Hi Guys,
Does anyone have a way of stopping slugs from eating my vegies? They seem to love any lettuce and broccoli seedlings that I put in. I have tried beer traps but they seem to like the seedlings more. Any suggestions?
Thanx in advance
Hi Guys,
Does anyone have a way of stopping slugs from eating my vegies? They seem to love any lettuce and broccoli seedlings that I put in. I have tried beer traps but they seem to like the seedlings more. Any suggestions?
Thanx in advance
I've been having problem with slugs too in two of my strawberry beds. The beer traps have reduced the slugs, but not eliminated them or their damage. WHat is the ph of your system? I didn't have problems till mine dropped below 7.0. One internet source said they wont go near high ( 7+) ph. They suggested garden lime sprinkled over the affected area, but I have no idea of the impact to the plants as I have not tried this yet. I do know it will raise ph.
Knowledge comes from books and classes...Wisdom comes from surviving mistakes not taught in either.
I'd reccommend something like this:
http://www.slugfence.com/
Their design is for protecting ground level vegie patches but it should actually be far easier to protect a raised growbed since you only need to worry about the legs. Its basically uses sharp sheet metal bends that the slugs can't negotiate. Coffee spray is supposed to work quite well too, but its not a long term solution like the slug fence, and it might have negative effects your fish.
Seems like an excellent solution.....and could even be mounted during the slug season and removed on the off-season (assuming there's a slug season).
Gary
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer
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No, just lightly sprinkle lime over the surface of the growbed. it wont affect the pH too much, keep the layer active for around 4 weeks = no slugs.
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On a small scale you can use long hair (human, horse...) place it around the plants slugs hate hair for some reason.
Or an alternative......Beer in a bowl. Somehow that becomes a slug trap, and is pretty damn efficient.
They crawl in and die. Stale beer works best.
For those of you who can't imagine wasting beer on snails, try : 1/2 tsp. baking yeast and 1 tbsp. sugar or honey to the water in each trap.
If you live in a dry county, or prefer to keep your libations for yourself, you can achieve a similar effect with a dish of lemonade or apparently Coca Cola.
The sugar attracts the slugs and the acids kill the pests.
Only issue with the sugary methods is also often attracts ants.
A line of course ground oyster shell around the plants works well as does ground egg shell.
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