Welcome to Indoor Gardening Guide by Archivex-Haiti
Build Your Own Greenhouse Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Build Your Own Greenhouse. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
Rid Your Garden of Slugs
from: Marilyn PokorneyREQUIREMENTS FOR REPRINT: You have permission to publish
this article free of charge in your e-zine, newsletter,
ebook, print publication or on your website ONLY if it
remains unchanged and you include the copyright and author
information (Resource Box) at the end. You may not use
this article in any unsolicited commercial email (spam).
You may retrieve this article by:
Autoresponder: slugtips@getresponse.com
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net/articles/slugtips.txt
Words: 435 words
Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney
Please leave the resource box intact with an active link,
and send a courtesy copy of the publication in which the
article appears to: marilynp@nctc.net
------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------
Slugs are major pests of horticultural plants throughout the
world. They are destructive pests of home gardens,
landscapes, nurseries, greenhouses, and field crops.
Slugs also pose a health threat to humans, pets and wildlife
by serving as intermediate hosts for parasites such as
lungworm.
Slugs are inactive in cold weather and hibernate in the
soil.
Heavy mulching and watering, required for productive and
beautiful gardens create
favorable conditions for slugs.
Slugs destroy plants by killing seeds or seedlings, by
destroying stems or growing points, or by reducing the leaf
area. Slug feeding may also initiate mold growth or
rotting.
Slugs feed on a variety of living plants chewing holes in
leaves, flowers, fruit and young bark. They are also
serious pests of ripening fruits, such as strawberries and
tomatoes, that are close to the ground. However, they will
also feed on foliage and fruit of some trees favoring
citrus. Some plants that are seriously damaged include
artichokes, asparagus, basil, beans, cabbage, dahlia,
delphinium, hosta, lettuce, marigolds, and many more plants
too numerous to list here. To determine if damage is caused
by a slug or other insect, look for a clear, silvery mucous
trail.
Under ideal conditions, chemical baits, containing
metaldehyde, can be somewhat effective because this aldehyde
paralyzes the slugs and they eventually die from
dehydration. However, under cool and wet conditions when
slugs are most active and troublesome, they can often
recover. And these chemicals are poisonous to cats, dogs,
birds and curious children.
Biological control provides an attractive alternative to
traditional control practices. Nematodes possess
exceptional potential as biocontrol agents for pest slugs.
In Europe, a product as been successfully developed from
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, that is effective against a
wide variety of pest slug and snail species and it targets
only slugs and snails.
It would be a perfect solution for introduction into the US
but there are no published records of P. hermaphrodita
occurrence in the US. Thus, regulatory issues prohibit it's
introduction and marketing in the US.
Slugs do play a positive role in the environment. Because
slugs are also scavengers eating decaying vegetation, animal
feces, and carrion they help in breaking down decomposing
materials thus helping to release nutrients back into the
soil.
Slugs are night feeders so night traps and beer traps are
the best ways to catch and trap them. But there are many
other methods proven successful. One includes a very
common, but not well known, ingredient.
For more information:
http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/slugs.htm
About the Author
Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Build Your Own Greenhouse News
Lazy shoppers fuelling environment woes - NEWS.com.au
 NEWS.com.au | Lazy shoppers fuelling environment woes NEWS.com.au, Australia - "Obviously there's the environmental benefit, but the whole fact of shopping locally ... drives your own local economy which has positive spinoffs for your ... |
Going green a growing trend among homeowners - Chicago Tribune
Going green a growing trend among homeowners Chicago Tribune, United States - Jasmine Davis, 23, of Park Forest, who visited the home with her mother said the exhibit gave her tips for her own apartment. "I like not making a negative ... |
Obeying policy is no offense - Albany Democrat Herald
Obeying policy is no offense Albany Democrat Herald, OR - So did you stop because you were told to stop, or because on your own you decided it was the right thing to do? You are perfectly right if you say: Both, ... |
Conference to Turn Scientists of Color into PA-Based Entrepreneurs ... - MarketWatch
Conference to Turn Scientists of Color into PA-Based Entrepreneurs ... MarketWatch - Jake Wheatley Jr. co-hosted a briefing on the event for key stakeholders in the area at the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) on Friday to ... |
Ride sharing - Danbury News Times
Ride sharing Danbury News Times, CT - DANBURY -- Losing the freedom and control of having your own car at your disposal -- as well as having to make small talk -- were some of the trepidations ... |
Recycled with style - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Recycled with style Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI - He says these items are so popular with customers that they often inspire others to make their own creations. Wos has a yearly class called "planting junk" ... |
Medpedia Announced, World's Largest Collaborative Online ... - FOXBusiness
Medpedia Announced, World's Largest Collaborative Online ... FOXBusiness - Medpedia.com Inc. is funded and managed by Ooga Labs (www.oogalabs.com) a technology greenhouse in San Francisco developing several for-profit, ... |