hydroponic MH Home

Hydroponic Systems and Indoor Gardening Guide

Rid Your Garden of Slugs

by Marilyn Pokorney

Slugs are major pests of horticultural plants throughout the world. They are destructive pests of home gardens, landscapes, nurseries, greenhouses, and field crops.

Slugs also pose a health threat to humans, pets and wildlife 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 also initiate mold growth or rotting.

Slugs feed on a variety of living plants chewing holes in leaves, flowers, fruit and young bark. They are also serious pests of ripening fruits, such as strawberries and tomatoes, that are close to the ground. However, they will also feed on foliage and fruit of some trees favoring citrus. Some plants that are seriously damaged include artichokes, asparagus, basil, beans, cabbage, dahlia, delphinium, hosta, lettuce, marigolds, and many more plants too numerous to list here. To determine if damage is caused by a slug or other insect, look for a clear, silvery mucous trail.

Under ideal conditions, chemical baits, containing metaldehyde, can be somewhat effective because this aldehyde paralyzes the slugs and they eventually die from dehydration. However, under cool and wet conditions when 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 pest slugs.

In Europe a product as been successfully developed from Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, that is effective against a wide variety of pest slug and snail species and it targets only slugs and snails.

It would be a perfect solution for introduction into the US but there are no published records of P.hermaphrodita occurrence in the US. Thus, regulatory issues prohibit it's introduction and marketing in the US.

Slugs do play a positive role in the environment. Because slugs are also scavengers eating decaying vegetation, animal feces, and carrion they help in breaking down decomposing materials thus helping to release nutrients back into the soil.

Slugs are night feeders so night traps and beer traps are the best ways to catch and trap them. But there are many other methods proven successful. One includes a very common, but not well known, ingredient.

For more information: http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/slugs.htm

REQUIREMENTS FOR REPRINT:


You have permission to publish this article free of charge in your e-zine, newsletter, ebook, print publication or on your website ONLY if it remains unchanged and you include the copyright and author information (Resource Box) at the end. You may not use this article in any unsolicited commercial email (spam).

You may retrieve this article by:


Autoresponder:slugtips@getresponse.com


Website:http://www.apluswriting.net/articles/slugtips.txt

Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney

Please leave the resource box intact with an active link, and send a courtesy copy of the publication in which the article appears to:marilynp@nctc.net

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


marilynp@nctc.net

Welcome to our hydroponic article directory, the virtual library of various product lines and information from various sites. This section is intended to make it easy for you to browse through the many types of hydroponic systems, lighting options and even plant fertilizers and supplements.

If you find any other site with a large quantity of hydroponic, indoor lighting or greenhouse gardening related tips or reviews, let us know so can add it to this page.

hydroponic
hydroponic - Live Search News
Search results

Atkinson bans hydroponic equipment in SA cannabis crackdown - News.com.au
22 Jul 2008 at 12:51am
THE State Government has stepped up its war on hydroponic cannabis, making it illegal to possess the lamps and reflectors used to produce crops. Equipment used in clandestine drug laboratories also will be targeted by new laws aimed at stopping ...
Big Maine greenhouse expanding - Greenwich Time
23 Jul 2008 at 7:48pm
MADISON, Maine?New England's largest greenhouse grower of vine-ripened tomatoes plans to build a second greenhouse at its central Maine site, nearly doubling its year-round growing space. Backyard Farms LLC is scheduled to begin construction this ...
Economy drives business to D.C.-area supermarkets - Thepacker.com
23 Jul 2008 at 1:36pm
(July 23, 12:55 p.m.) The stagnating economy has sent more consumers to grocery stores. To save money, distributors in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore region say more people are eating at home. That shift has benefited the mid-Atlantic region?s ...
Dagga most used drug in SA, tik is greatest threat - Witness
23 Jul 2008 at 2:26pm
PRETORIA ? While cannabis is the drug most abused in South Africa, amphetamine-style stimulants like tik pose the greatest threat, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said yesterday. Presenting the annual World Drug Report 2008 in Pretoria ...
Altamonte cop, wife charged in drug plot - Orlando Sentinel
23 Jul 2008 at 4:32am
Clay Adams lived two lives: one as an Altamonte Springs cop, the other as a painkiller-addicted, marijuana grow-house operator who was scheming to kill a former supervisor. That's how authorities described it Tuesday when Adams, 36, and his wife ...


Buyer's Guide for Hydroponic Supplies

Navigation

Grow Lights
Hydroponic Systems
HPS systems
MH systems
Growing Accessories
Brand Directory
Buyer's Guide


What's New?

Hope you enjoy the new layout

71 72 73 74 75

HOME | RELATED ARTICLES | RESOURCES | SITE MAP
Copyright © 2005 Hydroponicproducts.com All Rights Reserved

All of the above results from search engines have been obtained from public sources. To report any claim of trademark or copyright infringement, or any other type of abuse, click here.





how to use refractometer icom 756 pro reflector industrial fluids refractometers lamp reflector leica low cost reflector system leica refractometer maglite aluminum reflector magnetic particle refractometer meade dobsonian reflector 6 microwave antenna reflector motorola reflector murr timer relay offset reflector antenna design oregon dx reflector pci watchdog timer with relay pheonix timer relay premier reverse osmosis water system filters reflector discs reflector glass beads reflector lights reflector motorcycle windbreakers reflector newspaper reflector on moon reflector ray gas fired heater reflector retrofit kits reflector tape refractometer cover plate refractometer liquid refractor vs reflector reverse osmosis water filter sink rockwool blanket rockwool insulation suppliers rockwool ph levels s d reflector salinity refractometer sears reverse osmosis water filter see trailer reflector in rear view mirror soft reflector space reflector strobe pan reflector the norwalk reflector on line obituary site timer relay circuit budget timer relay south africa trailer reflector arm transformers reflector what is a vnc reflector whirlpool reverse osmosis water filters wolesale bushnell deluxe reflector telescope 150 watt reflector clamp light 1971 triumph tr6 lens reflector 2 meter vhf reflector 8 inch edmund reflector scopes adult cu seeme reflectors air cooled cylinder shade reflector all about refractometers aluminum lighting reflector aluminum reflector ames perfect diffuse reflector arcade game dish reflector battleground oregon and newspaper and reflector beseler reflector bulbs best reverse osmosis water filters blue driveway reflector build a reflector