Signalcalc
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NVP
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steady S......dont push it ......
sometimes i wind up my own watch .......hey ...a mans gotta keep fit
NVP
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Signalcalc
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New hobby, killing slugs!
I have tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, raspberry, strawberry, mint etc etc in my organic garden, all get attacked by slugs and snails and flying munching things. Slug reduction is top of the priority list, so I have a multi pronged strategy that keeps me busy most days and evenings:
Using all the above, I've seen a massive reduction in slugs compared to previous years, the beer traps catch only tiny newly hatched ones, very rare to see anything bigger than a couple of inches now, it all seems to be working, but they are an ever present danger and occupy a good amount of time keeping them under control.
Only lost one cucumber so far, but lost plenty of courgettes (could be blossom end rot also). Tomatoes flowering with leaves intact
I have tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, raspberry, strawberry, mint etc etc in my organic garden, all get attacked by slugs and snails and flying munching things. Slug reduction is top of the priority list, so I have a multi pronged strategy that keeps me busy most days and evenings:
- Good old beer traps, luckily another hobby of mine is to brew beer, occasionally I brew a poor one (not very often mind), it gets used in little containers that kills a few of the blighters.
- Slug pellets, organic of course
- Chopsticks, yes wandering the family estate picking them off the plants occupies some time
- Nematodes, get 'em where they hang out, in the soil and around the roots
Using all the above, I've seen a massive reduction in slugs compared to previous years, the beer traps catch only tiny newly hatched ones, very rare to see anything bigger than a couple of inches now, it all seems to be working, but they are an ever present danger and occupy a good amount of time keeping them under control.
Only lost one cucumber so far, but lost plenty of courgettes (could be blossom end rot also). Tomatoes flowering with leaves intact
C
cantagril
Apart from being an excellent scrabble word, wot's a "nematode" when it's in civvies? The online dictionary sez it's some evil intestine dweller and I'm concerned that the organic garden is beginning to sound like a rather nasty, dangerous place. I was hoping one day to plant a small kitchen garden with sundry herbs (not the smoking kind) and the odd veg or two......
Signalcalc
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I think there are many types of nematodes, indeed some could be evil intestine dwellers, you can buy some targeted at different things, the one's I use will infest common slugs and kill them from within, they won't affect Spanish slugs though.
I get mine from here: https://www.gardening-naturally.com/nematodes-pest-control/nematodes
C
cantagril
I shall go to bed the wiser! They sound an altogether sinister bunch - have just been reading about the ones that infest animals and humans. Am curious that that La babosa is immune....how do you deal with those?
Signalcalc
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I don’t think I have them in my garden, they appear to be a an orangey colour, if there are any then hopefully the other methods will get them.
A quick look around the estate and there is not a slug to be found this evening [emoji1360]
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C
cantagril
Interesting....
In my childhood in France, the enormous orange slugs were a source of amusement - 'twas a simple life.
Are yours like this Frenchie below?
In my childhood in France, the enormous orange slugs were a source of amusement - 'twas a simple life.
Are yours like this Frenchie below?
Signalcalc
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Just been on to slug watch, horror of horrors, a Spanish slug can vary in colour from orangey to chocolate brown, so any of the slugs in my garden could be Spanish! Haven't seen one as orange as yours though, what as brute
Killing slugs is a never ending battle, they are actually beneficial to the soil food web, but when a seasonal crop is at stake there's no choice but to eradicate, there will still be plenty left, my meagre attempts will not dent the wildlife population, Extinction Rebellion can rest easy
www.slugwatch.co.uk
Killing slugs is a never ending battle, they are actually beneficial to the soil food web, but when a seasonal crop is at stake there's no choice but to eradicate, there will still be plenty left, my meagre attempts will not dent the wildlife population, Extinction Rebellion can rest easy
Slug identification | John Innes Centre
There are approximately 40 species of slug currently found in the UK, with only a small number of these considered as pest species. However, it has been estimated that these pest species cause…
www.slugwatch.co.uk
C
cantagril
Thank you Pat & Sig - This is all fascinating stuff! ....and such a relief from boring trading and endless political rants. Perhaps this is just the right forum for the discussion of Fat, Venezuela and Mongolian throat singing?
C
cantagril
I forgot to say that the Asian hornet had already made it to Cantaland (Languedoc) a few years ago.
C
cantagril
Just been on to slug watch, horror of horrors, a Spanish slug can vary in colour from orangey to chocolate brown, so any of the slugs in my garden could be Spanish! Haven't seen one as orange as yours though, what as brute
Orange was the new ...wait a minute!.... allusion fatigue has set in......aksherly, that particular orange slug godzilla was mostly "oop north" (here you'll just have to imagine the French equivalent of that) it being wet and green enough to support them. Down south, in my neck of the scrub, it's much hotter and dryer and the slugs are correspondingly smaller and darker. Curiously, almost every time it rains, we have thousands of snails but just a few slugs.
Signalcalc
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I have around 25 species of songbird visiting the garden every day, my feeders are mostly mobbed by Great Tit and Blue Tit chicks at the moment constantly fighting and the food doesn't last long, until Woody comes along, just bought a catapult to scare off the Pidgeons and Squirrels also.
None of them appear to be interested in slug pellets, I do try and keep them to a minimum though as I don't know what the effect on the soil might be from all that Iron.
Pill bottle sounds an interesting idea how does that work, do the slugs just eat them as if they are in a Pharmaceutical dispensary, thinking it will do them some good?
