Irregularly shaped holes in the leaves and fruits of plants almost completely signal to the summer resident about the invasion of uninvited mollusks on the site, which will be oh so difficult to get rid of using folk methods! But let's talk about everything in order.
If on your site there are accumulations of plant debris, decking, greenhouses, tall grass or constant dense shade, and even rain in warm weather - rest assured, the mollusks are already right there. Which means expect trouble.
What are the dangers and what are their features?
In one night, several dozen slugs can easily destroy a dozen seedlings of cabbage, strawberries, and tomatoes.
Gastropods have sickle-shaped mouthparts containing a large number of small teeth. Their taste preferences are diverse, therefore, from mid-May, invasions of these pests in the garden and vegetable garden have been observed.
Mollusks live in cool, moist places. They cannot tolerate dry climates. Many gardeners and gardeners have taken this important factor as a basis in their control methods.
Along with the destruction of the soft ground parts of plants, snails and slugs are capable of carrying microscopic parasites, infecting garden crops. This provokes the development of serious diseases, which, in the absence of appropriate measures, leads to the death of the entire bush and lack of harvest.
The holes formed on the surface of the leaf are the entrance gates for bacterial and fungal infections. If there are too many slugs, they may well leave behind only crop stems, which indicates the need to control the gastropod population in the area.
Snail – definition, characteristics, behavior
The snail is a gastropod with a spiral shell. The shell is large enough to pull the entire animal into it when threatened. There are sea snails, freshwater snails and landscape snails. The largest snail is the giant African snail.
Figure 3: Snail
Snails also have the same anatomy as a slug. The lungs, liver, stomach, kidneys and heart are contained within their shell.
Figure 4: Anatomy of the cochlea
Most snails are herbivores, while some, such as land snails, consume other land snails.
Helpful tools for pest control
Before using chemicals, you can try to reduce the slug population manually. Yes, it will take some time and require manual labor, but you can be sure that the soil does not contain harmful compounds that can penetrate into fruits and vegetables.
Advantages:
- Absolute safety.
- Destruction of a large number of slugs at once.
- Effective in small garden and summer cottage areas.
- Can be used on any type of soil.
Flaws:
- Ineffective over large areas of land.
- Requires manual labor.
It is easier to fight slugs, since they lack a protective shell and react more sharply to changes in the external environment. Snails are more protected, but they can also be dealt with if you work hard.
Watering and mulch
Since gastropods love moisture, they need to be deprived of these comfortable conditions. To do this, use drip point irrigation and mulching the surface of the earth around the plant.
Necessary:
- In the hole next to the seedling, place a plastic bottle cut to half, neck down.
- The top of the bottle should rise 3-5 cm above the soil surface.
- The ground around the seedling should be sprinkled with a thin layer of mustard powder, and a thick layer of mulch should be laid on top.
- Hay, grass, and straw are suitable as mulch.
- Watering should be done exclusively through a bottle. This way, moisture is delivered directly to the roots, and the root zone always remains dry.
- Mustard repels pests and also causes severe burns to the mollusk's body upon contact.
Since there is no constant watering from the surface of the earth, there is no need for hilling. This significantly reduces manual labor costs.
Manual collection
When there are a lot of snails on the site, their population is reduced by hand collection.
To do this you need:
- Take a piece of polyethylene or fabric and soak it in polyethylene.
- Place it near the plants most loved by slugs in the evening.
- In the morning (6-7 hours), lift the polyethylene and collect all the pests in a jar.
- You can destroy them by pouring a small amount of vinegar.
It’s paradoxical, but those gardeners who claim that there are no such problems on their site can collect about 20-30 individuals in one night.
The procedure is carried out for 3 days in a row, after which they take a break for 1 day and repeat for another 3 days. This simple manipulation is enough once a month to get rid of slugs and snails without chemicals.
The most common traps
If there is no opportunity (and no desire) to tinker with small slugs, they prepare traps, the contents of which are destructive to pests and absolutely safe for plants and humans.
The most effective of them are:
- Trap made of corn flour and mustard powder - take a small pinch of crushed mustard for 1 tablespoon of flour. Place in a saucer with a low side or nylon lids. Place under the stems of cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers. Cornmeal causes indigestion in the digestive system, which kills the slug.
- Salt and meat - take a plastic glass or bottle without a neck, bury it in the ground to its full depth so that the upper part is flush with the soil surface. Pour warm water in which 6 tablespoons of table salt are dissolved. A bottle cap is placed on the surface of the water, into which the bait is placed. It is best to take boiled or fried meat. Following the smell, the snails crawl towards the bait, after which they fall into a salty solution, which is destructive to their delicate body.
- Beer trap - several holes are made in a plastic bottle with a small amount of beer so that the drink drips slowly and attracts slugs. Early in the morning, the bottle will be surrounded by more than a dozen gastropods, which can be easily collected by hand and destroyed.
As additional protection for the beds, pollination is used with a mixture of wood ash and ground wormwood. To do this, you need to take 4 cups of ash and half a cup of dry ground wormwood herb. Sprinkle around the perimeter of the bed where there is no watering and the soil is dry.
Expert opinion
Mityuk Stefania Bogdanovna
This mixture is extremely destructive for gastropods, which will help protect individual beds and bushes from invasions. This method is especially effective when growing cabbage.
Evening coffee
If there are too many snails and traps are ineffective, you can spray cabbage, pepper and tomato plants with weak coffee.
To do this, take 1 liter of warm water, add a few drops of detergent or liquid soap (for better adhesion) and dissolve 3 tablespoons of the cheapest coffee without sugar or additives. Spray the plant after evening watering in dry, windless weather.
The smell of coffee repels pests, and not just slugs and snails. And if you scatter the remains of brewed natural coffee under the bushes, the gastropods will leave the territory forever.
Safety precautions for use
The slug beetle is slightly toxic to animals, aquatic inhabitants and birds, and has a low impact on groundwater. After using the insecticide, all personal protective equipment and clothing are washed and cleaned separately from other things. Even if gloves were used, hands should be washed with soap and water after handling the insecticide. Use Slime Eater away from children and make sure that the granules do not fall into their hands in the future. Animals should also not come into contact with the drug.
Storage of the Slug Eater is permitted away from food. It should not be kept near medications, children's toys, or animal feed. The packaging must be closed and placed in a dry, dark place.
Smoking and eating are prohibited in the treated area.
Chemicals
If you cannot do without chemicals, then preference should be given only to the best products that have maximum safety for the soil and the crops planted in it.
Advantages:
- Long-term protection of the garden.
- Efficiency does not depend on the presence of precipitation.
- Quickly destroys large populations of gastropods.
- Easy to use
Flaws:
- Precautions must be taken.
Since slug repellents contain different chemicals, it is extremely important to maintain dosages per square meter. An excess of the active substance leads to soil intoxication and the death of beneficial bacteria that determine its fertility.
"Slug Eater"
Available in the form of small granules, which should be spread under plant bushes. For work, it is important to use protective rubber gloves, and also to prevent contact of the product with mucous membranes. Effective for saving strawberries, wild strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes and cabbage. One package is enough to process 10 squares of land. The effect lasts for a month.
In rainy weather, traps are installed in parallel with chemicals, which increase the chances of getting rid of pests. If there are concerns that toxic chemicals may get into the soil, then the product is placed on strips of polyethylene and then removed from the site.
"Storm"
The product contains small blue granules that have an attractive odor to slugs and snails. Causes disruption of the digestive system and rapid death. It should be laid out between rows in continuous strips, which increases efficiency.
It is not recommended to exceed the dosage norms, and when laying out, protect your hands and eyes from contact with the product. The drug is resistant to high humidity and does not lose effectiveness when used in the rain.
"Superphosphate"
This granular fertilizer is used when planting seedlings in open ground, as well as to replenish phosphorus and potassium deficiency. To combat snails, it is enough to scatter small grains near the plant. When eating this substance, slugs die within 1-2 hours. When it rains and the granules dissolve, they will become an excellent fertilizer for the plant.
Expert opinion
Mityuk Stefania Bogdanovna
Double benefit in the form of feeding and slug control. If it is necessary to destroy snails, it is important to sprinkle superphosphate in shady areas of the garden, as well as under bushes. Raspberries, grapes, and black currants especially need superphosphate.
Electrical barriers
This method will not reduce the number of pests, but will only limit their access to plants and fruits. Therefore, electrical barriers are best used in greenhouses. Structurally, the barrier is a self-adhesive tape with exposed current conductors.
Electric barrier against slugs
Attention! The current strength and voltage in electrical barriers are so small that they are not that dangerous to humans; a person is not even able to feel the discharge.
The principle of operation of an electrical barrier is that when a slug or snail comes into contact with the conductors, they receive a small discharge, become confused and “change their mind” to move further towards the intended target in the form of a ripe squash or squash.
General tips and recommendations for summer residents
To reduce the number of pests in your garden plot, remember:
- Watering is best done through a container installed directly into the ground. Dry soil is unsuitable for gastropods.
- Mustard and salt sprinkled under a bush can get rid of slugs, but when they seep into the soil they provoke a violation of the optimal pH balance.
- Do not allow weeds to grow in the area. Grass retains moisture, and slugs thrive in it, even in the hottest and driest weather.
- Don't be lazy about setting traps. They will help to quickly collect parasites without polluting the garden with harmful substances.
- Preventative collection of slugs as a morning warm-up will help not only stretch the body, but also remove gastropods from the area.
Have you ever had to deal with snails or slugs in your garden?
All the time! Never
Don’t think that there is a product that you can scatter on the ground and it will do its job. Gardening is always work, and chemicals tend to accumulate and poison the plantings. Are such toxic harvests necessary, or maybe you have the energy and time to collect snails several times a week?
Types of slugs
Slugs begin their invasion of gardens in the spring: young seedlings and germinating seeds are attacked by young mollusks hatched from eggs. Young animals, despite their small size, are surprisingly voracious and can absorb more food than their own weight. If you do not take protective measures, then after 2 months the pests are ready to reproduce and lay eggs. And by autumn, especially if the summer is wet, the next peak in the number of slugs is observed. In the table below you can see the main types of slugs that can be found in gardens.
conclusions
In conclusion, it can be noted that although chemicals do their job, they remain chemicals, substances foreign to the soil and the beneficial bacteria inhabiting it. There is no need to think that the poisons themselves will do all the work, and you will only reap the harvest. Even if this is so, how useful will the fruits be and will they be at all?
Simple recommendations for traps and barriers will not only help prevent slug infestations, but will also make the soil more fertile. And remember one wise thought, which goes back far to our ancestors: “Bowing to the earth is not alien, it will thank you a hundredfold!”
Preventing slugs
Please note that limiting the spread of slugs is a labor-intensive process that must be carried out every year. There are many preventative measures, the regular implementation of which will help limit the spread of the Spanish slug - this includes regular mowing of roadsides, ditches, and grassy areas near slug habitats.
It is advisable to remove the mown grass so that slugs do not have the opportunity to hide. Given that slugs are also attracted to compost, it is recommended to use closed compost bins that do not allow slugs to enter or move around.
