Slugs...what are they good for?
Absolutely nothing I hear you cry?
Well, according to my research just one slug can produce 40,000 offspring, so they are good for something!
According to the RHS
a slug problem can be diagnosed by the presence of one or all of the following symptoms;
Well I have a slug problem down on the allotment, these two photos are pretty evident;
You can see the slime trail, you can see the slug!!! And this is the effect it had on the first strawberry of the season, the inside of the tender tasty looking fruit has been completely rasped out.
researchers in Hawaii have found that a 1 to 2% solution of caffeine will kill slugs and a 0.1% solution will deter them if is sprayed on leaves. However, this latter strength solution also scorched the young leaves of cabbages. They were using purified caffeine and a 2% solution would be lethal to most things including beneficial insects. It appears to act on the nervous system. Instant coffee contains 0.05% caffeine so it might be possible to use it as a deterrent. It would probably have to be continually applied especially in wet weather and it is not known if it is harmful to other beneficial creatures. Some people already use spent coffee grounds to deter, but it is not very effective. Further work is being carried out so a suitable formulation which might be safe to use on food crops as well, may be available in the future. The spent coffee grounds can be spread around vulnerable plants and they don't like to crawl over it - any remaining caffeine could also be affecting them; it is said that the slugs are stupefied by the caffeine and perform crazy dances before slithering away!
A crazy caffeine slug dance is something I would love to see... Might take the coffee grounds to the plot tomorrow.
However, I have already sprinkled the old slug pellets around.
Well, according to my research just one slug can produce 40,000 offspring, so they are good for something!
According to the RHS
a slug problem can be diagnosed by the presence of one or all of the following symptoms;
- Slime trails
- Irregular holes in plants (made by the rasping teeth)
- The presence of black keeled slugs, living underground and in potato tubers
You can see the slime trail, you can see the slug!!! And this is the effect it had on the first strawberry of the season, the inside of the tender tasty looking fruit has been completely rasped out.
Down garden services have some very interesting methods of controlling slugs, my favourite is this, I quote from their website,
A crazy caffeine slug dance is something I would love to see... Might take the coffee grounds to the plot tomorrow.
However, I have already sprinkled the old slug pellets around.
http://www.dorktower.com/files/2010/02/SlugIIIColor.gif
Crushed egg shells around plants stops the ma's they don't like crawling over sharp edges and human hair is another one saving sticks to their bodies. If all else fails try beer! They are attracted to it and get tipsy! You sink a jar containing beer into the ground away from your plants. I like this kne best. They'd have happy deaths!
ReplyDeleteOops some dreadful misspelled words! Makes funny reading though!
ReplyDeleteOut of date beer worked well for me, but cannot do it now as the dog drinks it!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that beer could go out of date - surely it just matures with age.
ReplyDeleteOK - the old one I heard was Non Alcoholic Beer in a drop trap... I've never tested it, but it keeps coming back and is definitely one I'm going to try (with gauze over the top to stop the dogs :)). But at least they're big slugs - it's the little ones that do the real damage :) M.
ReplyDelete