Finally...Organic Slug Control that Works!

Did you know that the average garden contains more than 15,000

slug

s? No wonder our plants are nibbled or even destroyed! Hi, I'm Ben and today I want to help you

control

your

slug

problems in the most natural way possible. Spoiler alert, that means there's no room for slugs. To take a step forward we will have to think like a slug. I know what you're thinking, but it's true;  Slugs aren't all bad. We've all had that sinking feeling when we go out to the garden and find our seedlings cut to the ground or our precious plants riddled with holes, those telltale trails of slime that give away the culprits.   But while slugs test gardeners' patience, they actually offer some benefits too.   For example, slugs found in your compost pile actually help with the entire decomposition process, speeding up the process.

Many slugs aren't even that bothered by vegetables, but rather by algae. And then there's the fact that they help feed the natural ecosystem. Think of all the animals that eat slugs: there are types of beetles, there are birds, of course, and amphibians like frogs and toads.   I think of slugs as weeds; They are not inherently bad, it is just that they can be in the wrong place and in our case we simply do not want them near our precious plants or vegetables. So we shouldn't try to eradicate slugs completely, good luck with that anyway, but simply reduce populations to a more acceptable level, especially around things like leafy greens and vulnerable plants like recently planted seedlings.

Gardeners and slugs can live together in relative harmony. So, let's find out how. The first step to achieving a more manageable slug population is to eliminate hiding places in and around your orchard. That includes the grass, so keep the grass nice and trim it at least around your vegetable gardens. You can let the grass grow a little longer in other parts of the garden because it's good for wildlife, but around your vegetable beds just make sure it's nice and trimmed. You see, the thing about tall grass is that it offers lots of cool, moist hiding places, which is obviously something our slugs love.

The next step is to remove any debris that is lying around: overturned pots, old sacks or in my case, wooden boards that I have lying around from holding up the row covers to protect these newly planted plants here.   And in fact, if I look underneath, yes, it provides a perfectly protected opportunity for these slimy slimies to hide. Look at that, they have slugs! Thank goodness I'm going to remove them.   And then work inside the beds to remove dead, dying and yellowing leaves and of course weeds too. By removing all this excess vegetation in the compost pile, you keep things more open, improve airflow, and help the surface of the soil dry out so it's not as favorable for slugs and snails.

And all these tips, by the way, also apply to snails.   Having all these collected slugs in my hand really reminds me of when I was young, I went on an exchange trip to France and stayed with a family who kept snails in their garage specifically for eating. I remember seeing them trying to escape while the adults chatted and asked them to move on, but unfortunately they never did and they were picked up again and presumably eaten a few months later!   Now is the time to go on the offensive by collecting or trapping slugs to relocate them away from your precious crops.

The easiest way to do this is to reset some of the stashes you've already removed. Now this may seem counterintuitive, but by placing slug caches in carefully considered locations, you can collect several slugs at once and then eliminate them.   So the soil here is pretty dry, so I'm going to start by wetting it like this, nice and moist, like the slugs love, and then I'm going to lay our wooden board on top.   Now all I'm going to do is leave it there and then check back in the morning to see what's underneath. I'll pick up the slugs, take them to the compost pile, and then replace the board.   Another thing you can do is use cupped citrus peels like this grapefruit.

This provides a great hiding place for our slugs.  Just place it on the ground, maybe just prop it up slightly so they can get in from below.  Another very effective thing is hollowed out coconut shells and you can place one in each corner of your bed to have protection all around. And then there's the beer. Now I love beer like anyone else, and apparently so do our slugs!   Now don't waste any craft beer, any really good beer. Just use any cheap old nonsense. And dig a hole for your slug trap. I use a mold.  Just leave it slightly elevated above the ground.

The slugs will still get in, but they will stop things like ground beetles from accidentally slipping in and drowning, we don't want that. Then simply fill it with your beer. In fact, I've heard that the beer of choice for slugs is strong beer like Guinness. I'm not making this up, apparently it's true! So add your beer that way and then you might want to cover it so the slugs can still get in if it's going to rain. Otherwise, just leave it uncovered and then check it again every few days, remove any debris that's there and eventually you'll need to replace the beer too.

If you want to get rid of the slugs you've collected, you have some pretty gruesome options at your disposal: you can drown them in a bucket of water, crush them, cut them in half... I guess it depends on how squeamish you are. Personally I don't have the heart to do all that. I'll just relocate them alive and then hope they don't find their way back! Now, if you really want to make a quick impact on the slug population, then go slug hunting.   You want to go out when the slugs are most likely to be gorging and feasting on your plants and that is shortly after sunset.

Now you will need two things for this: you will need a bucket to collect the slugs and of course a flashlight. If you can do this on a rainy night, all the better because there will be more. Check the plants thoroughly, place them in their bucket, and then dispose of them away from growing areas;  a compost heap or a wooded area. Come back the next night and the next to pick up the stragglers and you'll make a really noticeable dent in those slugs. Don't forget that there are many visitors to the garden who will be happy to care for those maddening mollusks.

Chief among them are amphibians such as frogs and toads. Now you can encourage them to come into your garden by having some type of standing water; a bucket sunk into the ground, something like that filled with water or in my case just a simple preformed pond.   And this one has some rocks that form a sloping bank on the side so that if a non-aquatic animal falls, it can swim to the side and get out.  Also around the pond I have tall grass. Now we don't want it to be right next to the garden, but close here, but a little further away is ideal.

Amphibians, frogs and toads, will hide here outdoors in the shade during the day and then come out into the rest of the garden in search of dinner later.   Many insects are also excellent for slug

control

. I always find ground beetles in my wood chips and that's really good news because ground beetles are very effective slug predators.   Including any type of insect hotel or wood pile in your garden provides plenty of opportunities for insects and carnivorous beetles, great for catching those slugs. Now a quick warning: If you have termites in your area, you may want to err on the side of caution and locate those mounds very far from your house.

Slugs love fresh, juicy growth and a moist environment, so let's keep this in mind so we can garden smartly and not leave ourselves open to attack. Water in the morning if possible because this will give the soil surface enough time to dry during the day before the slugs emerge at night.   You can protect recent transplants with cloches or anything that creates a physical barrier to keep slugs out, such as bottomless pots simply anchored in place.   Vulnerable plants can always be planted in pots or trays away from growing areas; Then, when planted outside, they will be much larger, more robust and better able to resist slug attack.

I'm not a big fan of slug pellets; They are great for killing slugs, but they can also have a knock-on effect higher up the food chain.   They often contain really nasty chemicals that you don't want in the natural environment. Now, the worst slug pellets contain a chemical called metaldehyde which is actually banned in many countries, including mine. However, slug pellets are quite unpleasant, so we should look for alternatives. I have used straw in the past as mulch around plants such as tomatoes and of course strawberries, but also to grow a wide variety of no-dig potatoes.   But in some climates straw can harbor slugs, so if you find that a problem, use more crumbly mulches, like old garden mulch.

Now potato tubers themselves can also be nibbled by slugs and main crop potatoes are especially vulnerable to this, probably because they are left in the ground for too long once they are ready. If you have a lot of slugs in your garden, be cautious; Spread them all out and store them on the surface. It's also worth noting that some potato varieties are more susceptible to slugs than others.   One option is to apply microscopic nematodes to soil affected by slugs. Nematodes are simply mixed with water and then simply watered over the affected soil once it has warmed enough in the spring.

Now, what nematodes do is they find their way inside the slugs, then they hit them with a bacteria and basically cause them to die. It sounds pretty daunting, but they don't have any collateral damage, so it's a really safe way to control slugs. Now I'm sure you've read or seen many different barriers recommended as effective against slugs. Well, the Royal Horticultural Society did a study on this;   He tested the effectiveness of various barriers, including copper tape, eggshells, bark mulch, sharp grit, and I think they were wool pellets, and you know what? He found that each of them was useless!

And I've read other studies that have come to exactly the same conclusion. However, there is one barrier that does seem promising and it is called diatomaceous earth. Now what it is, is ground silica rock and it is ground into a fine powder like this. It's really really... it's a real desiccant, so it makes the slugs, you know, take all the moisture out of them.   So we can apply this around our plants because they really won't want to cross it. Now, if you want to use diatomaceous earth, if it's windy in any way, it's safer to just apply a mask and then place it around your plants like this.  Now, one thing you will have to keep in mind is that if it gets wet it stops being effective so you will have to reapply it.

If you want to use diatomaceous earth (or just DE for short), make sure it is food grade because it is the most effective. It's not exactly cheap, so consider its use very carefully and only use it near the most prized plants. At the end of the day, perseverance really pays off. Stay tidy, eliminate hiding places and, when necessary, go out and check for slugs.   Now, of course, there are tons of tips on how to control slugs and if you have a method that I haven't mentioned today, I'd love to hear it, so share it below in the comments and let everyone know. so we can all benefit.

I'd love for you to subscribe, ring the notification bell on your way out and why not like this video if you find it useful, because it helps us. Next week we'll get acquainted with corn as we take giant steps toward perfectly filled ears every time. If you're growing corn, you really don't want to miss it, so on that note, I'll see you next time.