slugs... Slugs... SLUGS everywhere...

My cabbages, brussel sprouts, broccoli, lettuce... even some green onions are being viciously attacked all of a sudden.

I have a huge amount of eggshell spread at the base of (almost) every plant (I am a big baker so have LOTS of eggshell). I have pennies (older than 1980) spread around two entire rows (in circles around the base of the plants). I ALSO have that copper wire spread around two rows as well.... nothing seems to be stoping these little black slugs?! I also did the toilet paper roll thing around the base of every plant.

I tried some beer traps a few weeks ago and caught a few, but this seems ineffective in the rain?

Just went out there this morning and the plants are being swarmed!!

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Meghan

 

Thoughts? Not really. Sympathy, yes.
The most sucessful people I know in the field of slug control, are those who manually pick them, consistently. The one drops them in a bucket of salty water to fill them, the other uses regular water, fills the bucket to brim & puts a tight fitting lid on it. Paying children works well for both slugs & snails. Don't tell the LRB though & be sure to carry WCB, liability insurance & submit your HST return quarterly.

Don't look at me as an example. I just do spot control manually, use the new-fangled slug bait, the old stuff in oatmeal (works better IMO) as well, whine & complain etc.

gb

 

My sympathies also. It sounds like your doing just about everything.

You say you bake a lot - have you ever seen The best Washington State slug recipes by Frank R Howard (Author)?

Constant, early morning hand picking is still the best method. I use an old, thin pairing knife and a milk jug with a bit of salty water.. Here in the States we can get "Sluggo", safe for use around animals. Don't know if it's sold in Canada. It works quite well.

Salt works very well but don't use so much that it contaminates your soil, just a few grains directly on the slug then remove the slug. 2010 will go down as the year of the slug! ;)) barb

 

I have been quite successful with Lee Valley's Copper Blocker

It is a wire mesh product that you can put in a ring around the plant you want to protect. It is better than the odd bit of copper as it lays flat on the ground and covers the entire circumference of the plant with no breaks (Note that the photo at Lee Valley shows this standing upright...but I simply laid it flat on the ground. I don't know if you could get the same good results that I have if you put it around the entire vegetable plot...It is probably too late now, however....but it might be worth a try for next year.

I see that you said you had tried copper wire...was that this product? If so, did you make sure there are no gaps? Slugs are quite tenacious and will exploit any weakness in your defenses!!!

Cindy

 

Hmmm... sounds like I might just have to get out there every morning and pick the little suckers off! Damn. First time attempting a Fall/Winter garden and not getting a great start so far.

Cindy - I do have 25ft of the Lee Valley copper wire wrapped around two rows. Perhaps I need to place it closer to the actual plants? I have it standing up like in the picture but when I laid it down (a couple of weeks ago) I noticed a large slug trail right over it!! Earlier this year I had it wrapped around the lettuce/spinach and one row of peas and it did seem to help then, but now I am just getting decimated!

Bah humbug!

Meghan

 

Forgot to say - THANK YOU for all your tips, support and commiserating!!