Nematodes vs Diatomaceous Earth to beat Slugs?

[Oboegirl]

We just put our plants in the ground 2 weeks ago and already we've got a major infestation of slugs. They have taken out our bok choy almost complety

and they have spread throughout our lettuces and asian greens. After doing research, I'm thinking that the nematodes would get rid of the buggers and the diatomaceous earth would help keep them contained to where they are? I would hate it if they moved to my other bed and got my broccoli and peppers! If anyone has any advice on how to eliminate these pests we would surely appreciate it! I'm trying to avoid Sluggo because I've heard it is controversial with organic gardeners.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

I would do the Nematodes, because, I think they also get the fleas. Two bangs for one buck.

 

[Chuck]

Definitely nematodes as they will destroy the eggs. DE will NOT work where it is damp. You can also get rid of them, plus pill bugs, snails, cutworms with an iron phosphate product called SluggoPlus which also has spinosad in it

 

[Everbrown]

Perhaps due a google (or your favorite search engine ) search on organic sluggo and decide for yourself if it might be suitable, it breaks down into iron and phosphate two things we might like in garden anyway. Stale beer in shallow dish still works somewhat also (they drink and drown)

 

[Oboegirl]

I'm ok with using chemicals if necessary but I was hopeful we could find a way around the problem without Sluggo. Why? Because I'm all for the iron phosphate ingredient but that is only 1% of the ingredients listed on the label. What is in the 99% of "other ingredients on the label? We haven't tried the beer traps but I think we'll give it a go maybe along with the nematodes. little buttheads.

 

[Everbrown]

I am not suggesting one way or another on sluggo but it is OMRI listed and NOP approved

http://www.certisusa.com/pest_management_products/insecticidal_bait/sluggo.htm

Another thing you could try is putting a wide board flat in garden they can hide under, then in daylight (assuming you don't spend all night finding and squishing them) turn the board over and dispose of them any way you wish.

Another thought might be to create an evironment that toads or snakes would like. I have one that snakes seem to enjoy ( one warm day after a cool night I stood and had 5 snakes in sight) and haven't had slug troubles lately

 

[Oboegirl]

Sluggo is on the list but hopefully we'll use it as a "last resort" and some of these more gentle methods will remove them. Thank you so much! I can't believe how fast they spread. We have had a lot of cool wet weather..... grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[Chuck]

Sluggo is on the list but hopefully we'll use it as a "last resort" and some of these more gentle methods will remove them. Thank you so much! I can't believe how fast they spread. We have had a lot of cool wet weather..... grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I am talking SluggoPlus which is also OMRI approved. It is fairly expensive though but does have a long shelf life. The inactive ingredients are for dispersal, mainly ground up corncobs and rice hulls, No chemicals involved. Something else that slugs like are apples. Get an old half dead apple and use that as bait in your traps also

 

[Oboegirl]

Thank you! I'll make sure we go for the Sluggo Plus if the nematodes don't work. So, throw some apples in a tray with beer and let them drink themselves to death?

C

 

[Chuck]

Thank you! I'll make sure we go for the Sluggo Plus if the nematodes don't work. So, throw some apples in a tray with beer and let them drink themselves to death?

C

LOL. Get straight sided jars or soup cans or something and bury it even with the top of the soil. Into the can put about an inch of stale beer or a hunk of old nasty apple and the slugs, snails and pill bugs, when they get a whiff will make a mad stampede and leap over the side and cannot get out. Then at your leisure you can collect your catch. Slugs make good fish bait or I suppose you could experiment with making a slug/snail souffle.

 

[Oboegirl]

So I got a melon and put a few pieces in the bottom of a jar and buried it (no beer yet). I'm hopeful I can keep catching the buggars and move them to some place other than my garden because they are kind of cute and I hate to kill them if I don't have to. It has only been out there a couple hours and I've already "caught" a slew of the pests. Wow!

 

[Scarlet]

We just put our plants in the ground 2 weeks ago and already we've got a major infestation of slugs. They have taken out our bok choy almost complety

and they have spread throughout our lettuces and asian greens. After doing research, I'm thinking that the nematodes would get rid of the buggers and the diatomaceous earth would help keep them contained to where they are? I would hate it if they moved to my other bed and got my broccoli and peppers! If anyone has any advice on how to eliminate these pests we would surely appreciate it! I'm trying to avoid Sluggo because I've heard it is controversial with organic gardeners.

For years we grappled with the slugs. We tried everything and many things that worked for others just didn't work for us copper, egg shells, even a beer trap they somehow managed to cross, I think we must have very skilled or mutant slugs here.

We hardly get any now, the best thing we ever did was get ducks!

The chicken and geese did not clear slug in the scale the ducks have, since having the ducks its rare if you find one, even after turning things over and if there is one they are there in a millisecond gobbling it up.

The ducks rarely touch the seedlings but they are kept off simple due to them squashing them, once they are high enough though they are allowed back in with them. If you start them off indoors or in a green house you only have a short time of having to find another method before you let the birds back in.
There would be ways around it also like netting or fencing just to stop trampling.

Some peoples ducks have been known to eat seedlings, but our runners never do, we have a hard time trying to get them to eat any veg or fruit for that matter.