Fight against slugs on cabbage folk remedies

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Many novice gardeners do not even imagine how many "enemies" ordinary cabbage has: moths, flea beetles and slugs. The last uninvited guests, in the absence of a fight against them, can easily leave you without a cabbage crop. If you want to understand what should be done to prevent their visit, as well as learn about the effective fight against slugs on cabbage, then this material is especially for you!

Who are they?

Slugs are atypical gastropods. Evolution has deprived animals of a protective shell - its soft body is protected from drying out only by mucus, which is constantly produced by the secretory glands of the creature. For such a slippery surface, the mollusk was called a slug.

You can recognize it by its characteristic cream or beige color, pronounced head with two horns. The fact that the slug has visited your heads of cabbages can be guessed from the recognizable silver path on the leaves - these are traces of mucus secreted by the mollusk.

Because of their insecurity, theythey prefer to settle in shady and humid places - these are the top layers of soil, wood, plant debris, humus, etc. Naturally, high temperatures, as well as direct sunlight, are detrimental to him - a good natural method of dealing with slugs on cabbage. Mollusks are most active in the evening and at night, when the sun sets below the horizon, the air cools - then they come out to feast on white-headed victims.

On the dangers of slugs

Why are many gardeners so worried about ways to deal with slugs on cabbage? The reason is a certain harm to defenseless mollusks:

• The little slugs are extremely voracious. And at the same time, white cabbage is not their only favorite "dish". They are not averse to eating colored, broccoli, Beijing. Insects will not refuse strawberries, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes and potato tops.
• The slug with its activity not only makes the cabbage leaf inedible, but also causes significant harm to the plant - its mucus paths clog the respiratory ducts.
• Slugs are also carriers of harmful viruses and microorganisms. At the same time, the disease sometimes affects not only one cabbage, but also plants growing on neighboring beds.

Fight against slugs on cabbage folk remedies

Our ancestors knew how to deal with mollusk pests with improvised means. Let's take a look at their effective methods:

• Tobacco, sulfur, ash. These substances should be scattered into special grooves dispersed around the entire perimeter of the beds. The smell that they exude is unpleasant for slugs, and getting the product on their body causes severe burns. However, the method has one drawback: after the rain, the "protective strip" must be updated.
• Mulching. More modern way. Cover the bed with foil so that the path for the mollusks remains clear. The resulting condensation, humid atmosphere will attract slugs at night to this trap. But the greenhouse effect during the day, under the rays of the sun, will certainly cause the death of pests.
• Hot pepper, lime. Fence the bed with grooves with one of these components. The slug, having fallen on the particles of lime or pepper, receives a severe burn, leading to its death.
• Table vinegar or mustard powder. Stir 1/2 cup table vinegar in 10 liters of water - the substance can be replaced if desired with mustard powder (150 g per bucket of water). The fight against slugs on cabbage is simple here - treat with a planting solution, paying great attention to the tops of heads of cabbage.
• Nettle. It is detrimental to slugs due to its stinging effect that affects their delicate body. Wrap the planting legs with fresh nettle leaves - experienced gardeners believe that this will completely deprive the cabbage of intruders.

Universal tools

Let's talk about folk remedies that will save not only cabbage from slugs:

• S alt. A good tool for compost heaps - s alting the beds is not very useful. Sprinkle powder on the silver slime paths, and soon you willno more intruders.
• Soda Ash. The easiest method is to sprinkle the powder on a collection of clams. They will die in a few seconds. For the treatment of plants, it is better to prepare a soda solution: 50 g of soda, 20 g of laundry soap shavings in a bucket of water.
• Ammonia. The fight against slugs on cabbage with ammonia is quite dangerous for the plant - in no case do not spray the solution on its leaves, roots, stem, but only treat the soil. The solution is easy to prepare - 2 liters of ammonia per 10 liters of water (continuous processing, for selective processing, you can limit yourself to 1 liter of solution).

Pine needles, vinegar, mustard will also help protect plants from pests.

Chemicals

If you are determined to decisively fight slugs on cabbage, then we present to your attention effective chemicals:

• "Thunderstorm". The tool was created specifically for the destruction of slugs and snails. The active substance here is metaldehyde. Appearance - granules of a bluish shade. The mollusk willingly eats them, and the impact of the components on its body leads to the death of the pest. For birds, mammals, earthworms, the product remains harmless.
• "Meta". The drug is also created on the basis of metaldehyde and is effective if it gets inside the body of a mollusk. You need to find places of large concentrations of pests in the garden and scatter the remedy near them. Approximate consumption - 15g/15m2.
• Metaldehyde. Samothe pure substance is also an excellent pest control. But in such a concentration, it is a strong poison, including for humans! Therefore, cabbage should be treated with metaldehyde solution at least 3 weeks before harvest. If the substance is in granules, then you should scatter several pieces under the legs of the plantings.

Traps

Some gardeners believe that the effective fight against slugs on cabbage is the placement of simple traps:

• Near the favorite habitats of slugs, lay out pieces of plywood, slate, wood, under which it will be convenient for the clams to climb. Now you will only need to bypass these traps and collect the slugs nestled under them.
• Place cans with liquid - kvass, fermented compote, beer on the cabbage bed. The smell will definitely attract slugs, but not only them - beneficial insects can also fall prey to such a trap.

Slug Lovers

You can go the unconventional way and attract animals to your site, for which slugs will be a great treat. These predators primarily include frogs and toads. You can invite amphibians by building huts for them from branches and leaves. Also, a frequent visitor to garden plots does not disdain shellfish - a hedgehog.

Preventive measures

In order not to switch to measures to combat slugs on cabbage, the easiest way is to prevent their appearance:

• Plant cabbage sprouts onsome distance from each other - otherwise the "roof" of densely spaced leaves will be an ideal place to live for molluscs. In case of frequent planting of slugs, it will be more difficult to detect.
• Cover early varieties with clingfilm. High temperatures, which provide a greenhouse effect, are detrimental to the pest. But this method is not suitable for late varieties - it can lead to root rot.
• Water plantings with water heated in the sun to high temperatures - it will not harm the plant, but it is detrimental to the delicate bodies of slugs.
• Make sure the bed is not surrounded by tall grass.
• Regularly and on time apply mineral fertilizers (superphosphate, potassium s alt) - you can simply scatter them around the garden.
• Make a border around the perimeter of the bed with coarse sand, crushed eggshells, crushed shells, sharp nutshells - the delicate belly of the slug will not overcome these obstacles.

There are many effective ways to fight slugs that we have introduced you to. However, it is still calmer and easier to prevent their appearance in the beds.