whats with the slugs/snails?

[Mr. Stinky]

i have been in the fight of my life for 2 months now. the slugs and snails are 10 times worse this year than ive ever seen. has to be the cool wet season we are having. im now using 5 different treatments weekly to keep my plants alive. 2 different pellets, diatomatious earth, copper powder, and a spray mix of : fruit tree spray, miracle grow, sevin, and epsom salts. this is nuts. one plot had 76 plants.... left them alone for 4 weeks, and slugs stripped them. there are 9 left alive, barely. my harvest might be 25% this year. hopefully


anyone else having a go with the slimy buggers this year?

 

[nomaad]

dig a trench around your plants, line it with some kind of plastic. Fill it with beer. Slugs will not pass. You will have nasty dissolved slug-beer to deal with.

 

[Sportster]

...Beer or CHEW!! Chew kills 'em dead!!!

 

[nomaad]

chewing tobacco?

 

[GeneticHeirloom]

Caffeine kills slugs and snails as well, used coffee grinds in a circle Around your patch should do.

Also if you have a lot of crab grass in your yard cut it up in a grinder, add it to a small amount of beer and put this concoction on some peanut butter lids around the grow, the snails drink the beer and poisonous crab grass and will end up dying pretty quickly

 

[cave]

hope this will help you out with the slugs






clean your garden, and eliminating the places where the slugs hide, sleep, and reproduce.
Pulling the weeds from your garden is something you need to do anyway. As you pull each weed, you remove a potential slug outpost.
Keep all decaying matter cleaned out of your garden beds. While leaves make a good mulch, once they begin to compost they become food and shelter for slugs and snails.
Prune the branches of any shrubs which are laying on the ground. Keep the old leaves and such cleaned out. By doing this you will have destroyed yet another slug haven!
Cultivate your soil regularly to keep the dirt clods broken up, and unearth any slugs which may have burrowed under the surface.
The shaded areas beneath decks can be a slug arena: keep them weed and litter free.
Just about anything can become a slug home. Boards, rocks, pots and other gizmos should be kept out of the garden.
Keep the lawn edges trimmed. Slugs will congregate under the umbrella of unkept grass.

The weapons

For the sake of the environment, it is better to make an effort to control slugs and snails without using chemicals and poisons before you resort to chemical warfare.

Keep slug pokers stuck around the garden at random. Meet your enemy, one on one... Your weapon is at hand, impale them!
Fill a small bowl with stale beer. Put it in the areas where the slugs are active. Stale beer attracts the slugs and they drown. You may also use grape juice or a tea made from yeast, honey and water.
An early morning stroll around the garden, salt shaker in hand will often result in many casualties for the bad guys.
Destroy any and ALL slug eggs you find!
Bait and destroy tactics work. Set a pile of slightly dampened dry dog food in an area frequented by slugs. In the morning and evening visit the feeding station a few times.... slug poker in hand!


Cedar bark or gravel chips spread around your plant will irritate and dehydrate slugs.
The sharp edges of crushed eggshells around the plants will cut and kill slugs. The calcium in the eggshells is a good soil amendment anyway!
Sprinkle a line of lime around your plants. (Obviously this won't work around plants requiring a more acidic soil)
Certain herbs (Rosemary, lemon balm,wormwood, mints, tansy, oak leaves, needles from conifers and seaweed will repel slugs. However using a mulch of these plants will only turn thhe slugs away, in search of other food sources.
Oat bran will kill slugs when they eat it... sprinkle some around.
Enlist allies..... snakes, ducks, geese, toads, and Rhode Island Reds would enjoy helping you out as they dine on your slugs.

Chemical warfare
Probably the most popular, most effective, and easiest method of controlling slugs is by using commercial slug bait products. These may be purchased in the form of meal, pellets, powder, or liquid. The primary concern of using chemical baits and poisons is the possibility of poisoning small critters, creatures and even small children. Always follow the instructions to the letter, and go the extra steps necessary to insure that the poisons are inaccessible to anything but slugs and snails.
Make traps to collect slugs out of plastic pop bottles. Cut the bottle in half and then invert the top part of the bottle into the bottom part to create a no escape entryway. The slug bait can be placed inside the bottle and will draw the slugs in where they will die and await disposal.


Cut a one inch 'V' notch in the rim of a cool whip bowl. Invert the bowl in the garden over the slug bait, and place a rock on top of it to keep it secure.
Commercial, disposable slug traps may be purchased at many garden centers. Quite a bit more expensive, but they work!
At the very least, cover the bait with a weighted piece of wood or an old shingle to prevent access to the poison. The slugs will still find it, consume it, and die.
Surprise tactics
Try as you might, the war against slugs will go on as long as there are gardens. You will never win, but you can keep them under control. Remember that for every slug you destroy, you are preventing countless generations of that slug's offspring.
You may want to consider offering a bounty on slugs in your neighborhood. It might amaze you how many slugs an ambitious young person can gather up at a nickel a head...
Organize a 'Slug Derby' with some small prize for the biggest slug, the ugliest slug, person with the most captured slugs.... A grand event for any neighborhood, to be sure!
As you wage your war on slugs and snails, you are almost certain to be 'slimed' at least once. YUK! Mix up a little warm water and vinegar, and use this formula to remove the slime from your hands like magic!


this is not mine i found it on the web here is the credit for the info
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/slugs.html

hope it helped
cave

 

[lordbudly]

i was absolutely ravaged

 

[sunwukong]

Hit like whoah this year. The northeast USA got alot of rain this spring and the slugs were out in force. I had 50 plants that were a month old in May, now I am down to 14. Placing saucers of beer around the area has slowed them down, but I'm sure they're plotting something. Good luck with those bastards.

 

[supersonic]

hi

i lost this years grow to slugs,snails. not all, but 80%, ther is still chance to harvest some bud.
it was very rainy end may and june and those fuckers are anywhere. i grow in very dense grown places with every kind of weeds and bushes that are about 2m high and some stream may be near and that's great environment for slugs and guerilla plants... and i have learned that with only strongest chemical, poisonous pellets i can win against them... not good for enviro but it's must... when i planted plants out i didn't use most strong limacid and plants are gone and i'm sorry...
last time i visit i put bag on the ground (30x40cm) and when i lift bag, there were 6 slugs under...... crazy....

beer traps and mulch.. that may be usable in backyard growing... but not for guerilla... put beer there around and mulch and then heavy thunderstorm comes and it's gone...
what then?? open the fridge, take the beer and run to place to serve the slugs like some waiter? it doesn't work here... tried.... and when on vacation or something...

for me, only chemical warfare has worked and will work....

all the best .

ss

 

[badmf]

Ever hear of "Copper tape"? Wrap the stems with it they won't pass, It lasts until the plants too big,just add more.
I say again use Copper tape it won't let them pass, gives them a shock. Wrap your stems and they can bugger around the soil but not climb up!! Also Diatoemaous Earth prevents crossing add some broken eggshells for good measure.

 

[Solidopc]

Been doing my first ever outdoor crop this year, and the slugs/snails and other nasties are making me regret it. Loads of bloody slugs about, they are dying on my pellets and i impale them as needed. But they are bloody everywhere, more each monring after daily, sometimes twice daily clean outs. They also seem to love the growing tips of the plants the most, which pisses me off extra.

Don't think i'm going to continue with outdoor growing after this, i'll stick to indoor.

 

[bongcritter]

Lost about 75% of my grow to slugs this year....and they are working pretty damn hard on the last 25%....its been rough for me too.

 

[Ripshot]

Slugs are the last pest on my mind. I have 101 ways to stop slugs.

Its sucking insects that I have a problem with. Flea beetles, leaf hoppers, aphids, you name it, Its probably sucking the juice out of the new growth right now.

F'n bastards

 

[Mr. Stinky]

Slugs are the last pest on my mind. I have 101 ways to stop slugs.

Its sucking insects that I have a problem with. Flea beetles, leaf hoppers, aphids, you name it, Its probably sucking the juice out of the new growth right now.

F'n bastards

bugs are not bad at all here. try this, but dont buy it there... get it locally:
http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/bonide-fruit-tree-spray-16-oz-concentrate-p-59173.html?ref=42

i am amazed at the results. also knocks botrytis down from surrounding vegetation, so it doesnt spread to your plants. i add a dose of sevin to it as well as a scoop of miracle grow and a bit of epsom salts. i spray weekly, and EVERYTHING within 5 feet gets sprayed. nothing seems to stop the slugs tho. these little remedies work well for small growers, but when you get into the hundreds in numerous locations, its impossible to do beer cups.

to those of you who are trying this for the first time this year, stick it out. this is like a year of plagues. nothing at all like a normal year. at least not here

 

[neongreen]

Sharp sand makes a good barrier (who wants to waste good beer? ) if you can keep it maintained.

Anything like fine grit sticks to them, and they don't like it, so they won't cross it!

They were destroying my girls before. I haven't lost any leaves to them apart from one or two that were bent down on to the ground by heavy rain, since I put the sand down. Also using some organic slug pellets, but sand is the main deterrent here!

I've also had good success with coper.

 

[Mr. Stinky]

goin to get me some sand tomorrow..... thats one i hadnt heard before

 

[neongreen]

Make sure it's horticultural grade. I believe other sand (for building or sand pits) may have to be well washed before use.

Edit to add: and I'm not even sure that it would work as well. It's cheap and should be easily available locally if you look around.

 

[VerdantGreen]

Ever hear of "Copper tape"? Wrap the stems with it they won't pass, It lasts until the plants too big,just add more.
I say again use Copper tape it won't let them pass, gives them a shock. Wrap your stems and they can bugger around the soil but not climb up!! Also Diatoemaous Earth prevents crossing add some broken eggshells for good measure.

yes, copper is the only thing that i've found foolproof, or slugproof i should say.

i cut up an old water tank into strips and made collars which i push into the soil around the stem.

also plant lettuce as a sacrificial crop - the slugs will usually go for it first, unless they're old school and then they'll know to eat your plants.

V.

 

[hedgeraider]

perhaps stick slug bait to a hoop of sticky duct tape and wrap it around the plant, with a plastic on top to keep the rain off. havent tried it but if it lasts longer than throwing slug bait around i'm all for it.

 

[DAT]

can you get your plants up out the ground? Transplant them into a large smart pot and then put some copper tape around the pot. The slugs and snails will not cross the copper tape.
notice it around my pots on the deck .. i have tons of slugs everywhere as well. chomp chomp chomp.https://www.icmag.com/ic/attachment...tachment.php?attachmentid=281824&d=1409674433