Does anyone have a slug killer solution? and does it actually -kill- the slugs?
The best I found was Nematodes but they are only sold in the UK and not approved for us in the US. Phasmarhabditishermaphrodita, Phasmarhabditiscalifornica, Phasmarhabditispapillosa. Californica/papillosa are naturally found in California.
The second best is Spinosad which is a chemical found in a bacteria(Saccharopolyspora spinosa) isolated from the soil in an old sugar factory in like the domican republic.
The third best is iron/phosphate bait.
HOWEVER apparently there is some mention of allicin which is a chemical found in Garlic, actually kills slugs after it oxidizesā¦
There is this guy, who took the JADAM slug killer to the next level or at least I assume he is using the JADAM recipe with Lye (sodium hydroxide)
But I have only found that his is the only reference to the solution actually working to kill.
I am actually more surprised I havenāt found some native bacteria or micro-organism that attacks them.
Yes, itās been a bad year for slugs here. A lot of rain. I donāt drink beer anymore and that was the only solution I ever knew about. I was wondering if they would be attracted to just a container of yeast water.
Sean,
Have you tried D.E. powder on ground / leaves? (diatomaceous earth). Helped for slugs in strawberry patch. The beer in a shallow dish works too. Also just go out with a flashlight and gloves on and pick off and dispose of the big ones after dark. Helped for us years agoā¦
My wife has good luck putting beer in shallow pans, she said it works great. I donāt know what brand your slugs prefer,(hopefully not Bud light) hers prefer Yuengling.
I did read DE works, an forgot to mention it. But it washes off with rain. I am planting a bunch of elderberries, and slugs really enjoy eating those. But they are kind of just another brush with prettier flowers, so I am not going to waste a lot of time trying to maintain them.
The second issue is I just read where a guy had to replant 40 acres of beans because slugs living in his heavy cover crop residue ate the first planting. I was planning on planting cereal rye in the fall, and that in theory should break up the clay, but then I may have a slug issue in the planting that follows.
Try it! Add like corn syrup or sugar to one and see which one they like better.
Slugs might be smarter then I give them credit for. I prefer Yuengling over Bud Light too. between this and Tomās post it makes me wonder what they are attracted to, and the all the research I have done on the Nematodes, it makes me wonder if there is a nematode that hasnāt been discovered since a new one was discovered in like 2020 i think, that is natural to the area, which probably means soil sampling, compost extract and spray it on a bunch of slugs to see if any die.
Hi All
A few pictures of this years (our first) results with the 32 inch tall raised bed planters.
The peas and some other have rapid grown too tall and weāve learned we will have to be better with growing wire supports:
Most of the pea vines grew too heavy falling over choking their vines stems.
But that leads to the realization we-can-here, early-grow, peas for then hot weather drying and storing! Hurrah! A carbohydrate food source.
Absolutely no weeds in the raised beds. Easy to hand wand water.
The plots surronds tall grasses and weeds are very troublesome. The āeasyā way would be to have herbicide sprayed these areas. Nope. Not for us. Wheel barrows and wheel barrows of early-on hand dug-up weeds and grasses. Then just hand pulling long stemmed weeds. Hand sheared off grasses clumps going to seed.
As seem . . . we age, weaken, tire, and did not keep up.
Canāt power string weed eat there; not wanting to mar up the paint on the raised beds. Also some blueberry bushes and roses now lost around the plot edges. Iāve nicked them in the past trying with power. Sigh. Weeds grow good here.
Yeah the other kind too.
Ha! But no slug problems. Or blights so far.
S.U.
Do a compost extract so you get some good beneficial microbes to spray in your soil. It should be nice sweet smelling. It will help improve disease resistance among other things. Worm castings work as well if not better.
A small victory. Weāve been trying to find a way to feed the goats that will keep most of the feed off the ground long enough for them to eat it. This cobbled together feeder seems to work. No stuck horns, no climbing by athletic goats (so far). Just a pallet that doesnāt have much woodwork underneath, lashed to the fence next to the barn, and supported by a handy pole. You canāt see it in the photo, but the goats pull the hay down through the slots in the pallet. Any that falls gets eaten by the other goats. The big goats just stand there and reach up, the little guys put fore-hooves on the fence (or momma) and get their own. There are lots of ways to improve it, but itās encouraging that it works as a start.
Oh, nooo! Expensive. You could have pulled a a couple perch down the lake.
Also, I keep telling Johan he needs a milk cow. Maybe you do too - you could have had cream to those strawberries - milk, cheese and all sorts of diary products. Johan claims itās too much work. I find him a bit lazy
My wife wrinkles her nose and looks at me evilly when I say I want to go fishing.
I understand you have land too, so I can buy milk from you if you get cows?
Iāve had cows so Iāve done my part, but it made a lot more sense to have cows than sheep.
Iām with Johan about the too much work. I have a wife and dog to push me around. Donāt need a cow crying about milking time. Still I wish I had a neighbor with one I could buy from. I have considered dairy goats though but then Iād have to deal with Billy and plus we have a lot of bears around here.
I thought I would post a couple of garden progress videos. Our last frost date in June 1st so even though we didnāt have a frost in May I didnāt take a chance and only planted out frost intolerant starts the first week in June.
Wow, what a garden, you must spend a lot of time in your garden.
Iām very surprised that you can grow so much outdoors without covering, we seem to have about the same climate.
I have been at about 10 degrees c. (50f) in the mornings and 22c (70f) during the day for a while now, what are your temperatures?
Our summer temps are normally high 70āsF and mid to high 50āsF at night Jan. Seldom see a 90F. I am sun intolerant due to a severe heat stroke when I was 22 yrs old. I can only work a couple hours in the morning or late in the afternoon unless itās overcast, but yes, I could not grow like this when I had a Job. I try and use weed cloth and heavy mulch to cut down on the weeding and I have all my tomatoes and squash surrounded by collars made from old plastic buckets or paint cans. That way I can weed wack right up the them without hitting the plants. That has cut down my maintenance times a lot. Itās really only wildlife that presents problems. So far that black plastic erosion control stuff I have around the perimeter is doing the job of keeping them out. I grow root crops in the greenhouse.
Made me think of my late grandfather. When I was a kid he tricked me to believe he faught with Tom Mix and other cowboys in Death Valley when he was young. The truth is he rarely went past the 50 signs at the end of the village. He used to cut out his own head on photos and glue it to cowboys in magazines as proof
I am planting a bunch of elderberries, and slugs really enjoy eating those. But they are kind of just another brush with prettier flowers, so I am not going to waste a lot of time trying to maintain them. 
