Nip it in the bud

[Holly]

Hi everyone,

Much as I hate the idea of pests and naughties on the plot, I'd much rather prevent them from arriving in the first place - instead of killing them once they've settled in...

Can anyone suggest cunning ways to make sure invaders such as slugs, vine weevil, mites and grasshoppers don't have a chance to establish themselves?

Do tasks such as hoeing the soil's surface to expose eggs to birds really work, or are there better ways to create a pest-free environment?





Your comments may be edited and published in the March issue of GYO

[rustylady]

Hi everyone,

Can anyone suggest cunning ways to make sure invaders such as slugs, vine weevil, mites and grasshoppers don't have a chance to establish themselves?

Do tasks such as hoeing the soil's surface to expose eggs to birds really work, or are there better ways to create a pest-free environment. Your comments may be edited and published in the March issue of GYO

Vine weevils are more of a problem in pots than in open ground, not sure what you mean by mites, but red spider mites are more a pest in greenhouses where the atmosphere is dry. I never heard grasshoppers classed as pests, though.

[jackie j]

I am lucky enough to have a leat at the back of one of my plots and although I use slug bait when plants are young I dont bother the rest of the time. I dont like using the pellets but sometimes there is no other way. I am going to put a water feature on both of my plots to help the frogs and toads and hopefully no more slug pellets.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Hi everyone,

Much as I hate the idea of pests and naughties on the plot, I'd much rather prevent them from arriving in the first place - instead of killing them once they've settled in...

Can anyone suggest cunning ways to make sure invaders such as slugs, vine weevil, mites and grasshoppers don't have a chance to establish themselves?

Do tasks such as hoeing the soil's surface to expose eggs to birds really work, or are there better ways to create a pest-free environment?



Your comments may be edited and published in the March issue of GYO

Slugs are easy to deal with in as much as there are a variety of possible solutions.

They can be picked off by hand, but don't just throw them over the fence as slugs and snails have the same homing instincts as pigeons and will return pretty quickly. They can be trapped using beer traps, killed using slug pellets or by use of liquid applications such as Slug Clear which contain the same active ingredients (Slug Clear may in fact now be off the market), eaten by birds if you make your garden environmentally friendly or indeed killed by the use of slug nematodes which is deemed to be environmentally friendly but clearly not to the slug. Slugs apparently are very susceptible to electric shocks and a piece of copper wire around some prized plant should keep these voracious creatures at bay.

The birds will make short work of mites and aphids as well.


There is a very good article here about vine weevil Vine Weevil- description and control.

Many bugs and beasties in the garden are actually friends although because of fear and lack of knowledge, we may think of them as enemies. For instance, the common wasp (I hate them because they will sting you just for the hell of it) will kill and consume many caterpillars and other larvae as will many forms of beetle. That is why indiscriminate use of pesticides in the garden isn't a good thing.

Regular hoeing is unlikely to have much effect on the pest population in the garden although it does help hugely in controlling weeds which may provide a home to many pests and that leads me to a final point. It may sound a bit basic but being tidy in the garden does make it difficult for all sorts of pests to establish so a five minute tidy up at the end of a work session will be well worthwhile.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Vine weevils are more of a problem in pots than in open ground, not sure what you mean by mites, but red spider mites are more a pest in greenhouses where the atmosphere is dry. I never heard grasshoppers classed as pests, though.

I interpreted grasshopper as aphid but i did also have locusts in my mind when I read Holly's post.

[Holly]

Yes, maybe grasshoppers was one step too far! I'm hoping to learn more about all garden pests, and didn't mean to limit to my examples - all advice gratefully received!

Thanks for great slug tips so far!

[Snadger]

What about the Wilderbeest?

[binley100]

What about the Wilderbeest?

Well that depends if you live in the path of their migration.....but a pond with a croc in it should sort them out .......

[Snadger]

Well that depends if you live in the path of their migration.....but a pond with a croc in it should sort them out .......

I think I might need a bigger pond.............

[Aberdeenplotter]

Yes, maybe grasshoppers was one step too far! I'm hoping to learn more about all garden pests, and didn't mean to limit to my examples - all advice gratefully received!

Thanks for great slug tips so far!

Wow, all garden pests opens up a pretty wide spectrum.

I'll give you my tuppence worth about the maggot of the cabbage rootfly which can destroy healthy brassica plants by the time any symptom shows. I did try using the felt circles sold by most garden centres but found that the material from which they were constructed was too hard and actually cut through the plant stem destroying the plant. Instead, I now use a 4" square of carpet underlay with a cut from one side into the centre. Slide the square onto the plant stem, foam side down and press onto the soil. The idea is that the fly lays its eggs on the piece of underlay instead of on the soil beside the stem and the eggs then dry out as a result. It does work

I'll leave onion root fly and carrot root fly remedies to give someone else a chance to post but if no-one else uses my methods, I'll post these later.

[binley100]

Ooh Carrot Fly I know that one..........Plant some mirrors at strategic points along the row and the Carrot Fly flies up and down first to make sure the row is their territory then sees itself in a mirror and gets really narked that there's another fly there and either knocks itself out attacking the mirror or clears off elsewhere.........

[FionaH]

Ooh Carrot Fly I know that one..........Plant some mirrors at strategic points along the row and the Carrot Fly flies up and down first to make sure the row is their territory then sees itself in a mirror and gets really narked that there's another fly there and either knocks itself out attacking the mirror or clears off elsewhere.........

Bins you been on the cooking brandy again?
Mind you thats just mad enough to be true

[Snadger]

Ooh Carrot Fly I know that one..........Plant some mirrors at strategic points along the row and the Carrot Fly flies up and down first to make sure the row is their territory then sees itself in a mirror and gets really narked that there's another fly there and either knocks itself out attacking the mirror or clears off elsewhere.........

Works for foxes..........they see their own reflection and flee to avoid confrontation........

[Aberdeenplotter]

Ooh Carrot Fly I know that one..........Plant some mirrors at strategic points along the row and the Carrot Fly flies up and down first to make sure the row is their territory then sees itself in a mirror and gets really narked that there's another fly there and either knocks itself out attacking the mirror or clears off elsewhere.........

I have to confess I was almost in tears of laughter reading that. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but the idea of a carrot fly trying to nut it's own reflection is so amusing.

[binley100]

Right then you lot of sceptics, I either saw this on a telly programme or read it in a mag .......so there