slugs decimated beets

16 years ago

I went out to pull some beets yesterday and found that slugs had decimated my beets. Slugs ate around the greens and worked there way 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the beets. They look like apple cores. I was more than a little ticked. They were in raised beds and I thought I had rid them of slugs earlier in the summer. And I didn't think slugs bothered beets: peas, zucchini, tomatoes, beans, apples, and flowers, not beets.

I used a kilo of slug bait on the garden, $16 worth. I can't afford enough to rid the garden of slugs. The non pet friendly bait is considerably cheaper; however, using bait to control slugs would put the costs over the value of the produce. What is an effective control for 2500 sq ft of vegatable garden and another 1000 sq ft of flower beds? Don't tell me a keg of beer. :)

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Comments (3)

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
16 years ago
You need multiple strategies: bait, traps, elimination of cover, hand-picking. Two ducks would help and give you eggs if you could keep them warm in winter.

Dan
solidago1
16 years ago
Use the "non-pet friendly" bait to kill the slugs in your raised bed, and then buy some copper tape to run along the top perimeter of your bed. Slugs won't cross over the copper tape because it creates an electrical charge that deters them. The tape isn't that costly, and it doesn't have to be reapplied regularly.
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hobbiest
16 years ago
Won`t recommend beer but it sure does work good! I had a problem with slugs hitting my radishes & after a half dozen beer traps, supplied with a single bottle of my favorite brew, there weren`t any slugs left alive that munched on my veggies. Think I must have picked about 100 slugs out of the traps. Was amazed at how well it worked. Who would have thought???

Won`t recommend a keg. Would be a waste of beer! Hehehehe!