, but you never know!
you my friend are lucky!
What a great video! Very professional! I love your garden and you deserve to be very proud of it!
I just want the slugs to leave my flowers alone as don't I don't have a full garden. Last year they wiped out all my marigolds and petunias within days before I even knew it was slugs. (I thought rabbits.) They never touched the begonias or coleus. I used the beer traps and that helped. Although, I had read that beer traps attract more slugs than would naturally be in your garden. So far this summer the damage has been mild. I started just picking them and dumping into a bucket with a lid. Next morning I give them to my neighbor's ducks. Ducks and chickens love them!
I don't know if this will get read (older video) but... I tried chopping up rose and raspberry stems and surrounding my strawberries to discourage snails and slugs, they seem to like strawberries as much as I do. The bed with the thorns had very little damage, the bed without had about 25% loss. This year I'm going to try running some thorn stems through a chipper/shredder to place around plants as a mulch. Just something I thought someone else would like to try. I really enjoy your vid's, thanks for all you do.
I will never worry about eliminating slugs!
thank you for a lovely presentation... that purple plum tree in your neighbour corner is excellent! to graft on,,,, simply gently weigh down a nice branch and graft it with your favorite peach/prune/plum/apricot/cherry/almond....so dead easy!!! it will give you decades of fruit!!!
Very good informative video!
Great tutorial, thank you
I find the copper netting works well. I staple it around the perimeter of my raised beds and get very few slugs other than a few that might come in on the mulch or compost. Living in moist woods I get thousands of slugs in the rest of the yard. For years I used a flashlight and scissors (yuck), until I found the copper. I can also lay pieces of it around my seedlings until they size up a bit. It's a tad expensive but it has lasted for many years now.
That is great! I did not find copper netting while I researched this clip. I will have to investigate. Thank you!
I bought mine at Lee Valley.
Lee valley has everything!
I was looking at copper netting last night, but I just thought it wouldn't be genuine copper, much like the copper tape. The reviews were hit and miss though.....although I AM in the uk, so maybe you get a better grade of copper netting where you are.
@@Mortthemoose Interesting. I wonder if it would have something to do with how much copper is in the soil. Copper kind of hangs around the surface of the soil so maybe slug get used to it where the soil content is higher. A total guess but might be interesting to explore.
Thanks for the info!
my pleasure!
what a great video and info well done 🐦🐝🐞🐤👍👍👍
Thank you!
Good video, thanks
Awesome video, as usual. The slugs are primarily a pest against my strawberries here in Michigan. Unfortunately, so are the robins. The robins love to take single bites/pecks out of every ripe berry. Looks like the most natural way is a no go for me 😕
For robins paint stones as strawberries and leave them around. It will confuse them helping increase your chances of successfully getting the real ones.
Slugs may take a combination of approaches.
wow great video. Thanks
copper attracts another pest. mostly active at night too, copper thieves!
Nice video!
Lol but copper thieves don't enjoy my dogs :)
I'm happy to learn Toads and Robins prey on Slugs. This is my first year dealing with Slugs but we do have Toads and Robins so I'll keep an eye on it and see if the predators are enough to keep their populations down.
Thankyou for a sensible video both informative scientifically and ecologically. Really it is a constant effort to keep slugs under control having tried several suggestions manual removal or nematodes are probably the best methods. I have tried a thick layer of coffee grounds to some effect on a hosta Yvonne from northern ireland
Nice one Stephen. 👍 Only just starting to see snails here now after all these years :/
You have plenty of predators. I am sure the balance in your garden will win !
You may not be able to keep a duck, so you need a friend with a duck that can visit every now and again! ; ) Here in Oregon's Willamette Valley, we've got some voracious slugs, but they are introduced species, so I don't feel too bad about dispatching them. They are one reason I don't used raised beds - the edges by the boards just provide too much habitat. And once there are slug eggs in a bed, no copper tape on the boards is going to help. I lay down boards and the slugs will go there to hide in the daytime. Then it's easy to collect them. And I find that they come in from my grass more than anywhere, so I try to keep a distance between my beds and the grass. And I hope your Leopard Frog sticks around (he's not quite a toad, but he will enjoy your garden, nonetheless).
The board method has come up a few times. I will have to check it out more thoroughly !
***** At least the slugs don't move as fast as grasshoppers! Happy slug wrangling!
I took care of 5 tonight. :)
***** Corral that herd! : )
another 10 down ;)
LOL the Beer worked. That is cool.
it did do very well. I still have slugs but am less concerned now that the garden is making headway and the damage is not impacting our harvests ;)
Thanks mom!
Thanks so much for that, Stephen! I have 2 more. Fine woodshavings or sawdust are pretty good bariers as well, just keep it fluffed up so it will dry after a rain and if you have space for a duck, get a duck! Robins are great! They don't take on anything large though, which is my main slug problem at the moment, huuuugs red slugs. I estimate they must weigh about 20 grams. Even a toad would find that hard to swallow. They are as big as a shrew these things!
Wow I am certainly glad I don't have slugs that large. None of mine are too big for my birds and toads ;)
a duck would be lots of fun but unfortunately not permitted here.
A rag soaked in beer will attract slugs, and it is less work to spray beer on the rag than refilling saucers with beer. You can cover the beer soaked rag with a paint can lid to protect it from rain.
In BC there are no slug predators that I know of...here, the better the habitat the more slugs. \
I envy your environmrent
another great informative video, in the Uk we are inundated with slugs and snails, an even cheaper method with the beer traps I've found is chopped orange skins in water, have you ever had a problem with moles? how would you deal with them?
No moles here but I have read of people putting wildlife mesh at the bottom of their raised beds before filling. It prevents them from digging up into a raised bed.
I had not geared of orange skins. I'll have to try it out.
Many decades ago, when I was studying at horticultural college, we all had to have an allotment. I wanted mine to be managed organically, and was having a wee problem with a mole. I read that a petrol soaked rag on a stick would deter them and it appeared to work! I think you can also put Eucalyptus oil onto wooden lolly sticks and stick them in the ground next to their mole hill. They don't like strong odours apparently.
We've had a really big slug issue this year and they pretty much decimated the strawberry patch in just a couple of days. I have had success with egg shells but they're not so good if it rains. The lid on the beer trap is a good idea for the same reason.
Usually the years we have issues are the ones where it rains.
I like your approach on this Stephen. We have quite the slug population this year and maybe even more snails. I did not know that robins eat slugs. Good to hear as we do have a family or two of robins about. No toads I am afraid but we do have garter snakes and I understand they also eat slugs. Thank you for this.
Garder snakes eat lots of slugs its a primary food source for them! The same principles apply!
hope you get them under control this year!
Blackbirds and Thrushes eat snails too.
Wonderful suggestions! I do use beer traps and hand-picking to control snails and slugs in my garden beds. Just for curious, could you paste the link to those theses? Thanks again!
I agree, I don't mind them doing clean-up but don't want them eating my plants too, I wondered why there were so many, our management added woidchip mulch to everyone's yard, so it makes sense. I put a ring of diatomacious earth(food grade) around the base of all the plants I wanted left alone but I worry it will harm the earthworms so I'm looking for a better way. Thank you
Thank You.... it's so nice that everyone on here is trying their best for wildlife. God only knows, it needs it!!
Slugs and snails do not seem to be a problem to my tomatoes. I rarely see them on a plant. I want to plant a small area for some salads and spinach may be 4 feet by 2 feet. I saw some DIY videos about making a 9 volt electric fence with galvanized wires, quite cheap. It seems to be very effective but it would be only for a small area. Last summer they destroyed most of my salad so it is a new project.
skip to 8:30 for the verdict which is handpicking and homeade beer traps are best.
4:00 homemade yeast recipe
Be careful when putting salt on your garden, salt will kill worms just as much as it will kill slugs.
I did sprinkle some salt on some slugs in my garden and some salt accidentally whent on the worms and they were wriggling about like they were in pain, they died shortly afterwards.
Putting salt on slugs and worms is a nasty death for them. A quicker death would be chopping them up with scissors.....I tried that for the first time last week,.....and have felt guilty ever since! 😅 I collect mine, and take them 200yds to the edge of the wood (a wee holiday), where I let them go. Salt is also REALLY bad for the garden....really toxic
Well done my friend, I have come to the same conclusions ;-) Now my biggest pest in the garden is chipmunks, they eat a lot of my berries, little buggers lol
I am lucky I dont have chipmunks. My Grandmother was just telling me how she fights them!
Would copper phosphate in low doses in water? I had snail problem in my aquarium years ago that worked with no side effects.
thank you
My pleasure.
Great video. I had slugs wreaking havoc in June here (dinosaur kale, sunflowers) in New Brunswick but it's better now with the drier warmer weather and possibly the robins,
Robins are the best !!! Glad things are getting better for you my friend out East!
My neighbor was able to afford to plant trees near my property - yay for birds! I have been bringing home toads from elsewhere and put in near my garden. Hopefully, these things will bring better eco system!!
I hope it goes well.
...do you have any suggestions for getting rid of red lily beetles? (Desperate in Edmonton)
Have you tried using wool mats and/or pellets?
Hi Stephen
Very interesting video and you seem to have much the same problem as we have in England, where several mild and wet winters have led to an explosion of them (and snails) This has not been helped by a decline in the hedgehog population as well
I generally do hope for a harsh dry winter to help manage them but also the big seller here is "nematodes" and I would be interested in your views on these as I do have serious reservations about using them
nematodes much like a pesticide if it is too effective it can take out a huge part of the population but that can have impacts on their predators which can make the long term issues worse.
we need a cold winter here for sure! But dont tell my wife she would not be impressed ;)
we have a product here called slug-go...is that like slug tabs that you mentioned? they are omri listed...someone mentioned using it. it might be a good last resort to sprinkle around the tender sprouts
Those are what I was referring too yes. They can be devastating for the population.
I tested copper myself. I have a great slug problem in my garden. Delphiniums have no defence to slugs and slugs love them. I sowed a seed tray of delphiniums indoors. Once they had germinated and added a few leaves I put a band of brand new copper tape around the seed tray. There were no holes or access points in the bottom or sides of the tray. I then left out the tray overnight and the following morning not a scrap of plant matter was left.
Yeah, that copper tape is useless, and is very obviously not real copper.
I think, unfortunately, you need REAL copper for that to work which would be ridiculously expensive.
@@Mortthemoose The copper tape is copper but no it does not work.
@@Mortthemoose Nematodes work under the brand name nemaslug.
Beer traps can be horribly successful.
beer traps dont really work all that well unless you do a ton of them. Slugs just dont seem to travel from all over the garden. Ive had more luck doing raised beds, mulching alot, and using pellets here and there. Also hand or "foot" picking ;)
lol I love hand to foot picking ;) the beer trap worked well to me but in proximity to my issue
I live in the city (Edmonton , how do I attract frogs/toads to my garden? I do have Robins in my yard but this year there are more slugs in this year.
work to create a diverse ecosystem in your garden like mine and then dont use products like pesticides and herbicides. They will find their way there if there is food and a place to hide.
Any thoughts on the slug eating nematodes.
any tips on dealing with flea Beatles? they are cramping my style!
Sorry my friend its not something I have dealt with
Found a video of a guy putting some slugs in a cargboard in the middle of DE.. Did not kill them but did repell them... You may find it in youtube
I've had excellent success using iron phosphate (acceptable for organic gardening) to poison slugs. The product I used is called Slug Magic, and is safe for people, pets, and garden wildlife - just not gastropods..
I've done some research on that, as I thought it was too good to be true.
🔴 Iron phosphate is toted as a wildlife and pet friendly slug bait, but it's not! 🔴
EDTA is a chemical which makes metals more soluble, called a chelate. In iron phosphate products EDTA helps the iron to be taken up into the body of the snail or slug making it work much better than it might otherwise. In studies, it is the EDTA which has poisoned earthworms, and killed dogs, cats etc. (I found this from an American study). EDTA will NOT be mentioned on the box, as it is not classed as an "Active" ingredient, so people don't realise how poisonous it can be. Here's what the RSPB has to say about it:
"The use of chemicals to manage slugs is not recommended. However, as a last resort, slug killers based on ferric phosphate are an option if used sparingly and stored safely. They contain ferric phosphate or iron III phosphate, which affects the gut system of snails and slugs causing them to stop feeding and die within three to six days. Although ferric phosphate is less toxic than metaldehyde, the other ingredients in the tablets can also affect earthworms and, if consumed in large quantities, can poison pets".
@@Mortthemoose I'm not sure where you found this information, as it's not true. What study reach this conclusion?
I was about to subscribe but noticed all your video are 3 years old. Is this channel still active ?
pretty interesting. never had much of a bug issue. knock on wood. lol
enjoy my friend! I hope to have a better luck soon!
Maybe a single copper wire run close and parallel to a single galvanised wire around the side board of the raised bed or so on would be enough to set up the ionic/electrical transfer that deters slugs.
Interesting phenomena in my garden: the snails do not seem to damage my healthy looking salade. Could it be that snails eat the more unhealthy crops? I saw it somewhere on youtube
It could be. I don't have much experience with snails.
thanks so much! :D I just went out so discouraged to find maybe 25-30 slugs not yet back in hiding so I set a trap using the yeast and wheat flour and sugar, hopefully later today I'm going hunting for a toad what types of plants do you grow to attract the Robin's I've many different birds hanging out in my back yard, if possible I could take a snap shot of my garden thats struggling to live, then maybe you could give me a few pointers? Again tysm :D
God Bless all your efforts to keep a Bio Happy Garden
Use beer, works much better.
The quickest way is to go out at night and collect the slugs and snails. I then take the 200yds to the edge of the woodland, and release them.
Thanks you guys for the added ideas sure will give that a try!!
You said 'Toad' several times but your photos appears to be a 'Frog'? We are in Oregon I I've never seen so many slugs in one garden but we have a good number of Garter snakes that do a great job on our slugs.
its a variety of toad here and is likely quite different from yours.
Garder snakes do the same work for you ;)
Thanks! So, does that mean when I've been called a 'frog' they're really calling me a 'toad'?
Some times yes :)
Hey Steven. Great video. Do you know does DE harm worms? Some people say it harms worms and other people say that it is good for worms because it is a small granular and it's good for their guts.
I did not find anything specific but once mixed in the soil it would act similar to sand.
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable. Ok thanks Stephen. I am also not a big fan of using natural pesticides if they affect beneficial bugs as well but, I have cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, and cauliflower the cabbage moths are destroying everything. Next year I'm going to try the poly culture method and hopefully that helps with this problem.
Guy Canada Injust read about making female cabbage butterfly decoys and setting them dangling around in your brassicas. It seems the cabbage butterfly is territorial and won’t come to lay eggs when they see another of the females already present.
goodseedco.net/blog/posts/cabbage-butterfly-decoy
I have yet to try it out as I only learned about it a few days ago and haven’t figured out how I am going to make the cabbage butterfly females... maybe cut out plastic and paint it with the two dots etc?
Have you considered using a watered down garlic solution?
I have not but will now thanks!
Steven we are still waiting for more posts
I spray old liquid coffee on slugs and plants , works for me, but you have to reapplie often. my stupid slugs are sober and wouldn't fall for a beer trap
Sober slugs... thats bad!
I have not seen that method but will research!
will frog also eat slugs ??
Are frogs same as toads ??
What is the difference ??
Frogs will eat slugs too I think.
No, frogs and toads are a different species.
Best to look them up online.
Ducks work well. They eat slugs but not much produce and when it rains they go slug hunting. I wonder if a hot pepper spray would run slugs out of the garden.
I wish I could have a few ducks! They seem like so much fun!
unfortunately with a 3 year old whom raids the garden every day a hot pepper spray would likely not go over well. But I should research that too!
Why dont just use beer, for 50 cents you got half a liter of beer. They get drunk and fall in. I put up 4 beer traps and in 1 day catched about half a pound of slugs.
In can’t bring myself to waste beer :)
If only the birds here would eat the slugs and caterpillars instead of my tomatoes.... but the mockingbirds here in Texas like those sweet tomatoes more than the squishy bugs. Oh well, they've only gotten about 6 tomatoes so far out of the 40 or so I've harvested so I'll take what I can get.
I'm having to put bird net on all of my tomato plants. I end up putting several layers on as they grow through. they're better than the gophers from hell that I have. Had to put my whole garden into containers. at least I'm experimenting with self watering containers now.
Sorry to hear your birds are pests! They are much harder to manage!
I have found lots of cats frequent my patch. That could be keeping some of my bird issues at bay!
As Angela said bird netting is a great way to go once the tomatoes start to fruit out.
you said you wouldn't use salts. but you recommend 20-20-20??
I have never recommended a synthetic fertilizer my friend. always organic and generated at my house or in my neighbourhood. if you like I can shoot you a link to a video where i explain how I fertilize my garden for free.
Don't forget to add a Hedgehog 🦔 tunnel through your fence .....hogs LOVE slugs!
RE: The Iron phosphate slug pellets
🔴 Iron phosphate is toted as a wildlife and pet friendly slug bait, but it's not! 🔴
EDTA is a chemical which makes metals more soluble, called a chelate. In iron phosphate products EDTA helps the iron to be taken up into the body of the snail or slug making it work much better than it might otherwise. In studies, it is the EDTA which has poisoned earthworms, and killed dogs, cats etc. (I found this from an American study). EDTA will NOT be mentioned on the box, as it is not classed as an "Active" ingredient, so people don't realise how poisonous it can be. Here's what the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has to say about it:
"The use of chemicals to manage slugs is not recommended. However, as a last resort, slug killers based on ferric phosphate are an option if used sparingly and stored safely. They contain ferric phosphate or iron III phosphate, which affects the gut system of snails and slugs causing them to stop feeding and die within three to six days. Although ferric phosphate is less toxic than metaldehyde, the other ingredients in the tablets can also affect earthworms and, if consumed in large quantities, can poison pets".
I phoned the Organic Farmers institute that gives this product their stamp of approval today to actually ask if ALL the iron phosphate pellets contained EDTA....which they do. Apparently, despite the negative outscomes of studies, it has been deemed an allowed chelate by this organisation!
If you DO choose to use it, follow the directions to the letter, and sprinkle it extremely lightly! Use as little as you possibly can! I'm disabled with Chronic Illnesses/Severe Chronic Pain, so it's very tempting, but it just doesn't sit right with me. I don't want to kill my earthworms! I'd rather make myself ill, by going out and collecting them, and taking them out to the edge of the wood to release them.
Thanks for the interesting video....nice ti know that so many Canadians care about theur wildlife! 😊
Greetings from Scotland, uk 🏴🇬🇧🌍 👋
The beer one is ineffective. It’s just a 🍺 beer tavern/pub for slugs. They have a sip then go for lunch on the vegetables.
I seem to kill as many predatory beetles as slugs with beer traps. Dang it.
Put a little branch in the beer trap and the beetles will get out
I use ferrous sulfate
Slugs have eaten every single one of my carrot seedlings, destroyed my broccoli and torn apart the lower leaves on my peas. I can't let birds in the garden, because i use bird netting to keep my cats out, and living in the heart of a city i doubt there are any toads around, i think ill try the beer method, it seems to be the only method that doesn't require much micromanaging.
Make a few beer traps and check them every day and change them every 4th you should put a dent in them.
*****
Great, sounds good, thanks.
Let me know how it goes !
hey Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable. I left my filter mask over a barrel where my cabbages are, and 2 days after i had inside the mask in the same spot 4 slugs. Have you ever think of passive traps? Seems to me if they have a "home" like the silicone mask they will got there and stay there even if there is no food. You had that concept to the killing beer and we might have a winner
I have frogs and birds on my vegetable plot, but my Pak Choi plants would not get to a size where they would grow faster than the slugs could destroy them. Meanwhile, dandelions and other weeds go untouched.
edit: Note - if you tip the contents of a beer trap onto the soil, you will attract live slugs to the yeast and dead slug bodies, which other slugs will come in to eat.
Diatomaceous earth is a myth - I have had slugs crawl right over it to get to high interest plants.
Organic slug pellets do not kill out the whole slug population as other slugs will move in to fill the void, but will lower the population long enough for predators to regain control. Organic slug pellets kill slugs, but are not harmful to predators.
That’s a tough situation my friend.
Tryng with a Cane Toad ( Rhinella marina ) ?
*trying
most toads are going to make short work of slugs!
Very useful! I agree with the "keeping critters in balance" method. I'll have to try the CO2 generator trap, though. You can do a similar thing with trapping bedbugs :)
That is a good idea!
the CO2 also catches mosquitoes !
Egg shell barrier method myth debunked at 2:58; “beer” trap method validated at 3:51.