The presence of slugs in a cabbage bed is one of the most unpleasant problems for gardeners and summer residents. These pests hide in shelters during the day, and at night, under the cover of darkness, they spoil the crop or completely destroy the plants.
Gastropods, despite the lack of a shell, are very tenacious and hardy animals. Getting rid of them is quite problematic, but possible. There are several effective ways to solve this problem.
Bait
Slugs do not have any particular dietary preferences, so you can use potato peels, apple cores, or the remains of other vegetables as bait. The delicacy is left in the evening on the paths near the cabbage bed, and in the early morning they collect and destroy the pests that have crawled in response to the smell.
Trap
Small holes are dug among the cabbage and small containers are placed in them. To attract gastropods to the trap, you need to pour a small amount of beer. Slugs smell very well, the most attractive to them is the aroma of beer. In the morning you should check the traps and throw away any shellfish that you catch.
Creation of false shelters
During the day, slugs prefer to be in dark, cool and damp places. You can lay out boards, pieces of slate, and wet rags among the beds. With the onset of heat, pests will look for a comfortable place to rest. Before the onset of evening coolness, it is enough to walk along the garden bed and collect the shellfish that are hiding under the shelters.The only drawback of this method is that the slugs will seek refuge after they have visited the cabbage.
Barrier device
You need to dig a small ditch around the perimeter of the bed and fill it with crushed eggshells, soot, ash, small gravel, tobacco dust, sand with vitriol, and lime. The slug's abdomen is very sensitive to porous surfaces. The substances described above absorb mucus, and the mollusk will not be able to get into the garden bed. But for this method to be effective, it is necessary to regularly monitor the condition of the restrictive barrier and replace the wet substance with a dry one. Also, pests do not like excess moisture, and grooves with water around the entire perimeter will serve as a good limiter for shellfish getting into the garden bed.
When using vitriol and salt, it is important to remember that these substances must be placed on film and removed after use.
Ecological way
In nature, toads, jays, starlings and hedgehogs feed on slugs. To attract these animals, you can organize birdhouses, feeders, a small pond, or place a hedgehog on the property.
Treatment with chemicals
The body of the mollusk is covered with mucus, which is an excellent protection against poisons and chemicals. But special products for killing slugs are commercially available and give good results in pest control. When using such preparations, it is important to remember that cabbage should not be eaten for 21 days after the date of treatment.
Using traditional methods
To destroy pests, you need to mix 10 liters of water with 1 glass of 9% vinegar and treat the plants late in the evening. When the mollusks get out of their daytime shelters and climb onto the cabbage, they will get burns.
Mix 1 liter of water, 15 g of dry mustard, and 2 tbsp in a container. l ammonia. Cabbage should be processed late in the evening, when slugs are about to crawl out into the beds. This method only works with direct contact with the slug.
As additional ingredients, you can use red pepper, salt, vodka, or other hot substances.
Heat
The mollusk dies at temperatures above 40 degrees. If you water the plants at night with water heated to 60 degrees, the cabbage will not be harmed, but the pests will die.
To prevent the appearance of slugs on the site, you should avoid the accumulation of construction waste or a large number of weeds. Slugs also do not like plants with bright aromas - sage, chamomile, dill, rosemary, fennel.
Slugs ate all the dill
Here, here, and besides dill and marigolds! And nothing takes them. You just need to hit the slug with salt or ammonia. I sprinkled pepper all over the cabbage, they still eat it!!!