Diatomaceous Earth

[JMCKG]

Any good for slug control ?

[bario1]

That’s not a word I’m familiar with... care to elaborate JMCKG?

[Mr Bones]

Sorry, don't know what effect it would have on slugs but it will kill the small beneficial arthropods.

[Snadger]

Just make sure you wear a mask when using it.

[Gillykat]

Sorry, don't know what effect it would have on slugs but it will kill the small beneficial arthropods.

That was my exact thought when I first saw this mentioned in a magazine (or was it the internet - cannot remember) - it'll kill far more beneficial invertebrates like Ground Beetles that actually prey on slugs!!! It's just changing one poison for another!!!! Don't do it guys!!!!!

Gardeners NEED to start looking at the bigger picture and encouraging the predators which keep slug & snail numbers in check (ditto aphids etc) and creating habitats for these predators ~ a pond (even a washing up bowl is better than nothing), ground cover, a small pile of branches or logs ~ instead of OBSESSING about every inch of the garden being sterile rows of flowers/veg and bare soil and nuked with chemicals to within an inch of it's life

[Gillykat]

It's also lethal to the good guys too....like bees, hoverflies etc

Diatomaceous earth kills indiscriminately. The ability of beneficial bacteria to flourish in a deep litter system and in compost depends upon on a balanced ecosystem of bacteria and insect activity; efforts to kill all the bad bugs also kill the desirable good ones. One manufacturer’s advisory warns: “Avoid dusting flowers and other areas where bees and beneficial insects may land, as diatomaceous earth has the potential to negatively impact most insects that come in contact with it.”2 If it ever becomes necessary to use an insecticide, there are other much more effective, natural insecticides available that do not endanger health of chickens, humans or beneficial insects as diatomaceous earth does.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-cu...-diatomaceous/

[Scarlet]

That’s not a word I’m familiar with... care to elaborate JMCKG?

I used it for sprinkling down in the chicken coop. Without g00gling it's something like glass dust/ fossils? and grinds away at mites shells. Used to stop redmite on chickens.

#cant be glass dust - it's a natural product

[Scarlet]

Any good for slug control ?

Honestly going out late at night with a torch or when it's been raining and collecting them hugely reduces numbers.

[ESBkevin]

Slugs need a multi pronged approach, no single method is fool proof.

Beer traps
Late evening/early morning patrols and after a rain shower.
Environment. Try to avaoid the kinds of places slugs and snails like to live in. Get rid of planks of wood/borders and stacks of plastic sacks etc.
Predators. Frogs and birds, encourage them.
nematodes.

[muckdiva]

Honestly going out late at night with a torch or when it's been raining and collecting them hugely reduces numbers.

I've used it in desperation to stop the flea beetles decimating my rocket, and yes, it seemed to deter slugs as well, but having read up on it subsequently, apart from killing beneficial insects as well, it is a finite resource and mining it is not sustainable.

I'm with Scarlet on the nightly torch sweep.... I can't bring myself to kill slugs so they go into the green waste bin to take their chances

[Aberdeenplotter]

Honestly going out late at night with a torch or when it's been raining and collecting them hugely reduces numbers.

but but but I'm 26 miles from my plot

[Scarlet]

Oh, sorry AP that's a long way to bag a slug!

[ameno]

In my experience, no physical barrier is effective against slugs.
At best, it may deter them temporarily, but then once it gets wet, or as soon as they are used to it, they'll cross over and eat your plants. And at worst, it seems to actively encourage them.

[veggiechicken]

but but but I'm 26 miles from my plot

Oh, sorry AP that's a long way to bag a slug!

Its just a Marathon run, AP. Get your daps on and off you go. Don't forget to run back as well.

[Scarlet]

Yes!^^^ That'll reduce the beer belly a bit