Getting rid of slugs in the garden forever

Who are the slugs

Slugs are not insects, but rather soft-bodied molluscs. Slugs never change because they are members of a clam type, along with a giant squid or sea snail. Unlike marine clams, our representative is equipped with one lung. Its shell is absent or represented only by a small shell, but this does not really matter.

Slugs are hermaphrodites, each with male and female reproductive organs.

Identification of slugs in the garden and dacha

Almost all slugs in the garden are gray or dark brown. Their length ranges from 2 to 3 centimeters. They hide in dark, damp places during the day.

Many people are asked: "Where do slugs come from?" But few people know the answer. This is because they are difficult to detect in soil due to their dark color and also because they only feed at night and hide during the day. If you realize that you have slugs, but you cannot find them, know that you are not alone.

Slugs in the country and in the garden leave a pronounced slimy mark in their places of stay and routes, so it is not important to see them, you just know where they were. When looking for mucus, look closely at the plants and the soil around them. It will be easiest to find it in the morning.

You can track slug activity in your garden by digging holes 10 centimeters wide and 15 deep. Cover these holes with a board and then check for slugs after three days.

Slugs lay offspring in moist soil, as well as in fertilizers. Their population is actively developing in conditions of coolness and moisture.

Harm from slugs in the garden

Slugs in the garden: pest photo

What do slugs eat? They will feed on almost everything in the garden - looking for holes and jagged edges on leaves and stems. The holes must have an irregular shape due to their specific structure of the mouth. They can use small seedlings whole.

Slugs may enjoy more of your garden, but their peak is beans, lettuce, cabbage, and tomatoes.

How to get rid of slugs in the garden?

You can create the perfect backyard slug trap by placing boards or pieces of cardboard on bare soil around your plants. Turn the boards over each morning and scrape the hiding garden slugs into large plastic containers. Cover them with a lid and place them in the freezer for three hours. When everything is frozen in there, throw them on the compost heap.

Place small saucers of beer around the garden to bring drunken death to the slugs. Or mix water with molasses, cornmeal, and baker's yeast to replace beer. These are great baits that can help you control the slug population in your garden.

Some slugs can be beer resistant and will crawl out of the saucer. If you find this happening, try creating a beer trap that they can't escape from using half a plastic bottle.

If necessary, get out and pick up slugs - this task is best done at dusk or dawn, before they find shelter from the heat of the day.

Alcohol has a detrimental effect on slugs, as it can penetrate the insect's wax armor and kill it on contact. Isopropanol (alcohol) works great and is easy to find, but make sure it is free of additives.Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) generally works best. Alcohol is generally sold in all stores. To create such a solution, mix water and 70 percent alcohol in equal proportions (or, if using 95 percent alcohol, mix 1 part alcohol with 1.5 parts water).

A spray of cold coffee, surprisingly, can also control these slugs, but they must completely hit them to be effective.

It has been shown that some plants, in turn, can also negatively affect slugs. If you have slugs and are having trouble eradicating them, try planting mint, for example, to reduce the damage from these pests.

Try this old-fashioned tip from the 1963 Old Farmer's Almanac: Oak leaf mulch is good for slugs. To control their population, our grandparents sprinkled lettuce, spinach, cabbage, or raw potato slices in the garden. Slugs gathered under these things, and the next morning they could be collected and destroyed. Frogs and toads are good slug hunters. Old but wise farmers have learned to use these simple materials for insect control. They also found that slugs don't like alkaline soil. Slaked lime, wood ash, slag, and sand were especially helpful against slugs.

Slugs in the garden: prevention

In early spring, it is a good idea to rake your garden to remove the wet debris that slugs love. Large pieces of wood also provide hiding places for slugs, so try not to use them either.

Water your garden only as needed to minimize wet areas where these pests collect.

Slugs make a great lunchtime gift for your chickens and ducks if you breed them. They will help by eating the slugs and their eggs. In addition, you can even turn to the help of snakes, and also do not forget about turtles and ground beetles, you can think about creating a habitat for birds that will like slugs very much.

Slugs in the garden experience unpleasant sensations when exposed to copper, this will definitely cause them to change their habitat. You can fence off your garden area with copper tape.