How to get rid of slugs in the garden

Why are slugs dangerous?

Gluttonous mollusks love to eat leaves and fruits. They attack many plants: cabbage, peppers (with the exception of bitter varieties), eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, lettuce, peas, carrots and sorrel most often suffer in the garden. Slugs also eat ornamental crops and flowers with pleasure.

If nothing is done, the pests will gradually eat the plants, and you will be left without harvest.

How to determine that slugs have settled on plants

Mollusks thrive best in cool and humid conditions. They are activated in the summer, on rainy and cool days, and the peak of their harmful activity falls on

September. Unlike snails, slugs are not protected by a shell, so they try to hide from sunlight during the day. They come out to hunt after dark and enjoy a late plant supper all night long.

Perhaps you will not meet the slugs themselves in the garden. But their presence will be indicated by holes in the leaves (usually with jagged edges), as well as holes in the fruits. It happens that even on a whole tops you can see traces of the movement of pests - translucent white-silver stripes.

How to get rid of slugs with beer traps

Take half-liter cans or plastic cups and fill them with beer about a third. Bury one or more of these traps in areas where slugs are most concentrated so that the neck of the container is almost level with the ground. Pests will appreciate the free foam party, go for the smell, fall into the jar and never be able to get out of it. In the morning, all you have to do is collect hangover slugs, throw them away or burn them.

By the way, beer in this recipe can be replaced with sour milk or whey.

How to deal with slugs with potassium salt

Dilute 1 kg of potassium salt in 10 liters of water. Wait until the liquid begins to darken. Spray the plant leaves and the soil around them generously with the solution. Repeat the procedure after 20-30 minutes.

How to get rid of slugs with the help of "pollination"

The point of this method is to sprinkle the plants and the soil around them with various powders that slugs do not like. For example, for 1 m² of beds you will need 30–40 g of superphosphate or 30 g of slaked lime. You can also make a mixture of 25 g of tobacco dust and 25 g of slaked lime. Or take 300 g of wood ash. Such "pollination" should be carried out in the evening after dark and repeated after 1-2 days.

How to treat plants from slugs with a mustard solution

Take 150 g of mustard powder and dilute it in 10 liters of water. In the evening spray with this solution, plants and soil in the garden. Repeat the procedure after 1-2 days.

How to deal with slugs with drugs

In the battle with mollusks, special means are effective - insecticides. True, only those that are directed specifically against slugs and snails will do. Among the chemicals, choose from the following: Actellik, Rubit, Slug Eater, Meta, Thunderstorm.

However, if the harvest is already on the way, it is better to choose biological agents - for example, ExtraFlor, Sumin or Limacid. Before using any drug, carefully read the instructions: it indicates the consumption rates and frequency of treatments for each crop, as well as precautions.

How to protect plants from slugs in the future

These pests cannot tolerate the smells of thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, lavender, and marigold. Plant them in a flower bed, along the beds or between vegetables. You will get a double benefit: protection from slugs plus a crop of herbs or decoration of the site.

Another trick is to create obstacles for the mollusks. A sensitive abdomen does not allow them to move on sharp and rough surfaces. Take fine chopped gravel, fresh nettles, sawdust, coffee grounds, nut or egg shells and sprinkle a couple of centimeters in a layer on the soil around the plants.