PACA lettuce and slug attack…..

Community Community Garden Problems Pests PACA lettuce and slug attack…..

This topic contains 5 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by  Karen 7 years, 9 months ago.

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  • #34748

    Rhys
    Participant

    Charles

    I’ve just had a devastating attack by slugs on the lettuces I grew to be Pick and Come Again for June and July. It does make me ask the question: ‘does the act of picking lettuce leaves make the plants transiently more sensitive to slug attack or is it just the warmth and heavy rain that brought the swine out to feed?’

    It’s pretty tough growing lettuces perfectly for 10 weeks, then seeing half the plants either completely eaten or pretty decimated within 2 days of making the second harvest. Not to mention being short of lettuce leaves for the next 6 weeks.

    Have you any experience about whether the picking process makes plants more sensitive to slug attack or should I simply take the lesson that you need to protect lettuces from slugs even when they are fully grown?

    #34749

    Karen
    Participant

    Hi Rhys,

    So sorry to hear about your lettuces. I know for a fact when it rains a fair bit, the slugs seems to appear at our lettuce beds located in the half shaded area as opposed to the lettuce beds located in the drier in full sun location.

    We haven’t had a whole lot of rain, hence are lucky that the lettuces haven’t had much of a damage. While I was picking the lettuces in the half shaded area, there were some baby slugs present especially.

    #34750

    Anne Wood
    Participant

    Rhys.

    For the last two years I have been spraying veg., and plants that are high risk of slug/snail damage, with HELIX TOSTA. I have had amazing results, no damage to plants and no poisoned slugs for birds to eat. The slugs just seem repelled from eating. Probably something to do with HELIX TOSTA being made from toasted ground up snail shells!

    You can buy the pills from a homeopathic supplier. I bought a new sprayer just for this job, as I did not want a trace any previous contents. Dissolve one pill per 200ml of water, spray on plants and soil, the effect will last for three to four months!

    I hope this may be of interest to you and any other gardeners.

    Anne Wood

    #34752

    Stringfellow
    Participant

    How frustrating Rhys. I’ve been pretty lucky so far but it was annoying losing just a small no. of plants! Night time forays with torch and bucket helped but it’s not always that you have the time.

    Thanks for the tip Anne, that’s potentially a plant saver 🙂

    #34754

    charles
    Moderator

    Rhys it sounds like a monster summer slug hiding under something nearby, if you could be out there now as dusk falls, you might see it. In my experience the paca method actually helps keep plants less damaged as there are no decaying leaves for slugs to hide under by day.
    Anne thanks for the Felix Tosta tip.

    #34820

    Karen
    Participant

    It poured all day today until there was a slight reprieve in the late afternoon and I went to check on one of the lettuce beds in the half shaded damper spot and true enough the slugs were having a huge gathering! There were easily 2-4 slugs on each lettuce!

    Thinking about the Helix Tosta tip, on the other hand, I reckon we have too much lettuces now to worry too much about some losses.

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