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Gardening InformationRid Your Garden of Slugs
by:
Marilyn Pokorney
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Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney
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Slugs are major pests of agriculture plants throughout the
world. They are annihilative pests of house gardens,
landscapes, nurseries, greenhouses, and field crops.
Slugs as well pose a health threat to humans, pets and life
by serving as intermediate hosts for parasites such as
lungworm.
Slugs are inactive in cold weather and hibernate in the
soil.
Heavy mulching and watering, required for productive and
beautiful gardens create
favorable conditions for slugs.
Slugs destroy plants by killing seeds or seedlings, by
destroying stems or growing points, or by reducing the leaf
area. Slug feeding may as well initiate mold growth or
rotting.
Slugs feed on a variety of living plants change of state holes in
leaves, flowers, fruit and young bark. They are as well
serious pests of ripening fruits, such as strawberries and
tomatoes, that are close to the ground. However, they wish
also feed on foliage and fruit of several trees favoring
citrus. Several plants that are seriously damaged include
artichokes, asparagus, basil, beans, cabbage, dahlia,
delphinium, hosta, lettuce, marigolds, and many a much plants
too many
to list here. To determine if damage is caused
by a slug or different insect, look for a clear, silvery secretion
trail.
Under ideal conditions, chemical baits, containing
metaldehyde, can be somewhat effective because this organic compound
paralyzes the slugs and they eventually die from
dehydration. However, under cool and wet conditions once
slugs are most active and troublesome, they can often
recover. And these chemicals are poisonous to cats, dogs,
birds and curious children.
Biological control provides an attractive alternative to
traditional control practices. Nematodes possess
exceptional potential as biocontrol agents for cuss slugs.
In Europe, a product as been with success
developed from
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, that is effective against a
wide variety of cuss slug and snail species and it targets
only slugs and snails.
It would-be be a perfect resolution for introduction into the US
but there are no publicised records of P. hermaphrodita
occurrence in the US. Thus, restrictive
issues command it's
introduction and marketing in the US.
Slugs do play a positive role in the environment. Because
slugs are as well scavengers consumption decaying vegetation, animal
feces, and carrion they help in breaking down rotten
materials thus serving to release nutrients back into the
soil.
Slugs are night feeders so night traps and brewage
traps are
the better route to catch and trap them. But there are many a
other methods established successful. One includes a really
common, but not well known, ingredient.
For much information:
http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/slugs.htm
Just about the author:
Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
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