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Slugs & Snails

Slugs & Snails

Symptoms

Irregular holes are eaten from the middle of leaves.

Harm

Young plants and seedings can be eaten to nothing. Sumptuous leaf plants like hostas can be left patchy, ugly and mauled.

Treatment

Organic - these fiends feast at night so you can go and pick them off those plants most under attack. If you stew the ones you have caught in water and then pour the resulting mixture around vulnerable plants it sai to be a good deterrent. A ring of material that is uncomfortable to cross such as sharp grit or broken egg shells can also work. Plants in pots can be protected by greasing the rim with Vaseline and salt.

Biological - You can buy nematodes (microscopic creatures) which agressively search out and attack slugs. They enter the slugs boy through a hole hehind their heads. Once inside they release a bacteria which stops the slug eating. The nematodes then start to reproduce inside and within 7-10 days the slug is dead. The nematodes continue to reproduce as the body breaks down. This new population enters the soil and searches out new slugs to attack. This is a natural, non-toxic product that is safe for both users and wildlife. The nematodes stay active for 6 weeks so a single dose protects plants when they are emerging in the spring and are most vulnerable. Nematodes can only be used in spring and summer when the soil is warm.

Chemical - scatter slug pellets thinly around vulnerable plants. Re-apply as necessary.

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