marial

I grow my lettuce in containers on the deck so never have slug or other insect pest problems. But if I did, I'd certainly use Sluggo -- used it in my garden strawberry patch. I suggest you get some right away. It'll dispatch those slugs in a day or two.

I cant find Sluggo around here anywhere. I thought 20$ to buy it online was alot. Soon I have to break down and order it. I'm using beer in the meantime. It's really too late, nothing can be saved. I cant reverse the damage. The damage is done, it's sort to late to buy it now.

Well, if you are worried about them hitting another crop, it probably isn't too late to get it. It won't, as you say, save the lettuce that is full of holes, but it may prevent them from getting to the next crop.

How pure is the iron phosphate (ferric phosphate, iron orthophosphate, iron (III) phosphate, etc) in Sluggo? What percent? Because iron phosphate can be bought in bulk from chemical supply stores.

marial

If you don't kill them now, even if your lettuce etc. are goners, I'd worry that they'll just move on to your other garden plants. While they have their preferences in food, if they can't get that, they'll eat what's there.

FWIW, I couldn't find Sluggo locally either and had to order it online. And I daresay that you could save the $20 you'd have to pay for beans and lettuce in the store if you got rid of the slugs and replanted.

If you harvest during the morning on a warm day, the slugs will be gone. You can rinse off any that are hiding inside the head (I haven't had any of those). The holes might not look nice but the lettuce is still perfectly good to eat.

A couple of times, I tried hosing the lettuce down before bringing it indoors. That pretty much knocked the slugs off but bruised the leaves a little. Might be a good trade-off if you can't bear to see the little critters in the kitchen.

So you think it's okay to still eat my lettuce? Well that's good news. The thick stems are covered in brown patches, the leaves have no holes in them. It's the ugly brown spotted stems and the thought of the tiny bastards crawling on my food that made me want to scrap the entire bed.

I have been going over the cost difference in my mind of NOT spending 20 bucks for Sluggo, the potential loss of other plants in my garden. I just know right now it's too late to have "nice" lettuce for the season. What I have is lettuce whose stems must be cut out in order to eat them.

I guess it's not that bad for you folks, so maybe I'll break down and eat another head tonight. I really was gonna rip it all out and trash it. You guys saved my lettuce patch. I have YOU to thank! Thank you!!