A slug that finds itself on the site is not always perceived as a threat to flowers and crops. In fact, shellfish can be not only beneficial but also harmful to crops. How does this happen and how to deal with slugs? More on this below.
About the benefits and harms of slug plants
Slugs, they are also slugs - nocturnal pests, so it is almost impossible to see them on the site during the day. However, if the mollusks themselves are not seen with the onset of the morning, then the traces of their stay will be more than distinct. Silvery mucus on the soil, leaves, stems of plants and the drooping appearance of the latter - all this indicates the appearance of slugs in the garden or in the garden.
Molluscs are unpretentious in food, so they enjoy eating everything they see with pleasure. Most often they can be seen on strawberries, and pests are also found:
- on young sprouts and seedlings;
- on the fruits of fruit trees;
- on berry bushes;
- cucumbers;
- pepper;
- on cabbage;
- mushrooms;
- lichens;
- on fallen leaves.
Thus, molluscs do some harm at the beginning of the season and in its midst, damaging the crop, but they act as cleaners of the site at the end when processing of organic waste is necessary. In addition, many fishermen consider slugs to be one of the best options bait.
Biological methods of fighting slugs - effective and affordable
How to deal with slugs in the garden. every owner interested in its prosperity must know. Biological, they are also ecological methods, as an option, will significantly reduce the number of pests, and eventually get rid of them forever.
One of the most simple ways- to reduce the level of humidity on the site, to solve the problem of organic debris and weeds.
In the fall, it will be useful to thoroughly dig up the soil to destroy possible eggs and larvae, not only of slugs, but also of other harmful insects.
A simple way to get rid of slugs on the site without any problems is to attract their natural enemies there:
- hedgehogs;
- birds;
- frogs.
For this, birdhouses for birds are built, cozy pond for frogs and prepare a shelter during cold weather for hedgehogs with baits and constant treats in the form of their favorite delicacies.
No less simple and effective method fighting slugs - with the help of enemy plants. To do this, it is enough to plant herbs with an unpleasant smell for pests: sage, garlic or rosemary.
Folk ways to fight slugs
It is possible and necessary to use folk remedies for the extermination of slugs, especially when there are certain prejudices regarding the use of not always safe chemicals.
The best proven remedies for pests in the garden are:
- wood ash;
- soda;
- beer;
- vinegar;
- needles;
- mustard;
- powdered eggshells;
- shells, etc.
Using these funds along with preventive measures, it will be possible to achieve a certain effect, especially at an early stage of soil contamination. Preventive measures include the above weeding, autumn digging, weed removal and maintaining optimal moisture levels.
Using a beer trap Folk remedies will help get rid of slugs without any risk to crops, pets and humans. So, for example, ordinary wood ash is good not only against pests, but also as a soil fertilizer. Slugs try to avoid areas fertilized in this way, as ash sticks to their bodies and interferes with normal movement.
It is necessary to set "traps" for mollusks in the evening, given their nocturnal lifestyle. Dry ash, for example, is poured along the garden beds and around bushes and trees that are attacked by pests. To increase the effectiveness of the product, a little lime and tobacco dust are added to the ash.
It is worth remembering that beneficial features lime and ash will be lost with the first rain or heavy fog. Therefore, the processing of the site must be carried out after a preliminary analysis of the weather forecast. After such fertilization of the soil, the procedure is repeated once a week until both the traces of the slugs and the pests themselves disappear.
Folk remedy salt will help get rid of slugs in the greenhouse and on the site. Ordinary table salt is suitable, which can be safely used on compost bushes, but not on flower beds and beds. It is enough to salt the slime-marked areas on the compost heap to solve the slug problem. Just as in the case of ash, this should be done in the evening, in calm dry weather, so that the salt does not dissolve from moisture.
It is allowed to treat the ground with soda, but not baking soda, but soda ash. The powder is distributed in places where slugs often stay, as a result of which they die and quickly enough. In order to save money, the powder is replaced with a solution based on soda (100 g) and water (10 liters). The solution is sprayed on the soil, as well as the plants, although in this case its concentration is halved.
Effective and affordable way solutions to the problem when slugs appeared in the cellar, greenhouse or on open area- use vinegar against them. Table vinegar is diluted with water at the rate of 65 ml per 10 liters of water. The solution is suitable for treating plants affected by insects. It is important to treat the plants in such a way that the solution does not damage root system... It is not recommended to use the vinegar solution too often as it will harm the plants.
The active agent against pests is regular mustard powder. Its advantage is its complete harmlessness to plants and a serious effect in contact with molluscs. Powder should be applied to the soil around trees, bushes, peppers, cabbage and other crops favored by slugs. A solution is prepared at the rate of 150 g of powder per bucket of water. Just as in the case with the previous means, the beds are treated with mustard powder only in dry weather without wind.
Liquid ammonia helps to destroy the eggs of slugs and adults. This tool is used by experienced site owners. To obtain an effective solution, a liter of ammonia (25%) is added to a bucket of water. The resulting solution is poured into cracks in the area where molluscs live. It is important to avoid contact of plant leaves with the solution. ammonia due to the risk of burns.
Beer as a remedy for slugs in the country is more than relevant. The smell of the drink attracts pests and is worth taking advantage of. Near plants, where traces of molluscs are most often left, a container with beer (can or glass) is dug into the ground so that the edges rise above the ground, and the rest is hidden. Pouring beer into the container, they wait until the first victims fall into the trap.
You can also lure them into jars of cornmeal in the same way. Slugs eat it with great pleasure, so they can smell it from afar. This product kills slugs almost immediately after consumption.
Chemicals in the fight against slugs: which to choose
Planting plants scare away slugs that have a specific smell, use folk remedies type of soda, vinegar or ammonia is possible, but if the number of slugs has exceeded the permissible limits, it is worth turning to more effective and modern methods - chemicals... Among them, you can find completely harmless, both for plants and for humans. For example, good option- "Ulicid", formed on the basis of iron phosphate.
Actively acts on pests "Agrozin". The drug not only helps to get rid of slugs and snails, but also improves the condition of the soil, affecting its structure. The consumption of the product is 45 ml per hundred square meters. One treatment per season will be enough to protect the site from pest infestation.
And the last option is a thunderstorm remedy, suitable for solving the problem with slugs. It is applied at least 20 days before harvest. Average consumption- 4 g per m2. The product is sold in granules of blue color, they are laid out on the site with a step of 10-15 cm.
In conclusion, we note that in order for the site not to turn into a dwelling place for slugs that litter the soil and threaten the quality and quantity of the crop, it is necessary to act in an integrated manner, not forgetting about preventive measures. It is especially important to monitor the condition of the soil in regions with an increased amount of precipitation, not forgetting that slugs multiply in such conditions rapidly and are less susceptible to extermination.
Slugs appear in the spring and spoil our life until the fall. Perfect time to deal with them from
May to July, and at this time you need to try to destroy them as much as possible. The fact is that in August they lay new testicles, each copy of 200-400 pieces, of which next year offspring will hatch.
With what enemy do you have the honor?
The most common species that can make you happy with your presence is a brown garden or forest slug. A plowed and netted slug can also get into the garden. The big slug will enjoy your supply of fruits and vegetables with pleasure.
V recent times the Spanish red slug, which came from southern Europe, is spreading more and more. Of its congeners, this species is considered the most dangerous - it grows up to 15 centimeters and poses a real threat to gardens and vegetable gardens in Europe. It can also be poisoned by animals if accidentally swallowed.
The most slug-friendly atmosphere is humidity and rain. They love dark places in the shade and temperatures from 13 to 18 degrees Celsius. During the day they are usually not visible, because they are nocturnal animals. At night, they crawl out of their hiding places and eat everything that gets in the way.
The slugs have unlimited appetite. They eat almost everything that grows in the garden. Their appetite is influenced by the weather - during the rainy season, they will eat up all the greenery that grows nearby.
Who will help you in the fight against them
The most harmless way to deal with them is to lure their natural enemies into the garden. They feed primarily on hedgehogs, toads, ground beetles and shrews. Feast on slugs and snakes and some birds. You can make a natural shelter for them in the corner of the garden from the fallen leaves. And it is best to make a pond or lake on the site and plant tall grass near it.
Common white ducks can help you in the fight against slugs. Wherever they are in the garden, let them pick up slugs. There is even a farm in Germany where ducks are bred, which are lent to gardeners for money. The ducks will eat all the slugs and return to the farm.
Collect and create barriers.
The best way to get rid of slugs is to collect them regularly and constantly. Most of them will be collected in the late afternoon and early morning. If you just throw them over the fence, they will quickly come back. If you fill them with boiling water in a bucket - not so cruel, because quickly - you will kill them. After the water has cooled, you can compost them.
To protect vegetables and fruits from the attack of insatiable slugs, create a protective barrier around the beds. Gastropods cannot climb over a rough surface, so crushed eggshell, walnut shells or sawdust. They will not be able to overcome such a surface. A slide of coarse sand or lime will scare them away. You can taste the coffee grounds by eating it, the slugs die.
You can also try plants that scare them away. Plant some of these plants around the edges of your garden: garlic, lavender, dill, sage, comfrey, cornflower, hydrangea, peony, parsley, thyme, and iris.
A reliable way is alcohol poisoning.
Slugs cannot resist beer, they will go anywhere for its aroma, and into a trap. It's easy to make. Bury a plastic bowl in the ground, preferably near the plants you want to protect. The edges of the bowl should be above ground level so that other animals do not fall there. Fill a bowl halfway with beer and every three days collect dead slugs, discard with the rest of the beer and add fresh one.
The most desperate will use chemistry or salt.
Granules that are designed to kill slugs are effective, just scatter them over the area. However, don't forget that this is chemistry. with prolonged use, substances from them settle in the soil and can harm not only plants, but also other animals.
The classic way to get rid of slugs is to use kitchen salt. She eats slugs. Simply sprinkle salt around the beds (preferably on black paper so that it does not get into the soil) or make a concentrated saline solution into which you throw the slugs. This is a cruel method of killing, boiling water is still better.
Slugs ... These are the pests you can only wish for worst enemy into the garden. All kinds of cabbages, peppers, eggplants, strawberries, salads and many decorative crops annually suffer from the invasion of gluttonous molluscs. It is impossible to get rid of them once and for all, but there are ways to reduce their numbers, drive them away from their favorite beds and reduce the damage done to the crop.
There are a lot of means and methods for dealing with slugs. And this is exactly the case when more is better. For some, some remedies are effective, others are more suitable for others. Also want to get rid of slugs in your garden? Then choose the option that suits you from the long list ...
The safest and most “environmentally friendly” method of slug reduction is familiar to any gardener. This is a manual collection of pests in the evening, when they crawl out of hiding places to eat our vegetables. The method is effective, but laborious, especially when there are a million of these gastropods, and you are alone. Therefore, the following control measures are more popular among gardeners:
How to deal with slugs using natural enemies
If toads and frogs live on your site, and sometimes hedgehogs from the nearest forest come to visit, you are very lucky. Feed the hedgehogs and toads, put a saucer of milk for them, and for dessert they will surely eat slugs from your garden.
Another very popular and safe option for dealing with slugs involves the device in the garden of various traps and baits. Slugs gather in such places in "crowds", and immediately destroy a large number of lighter than the lung.
What traps and baits are there?
Firstly, slugs are partial to fermented milk products. In the evening old board smeared with kefir or yogurt and placed in some damp place on two stones with the greased side down. In the morning, there will be an invasion of slugs under the board, which can be easily destroyed.
Secondly, beer traps have a good effect. A special trap with a lid or just an old deep cup is dug in level with the soil near cultivated plants. In the evening, beer (or fruit juice) is poured inside, but not to the very edges of the trap. During the night, slugs crawl into the trap for the smell, fall into the beer and drown in it. In the morning, the cups are emptied in order to repeat the whole procedure from the beginning the next evening.
Slugs are attracted corn flour... It is often poured into glass jars, which are laid on their side next to the protected plants. The slugs will not keep themselves waiting long and will run to the bank.
The peel from the halved grapefruit can also serve as a trap. You need to make small holes in them and arrange them in the beds. Under the grapefruit “domes”, slugs attracted by the smell will certainly cram at night.
How to get rid of slugs with mulching
Some interfere with the movement of slugs or scare them away. For example, sawdust. Sawdust sticks to slippery molluscs, making life difficult for them in every possible way. Slugs, of course, do not like coniferous mulch either. If it is not possible to mulch the beds with needles, you can spread several spruce branches around the plants.
Not to the liking of gastropods and mulching with nettles. A thick layer of nettle between the rows will keep slugs out of the crop.
However, mulching works well when it is done continuously. And needles, sawdust, and nettles crumble, dry, rot, go into the soil and the path to appetizing leaves is open again. To prevent this from happening, the mulch layer must be constantly maintained and updated.
Mixed plantings for slug control
Like many other pests, slugs do not like aromatic and spices, therefore mixed landings crops, flowers and grasses, among other things, prevent slugs from frolic. For example, cabbage can be planted in the same garden with thyme (savory) or rosemary. It is good to add mustard to the peppers. You can sow parsley around the edges of the strawberry bed. Also, slugs do not like lavender and sage.
Slug barriers
One of the most optimal solutions the task “How to get rid of slugs” is to keep them away from our favorite plants. There are all sorts of obstacles for this purpose.
Copper bands, self-adhesive copper, or copper-clad cover material keep the clams from getting close. Contact with copper provides it with a small but sensitive electric shock. There are also plastic grooves on sale for filling with water, it turns out that water is also an insurmountable obstacle for slugs.
Young plants are protected with plastic rims or funnels, which can be purchased at garden stores or made from plastic bottles by cutting them on both sides.
Slugs do not like tar, which means that any rag smeared with tar and spread around the plant will serve as a kind of barrier. If there is no tar, but there is copper sulfate, you can moisten the rope in it, and then spread it around the garden or flower bed.
Many people scatter crushed eggshells, fragments of river shells, fine gravel, shells from nuts or coarse sand in the hope that the enemy will not pass. However, such barriers do not always work and not for everyone.
The easiest way to deal with slugs is hot water... It can be used successfully on cabbage. In the evening, the water is heated to 40 ° C-45 ° C and the heads of cabbage themselves and the soil around are watered. Hot water is not terrible for cabbage, but the thin skin of slugs is extremely sensitive to high temperatures.
There are against slugs and folk recipes infusions for spraying and watering. You can spray plants:
- infusion of garlic (200-300 grams of garlic are chopped and poured with 10 liters of water and insisted for a day, stirring occasionally)
- infusion of mustard (50 grams of mustard powder is dissolved in 300 milliliters of water, infused for an hour, then diluted 3-4 times)
- infusion of tobacco (pour 1 kilogram of tobacco dust with 10 liters of water and leave for 24 hours. Add a little liquid soap)
- solution of brilliant green (1 bottle per 10 liters of water)
You can water the plants and the soil under them:
- infusion of delphinium (cut 1 kilogram of dried leaves and leave for two days in 10 liters of warm water)
- mustard infusion (dilute 100 grams of mustard in 10 liters of water and leave for an hour)
- infusion hot pepper(Pour 1 kilogram of fresh or half a kilogram of dry hot pepper pods with 10 liters of water, leave for 2-3 days, then boil and leave for 2 more days)
- coffee (2 teaspoons of instant coffee in one glass of water)
- ammonia (4 tablespoons per 10 liters of water)
It should be noted that similar funds practically useless with a large number of pests.
Pollination of the soil around the plants to combat slugs
To make it difficult or even impossible for the slugs to move towards the cultivated plants, the soil under the protected crops is sprinkled:
- Coffee grounds;
- Ash;
- Hot pepper;
- Tobacco dust;
- Chalk;
- Slaked lime (30 grams per square meter);
- Superphosphate (20-30 grams per square meter);
- A mixture of lime with tobacco dust in a 1: 1 ratio (20-25 grams per square meter);
- With a mixture ferrous sulfate with sand or lime.
The beds are usually sprinkled with lime in two steps, two days in a row. The first dusting causes the slugs to actively secrete mucus to protect themselves from lime. The second (after 10-15 minutes) - actually kills them, since they cannot give out more mucus.
However, you should not get carried away with lime and fertilizers. Otherwise, you can get rid of slugs, but overfeed the plants and even ruin the soil.
Killing slugs with salt
Salt is a slug killer. If you are unsure how to kill hand-picked gastropods, put them in a saline solution.
Therefore, sometimes the slugs are watered with salt water or the soil around the plants is sprinkled with salt, or salt is sprinkled on the compost heap, where slugs like to flock at night. Again, a rather controversial method of dealing with slugs, because not all plants like chlorine, which is contained in table salt. For example, beets will only be glad to watering with salt water, and tomatoes are strongly against it.
How to poison slugs: chemicals and biologics
When the number of slugs is comparable to a swarm of locusts and none of the above takes them, it remains to rely on special preparations. Among them are harmless to humans and animals:
- “Ulicid” - iron phosphate bait. One treatment is enough at the rate of 3-5 grams per square meter and the slugs will disappear, and the remains of the drug will be processed by soil microorganisms.
- "Agrozin" - a means for improving the structure of the soil has proven itself in the fight against slugs and snails. The drug is not cheap, but it is enough to add it to the soil once a season (45 milliliters per hundred square meters).
Having found eaten places (holes) on the leaves of spicy crops, fruits of berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, gardeners and gardeners know that pests have come to visit them. To preserve the harvest, preserve the beauty ornamental plants, you need to know how to deal with slugs in the garden.
Means and ways how to get rid of slugs on garden plot, dacha great amount... By choosing safe and reliable, suitable and proven, you will be able to enjoy beautiful tomatoes, juicy strawberries, harvest whole cabbage heads and intact lettuce foliage.
Slugs are often found in vegetable gardens. This is a group of mollusks that choose to live in humid household plots.
They especially love to settle in the beds where juicy cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce grow. The fight against slugs in the garden should be carried out throughout the season.
Appearance
Outwardly, gastropods are similar to snails, but the shell is missing. There are small horns on the head. They move slowly along the beds, paths, leaving behind a slimy path.
Their presence is easy to recognize by the presence of holes in the leaves, by the nibbled berries. Timely fight against slugs, the use of drugs against pests will save the harvest, get rid of insatiable shellfish.
Nutrition
Slugs prefer to crawl out for food at night.
They gnaw with pleasure:
- young seedlings;
- fruits that have fallen from the tree;
- lettuce leaves;
- berries bent to the ground;
- vegetable crops (cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers).
What is the use and harm of slugs
Most summer residents think about how to get rid of slugs on the site forever, although some breed them specifically for future use. The harm of molluscs is that they eat the grown crop, carry plant diseases ( gray rot), reduce the shelf life of the grown products.
But there are benefits from them:
- excellent food for Indo-women, chickens, turkeys;
- excellent bait for fishing;
- recycle organic matter;
- eat lichens, cleaning tree trunks.
Control measures
If slugs are wound up on the site, the fight against it should begin immediately. There are harmless methods called folk. In exceptional cases, when an invasion of molluscs threatens to lose the crop, it is permissible to fight chemical means, modern drugs belonging to the group of molluscicides for the destruction of pests.
Prevention - manual collection
Prevention is effective against slugs. Having noticed the traces of intruders, you need to collect them by hand. However, catching them is not easy, since slugs sleep during the day.
Pests usually hide in heaps of garbage, grass, under stones, fallen leaves. Removing everything unnecessary from the garden, placing it far from the beds compost heaps, you don't have to think about how to deal with slugs, get rid of them before they spoil the plants.
Preventive measures used to control slugs in the country include:
- frequent loosening of the beds;
- thinning of crops;
- autumn digging of the garden.
Mechanical barriers (barriers)
There is an easy way to deal with slugs in the country. It is suitable for those who are ready to build an obstacle in the path of the pest.
Common fixtures:
- Ready-made gutters installed around the perimeter of the beds, rings filled with water. The mollusk will not cross the body of water.
- Egg shells, fine gravel, broken shells for sprinkling the area next to cultivated plants... The abdomen pricks, the pest crawls back.
- Sprinkling the beds around the perimeter wood ash, lime.
- Wire barriers connected to batteries. The discharge of the current frightens the animal. It recedes.
Biological Techniques: Natural Enemies of Slugs
Birds, animals, amphibians that feed on gastropods help quickly and safely get rid of slugs. The hedgehog is among the main helpers. The animal often comes to country cottage area... You can lure him, make him stay alive, taking out a plate of milk in the evening, making a shelter of branches.
Lizards feed on these creepers. You can stack a bunch of stones in sunny place, then these tailed amphibians will often look at the site. Do not remain indifferent to delicious food toads, starlings, blackbirds. The garden ground beetle is an active slug-eater in the country. It helps to preserve the harvest, because it hunts for leaf gnawing.
It is proposed to plant special plants against slugs on the site. They do not tolerate the smell of garlic shellfish, turns them away from sage, parsley, lavender plantings, laurel. Slugs are not suitable for the beds, where pine butcher, dried nettle is used as mulch.
Chemicals
Modern industry offers its own methods of how to get rid of slugs in a garden, a vegetable garden, a summer residence, how to remove pests, if not forever, then destroy them for the season.
The drugs created on the basis of the nematode help. The substance is considered harmless, but it is necessary to use the product correctly. Nematodes are sold alive, so they will die if they do not fall on the soil within a month.
After a month, you will have to repeat the processing of the site. Store the drug only in the refrigerator.
Those who are looking for how to poison slugs are invited to pay attention to the inventions of chemists:
- "Storm";
- "Slime Eater";
- "Ulicid".
It is undesirable to use chemical preparations. This is a radical method, it is used only in the exceptional case when less dangerous measures and methods of dealing with slugs have been tried. The manufacturers of the funds indicate that the substances that make up the preparations "Thunderstorm" and "Slizneed" are toxic to domestic animals, birds, and humans.
Traditional methods
The Russian people know their ways, how to poison slugs, how to deal with them. Practice, proven over the years, tells how to process the beds, plants, so that pests are afraid to even approach the site.
Slugs appeared on the salad, try to get rid of it with the help of ordinary brilliant green sold at the pharmacy. Dissolve the bubble in a bucket of water and spill the beds on which pests crawl.
Experienced gardeners know what slugs are afraid of: salt. However, it is necessary to fight correctly: pour in carefully so as not to harm the crops. Beets are not afraid of salty soil, and you should not sprinkle the earth with salt next to potatoes, tomatoes.
The best slug remedy in the garden is mustard. It is enough to sprinkle the powder between cabbage, tomatoes, other plants, pour mustard water over the beds.
Killing slugs with coffee or caffeine is practiced. The substance dissolves in water, which is sprayed on the affected crops.
Slug bait is made from beer or kefir. The liquid is poured into a container. The traps are buried up to the neck in the ground. You can wet rags with beer, soak cabbage leaves with kefir and spread them along the paths. At night, the slugs will gather for bait. In the early morning we must hurry to collect them.
Conclusion
Getting rid of slugs is not as difficult as it initially seemed. The listed methods will certainly help those who love their garden, care for crops, and keep their summer cottage in order.
Sometimes good weather not only pleases summer residents with warm days, but also promotes the reproduction of garden pests. If autumn generously rewarded gardeners with an abundance of precipitation, but summer turned out to be extremely warm and rainy, then you can expect such insects as slugs to visit.
Who is a slug?
A slug (slug) is a mollusk that has lost its shell during evolution. Very often slugs are opposed to gastropods with a well-developed shell - snails.
A slug is a perfectly proportional mollusc. The only dissonance in its structure is the pulmonary opening: it is located only on the right. The mollusk can grow from two to twenty centimeters in length. Due to muscle contractions, as well as the abundant secretion of mucus by the skin epithelium, the mollusk can travel long distances for a short time and also move on any surfaces. The mucus of the mollusk is capable of scaring away predators.
Slugs settle in shady parts of the garden. High humidity - best friend shellfish. On a sunny fine day, the gardener is unlikely to see a massive movement of slugs in his area, which cannot be said about rainy days. Needless to say, these mollusks can skillfully hide their eggs under the leaves of plants. If their opponents, snails, lay eggs in the fall, and the offspring appear in the spring, then the slugs behave differently. In these gastropods, the breeding season is in the summer. Twenty days after laying the eggs, offspring are born. Young mollusks are already one hundred percent ready for invasions of garden plantings.
Why are slugs dangerous for the garden?
In the garden, slugs feel just as great as in the master's house. Shellfish can easily make their way into the bathroom. In this room, they feel very comfortable: there is little light, it is very humid and damp. Slugs can leave sticky marks on bathroom surfaces. Many of them will rush to the kitchen in search of food.
In the garden, slugs also have their favorite places. They can be found:
- In the vegetable beds... Here slugs feel like a fish in water. They just love peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers. Slugs especially love cabbage. They are capable of causing irreparable damage to vegetables, making holes throughout the head of cabbage! These mollusks do not disdain and feast on young leaves of young seedlings, just planted in open ground.
Unfortunately, slugs not only spoil the crop, but also spread the infection. Leaving sticky paths behind them, slugs are an ideal carrier of various diseases. Therefore, after visiting such uninvited guests, many plants begin to get sick, and soon die altogether.
- On fruit and berry plantings... Among other fruit and berry crops that mollusks do not ignore, slugs are distinguished by planting strawberries. If too many individuals attack the planting of the crop, then the harvest can simply not wait.
- In greenhouses... Many gardeners grow vegetables under plastic. This is not surprising, because climatic conditions do not always allow gardeners to successfully grow fruits and vegetables. But the greenhouse is perfect place for slugs. Thanks to muscle contractions, the gastropod mollusk is able to squeeze even into the smallest hole and end up in the greenhouse.
Gastropod pests should be dealt with, but this should be done in a timely and rational manner.
Anti-slug chemicals
Today, slug traps are very popular. They can be made either independently or purchased. professional models in a specialized store. The principle of the trap is as follows: a container, somewhat reminiscent of an ordinary jar, is filled with bait. Today you can buy a special ecological type of bait. Their use will in no way affect the health of the inhabitants of the animal world, as well as the well-being of the gardener and his family.
The trap filled with bait is placed in the habitat of the slugs. As mentioned in the article, these are shady areas of the garden with high humidity... As a rule, traps are buried in the ground for the required amount. The slug, attracted by a special smell, crawls into the trap and dies there.
Slugs can also be defeated using special chemicals.
The most famous chemical in the fight against shellfish is the drug "Storm"... There are also analogues on the market. The drug is based on the action of metaldehyde. This acetaldehyde polymerization product may act on pests if swallowed or in contact. As a rule, the drug is produced in the form of granules. blue... Apart from the main active substance- metaldehyde - the drug contains substances that can attract the attention of mollusks, as well as scare away those for whom it is not intended at all - birds and animals. The drug is used to cultivate the land around the beds, which especially attract slugs. After contact with the drug, mucus ceases to be produced in the gastropod mollusk and it dies.
Many gardeners prefer to use time-tested and human-tested chemicals, and some continue to be faithful. folk methods the fight against gastropods.
Folk remedies for slugs
Manual assembly
The easiest way to deal with shellfish is to collect them regularly and thoroughly from planting vegetables and fruits. This procedure can be quite unpleasant, since the molluscs are very, very slimy to the touch, so the gardener will have to stock up on a pair of good household gloves to manually assemble the pests. It is best to look for slugs in their habitat, as well as in cabbage beds, strawberry plantations, etc. You need to collect slugs in the morning and evening, as well as in rainy weather. After assembling the slugs, in no case should they simply be thrown over the fence. These cunning mollusks will be able to crawl back to you, thanks to the muscle contractions of their body, literally in a matter of hours.
Beer
Slugs are very fond of the smell of beer. This fact can be used to effectively deal with garden pests... It is enough to prepare a trap, fill it up to half with beer and bury it in the ground. In this case, the edges of the trap should protrude above the ground level. Otherwise, the gardener runs the risk of poisoning animals and birds. After a few days, the contents of the trap, along with the dead shellfish, should be disposed of, and then pour a new portion of beer into the trap and wait for the gastropod "guests".
Ammonia
The use of ammonia against pests is one of the favorite folk ways the fight against gastropods. For processing, it is necessary to prepare the drug by dissolving two tablespoons of ammonia in one liter of water. With a home-obtained product, it is necessary to process (spray) all plants where traces of slugs have only been noticed. The ammonia solution does not in any way affect the formation and development of plantings, but gastropods have a hard time. They become covered with a thick white mass and soon die.
Salt
A simple and at the same time simply necessary product in every kitchen can help get rid of garden slugs. It is enough just to sprinkle salt around the perimeter of the planting of vegetables and berries. This will be enough to prevent uninvited gastropods "guests" from spoiling country beds... Slugs are afraid of salt, as its action contributes to the erosion of shellfish. However, there is also one "but" here. The salt can get wet and soak into the soil. To prevent this from happening, it is advisable to sprinkle salt on some kind of coating (for example, a film).
Plants
There are some plants that do not tolerate slugs. These include garlic, lavender, dill, iris, parsley. They can be planted in the immediate vicinity of cabbage or tomato plantings. The smell of "unloved" plants will scare away slugs, and they will not spoil the harvest of vegetables and fruits.
Regular weeding
Regular weeding of plantings will help the gardener effectively and in a timely manner to fight gastropod pests. In the event that the summer resident forgets to weed the garden in time, the slugs get an excellent opportunity not only to comfortably place them in the shade of the weeds, but also to lay eggs. Therefore, regular weeding will avoid the breeding of slugs, as well as their placement in the immediate vicinity of vegetable crops... Regular loosening of the soil will destroy the laid eggs of slugs.
Boiling water
Slugs can't stand high temperatures... If the gardener noticed that in the late afternoon these uninvited guests began to fill, for example, planting cabbage, you can try to pour over them hot water... Such watering will not harm the planting of cabbage. The water temperature should be no higher than +60 degrees. Such a "shower", if it does not kill the pests, will definitely scare them off the cabbage plantings.
Mulching
This method is often used by gardeners. European countries... You can mulch plantings with sawdust. A pest will never climb on such a bed, because he can injure his tender abdomen about sawdust.
In the fight against slugs, one thing must be remembered: the best measure of protection against gastropod pests is to implement regular preventive measures.