Slugs in your Garden

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Growing Guide > Pest Control > Slugs in Your Garden

Slugs in your Garden!

Slugs are one of the most common pests in the garden and they usually attack the soft foliage as well as the roots of herbaceous bedding and vegetable plants. Young seedlings are usually the most vulnerable to slug attack.

Slug damage can be recognised by irregular holes with smooth edges appearing on leaves. They also leave slime trails. Slugs can be so damaging that vulnerable young seedlings left unprotected can be totally destroyed in one night! Slug damage is not only limited to leaves of plants, but also to fruit and vegetable crops as well. Ripening strawberries and tomatoes suddenly develop holes overnight and potatoes are particularly at risk because the slugs don’t even have to move above ground!

Getting to know your slug

slugs love wet soil - in dry weather their activity reduces considerably

slugs and snails love young and tender seedlings

slugs migrate from place to place

mild winters followed by wet springs seem to promote a population expolsion

slugs and snails are nocturnal beasts and hide under debris, rocks and leaves during the day

some slugs only live on rotting vegetation so those in your compost heap should be left alone

natural predators such as frogs, hedgehogs, ducks as well as garden birds help to reduce the numbers. The centipede is an invaluable inclusion in these natural preadtors

Types of Slug Control

Plans to control slugs should be made early in the season whilst they are young and before they start to wreak havoc in your garden.

The majority of slug killers are applied to the surface of the soil, whilst slugs spend most of their time underground and only come up at night to feed on the surface if there is nothing available below the ground.

Slug Pellets are a common form of control. Most of these pellets contain metaldehyde, which causes irritation to the slug, produces more mucous and death is caused by dehydration. However it has been found that a slug can lose up to half its body weight by dehydration, yet still recover within two hours of exposure to water! There are some slug pellets which contain methiocarb which is a non-selective carbamate chemical which acts as a stomach poison and is generally more toxic to other organisms such as birds and hedgehogs.

Slug pellets do provide a good localised control at the point of application, but the disadvantages are:
• They need to be re-applied at regular intervals in order to replenish the active chemical and this can be time consuming as well as costly
• There may be some limitation in the effectiveness of these products during wet weather
• There are increasing concerns about the chemical effects on wildlife and pets and children. A guide dog has already died from eating slug pellets.

There is also a variety of barrier and capture methods available, but these all rely on the slug being above ground for their effectiveness. Garlic Spray is one of these methods and Joyce Russell has had a measure of success with this as per her article in Organic Gardening, June 2006. Bran is another seedling barrier protector, but it needs watching to prevent it from going mouldy and the birds enjoy it as well! Another successful barrier method is:

Slug Shocka Mats

These are a copper impregnated mat which can be laid down and cut around plants. It is a known fact that slugs and snails detest crossing copper as the copper causes an electrical shock which is transmitted through their slime trail. When using this system it is important that the hole cut around the plant is not too large as it will then provide an ingress for the slug and also it must be checked that leaves do not hang down and touch the soil as then the slug has an easy access to the rest of the plant without touching the copper mat. The Shocka Mat is available in rolls which can be laid out either in the greenhouse and the Rootrainer seed trays can be placed on it, or outside with slots cut for the plants or it is available in 2 sizes of ready cut discs which can be placed under pots to deter slug activity. Joyce Russell (Organic Gardening, June 2006) has also found that by cutting squares of the matting to place around her brassicas at planting-out time, the mat doubled up as a deterrent to root fly. Another advantage of the matting is that it can be rolled up once the plants are established and used again next year.

Copper Tools

As stated above copper is a proven deterrent to both slug and snail and the use of copper tools in your garden does seem to have the same effect. The copper tools when used in the soil leaves a residue in the area used which will deter slug or snail activity around the vulnerable plant. In addition to its deterrent effect Copper assists the flow of nutrients to the plants without upsetting the soil's magnetism. Whilst Copper Tools are more expensive that those normally purchased at garden centres etc, the end value far exceeds that of the cheaper tools. Copper Tools have a much longer lifespan and every time they are used will leave a residue of protection in your soil.

Nematodes

Nematodes have been used by commercial growers for over 10 years as an effective means of pest control. These products have been developed and are used underground to treat the source of the infestation before it reaches the surface. Nematodes are aggressive organisms which attack the slug by entering the body cavity and once inside they release bacteria which stops the slug from feeding and bringing about a quick death. The nematodes then carry on reproducing inside the dead slug and so a new generation is released to hunt down more slugs. Once the area is rid of the slugs the nematodes will die back to their natural numbers. Nematodes are totally safe to use on food crops, they are harmless to wildlife, birds, children and pets and as such assist wildlife like hedgehogs to combat pests without any risk.

Wildlife. Many song birds are dependant on a slug and insect pest diet e.g. greenfly is a particular favourite of tits. It is a good idea to make the garden attractive to these birds by the provision of nesting boxes, dense shrubbery and feeding tables.

Slugs are a favourite delicacy for hedgehogs and because hedgehogs are nocturnal animals they can easily feast on slugs attacking plants at night. Hedgehogs need ground cover to rest and to hibernate and they love compost heaps, so care is needed when moving the compost heap to check that there are no hedgehogs.

Frogs and toads have a high dependency on slugs and a garden pond can encourage them into the garden.

Ground beetles are also important slug predators and feed voraciously on slugs and their eggs.

Types of Slugs

The Garden Slug: Similar in size to the Grey Field Slug, but has a much tougher skin. It is darker in colour with a distinctive yellow underside, which also characterises their slime trail.

The Keeled Slug: This slug is grey with a ridge down the back and is larger than the Grey Field Slug (about 2.5”). They are mainly subterranean.

The Black Slug: This slug measures up to 8” and is black in colour. In its young stages it is yellowish with dark tentacles. Due to its large size, its body volume to surface air ratio is much greater than the smaller slugs and so it is less prone to dehydration. This is why it is seen more regularly in the daytime and is often thought to be the most common slug which causes all the damage.

Slug Facts

• Britain has been termed the Slug Capital of the World! This is because our moist climate without extremes of hot and cold is the most ideal situation for them.
• Each cubic metre of our soil contains on average up to 200 slugs
• Slugs are hermaphrodite (have both male and female sex organs))
• Each slug lays around 300 eggs in batches in up to 50 crevices in the soil.
• These hatch in 3 weeks in the spring and eggs laid in the autumn will overwinter before hatching
• Slug eggs are slightly oval in shape, white in colour and measure 2-3 mm in diameter
• Each Grey Field Slug can have up to 90 000 grandchildren
• Slugs have approximately 25 000 teeth
• Slugs consume around twice their own body weight each day
• Young slugs tend to stay underground, feeding on humus and this creates an unseen underground menace just waiting for your seedlings to hit the soil!
• Slugs breed all year round and there are 2 overlapping generations with peaks of egg laying in March-April and September-October.
• In Northern Europe the life cycle takes 12-15 months

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