How to control Slugs in my Strawberries?

Dean-1956

9 years ago

We planted a new bed of Strawberries and we suffer from slug damage on the berries. My wife has tried egg shells but it takes a lot of shells to do any good. Is there another remedy to help control them?

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Comments (7)

danzeb
9 years ago
Beer in a shallow disk works but must be emptied and refilled regularly. A product with Iron Phosphate works.
johnnysapples
9 years ago
We have lots of slugs here. I buy slug and snail bait. The bag last for a long time. I have to throw small handfuls out every spring before planting my cucumbers or they get eaten by the first leaf sets. I would sprinkle a couple pellets by your plants then more heavily around the area of your plants. Then you should be good for the season. I broadcast it eight to ten foot. They smell it and come out and eat it after the sun goes down. It works well.
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First year of my gardening i had the same question until somebody told me to go to the garden in evening with flashlight. Since then i am fighting slugs all the time. What is helping me most in our wet climate: 1. Beer trap to get big slugs (but i had to put them under some cover to prevent rain from diluting beer). 2. Night patrol with flashlight. I use tweezers to pick them and drop in jar with salted water. 3. diatomaceous earth. I prefer now to start seeds in pots and use diatomaceous earth when transplaning. I dust it around my transplants, but need to be reapplied after rain. Crashed egg shells can be used as well. 4. copper colars around transplants, slugs don't like to touch copper. Last year i found on garage sale old copper pipes, flatted them to make collars. 5. copper wire on yorgurt cups: cut off bottom of cup, put it around transplant wider part down and wrap with some copper wire. 6. Sometims UCG help too.
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Oh those dirty rats! I hate the little blighters. One slug will lay 1,000 eggs. That's a lot of baby slugs. Use slug bait, Sluggo pellets work very well. You probably don't want to put that into your strawberries so put it on a paper plate, plastic lid or something. The slugs will find it. Next do go slug hunting, morning before the sun hits your beds or dusk when it cools off. Put some salt in a baggie and sprinkle just a bit onto the slugs you find. This will kill them instantly. No slug babies. Next you can look for slug eggs. They will be under rocks, brick, bark etc. Anywhere they can be cool moist and shady during the day. They will look like little bits of tapioca pudding. Tiny translucent beads all grouped together. Toss on the salt. No slug babies. This is a hassle, you have to be persistent and consistent. It is however worth it. If you can get the slug population down and under control you can bait farther away from your beds and not have nearly the problem in the future. Good luck fighting the good fight.
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agrocoders
9 years ago
Surprisingly you just need to dry out the areas underneath the strawberry plants. The easiest way to do that is straw. That's how they got their name. I've never seen anyone attempt to grow enough strawberries to eat without using straw.

A lot of the store bought strawberries are hydroponic.

This post was edited by AgroCoders on Sat, Jun 14, 14 at 21:39
alisande
9 years ago
If you buy slug bait (I use it too), make sure you choose one of the ones that won't harm pets or other animals. They are readily available, but toxic ones are on the market too.
agrocoders
9 years ago
Another thing to do is carry the slugs to an even wetter part of the yard / neighborhood as they you'll be eating the strawberries near that bait.

Lavender and Marigold is good sign the area around your strawberries isn't too wet. Don't water your strawberries (another reason for the straw - a mulch). Ruins the flavor and attracts slugs, snail, and funguses.
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
"I've never seen anyone attempt to grow enough strawberries to eat without using straw. "

Never say never. i grow them without straw. I much prefer pine needles. I average about 20 ripe berries a day, good year this year. Got 45 today! A good day!

I use the slug bait myself, not many here, just a few show up now and then,
Scott F Smith
9 years ago
I use landscape fabric. Same idea though, keep the area under the plants dry. I have some extra plants I planted without the fabric in a less sunny area and the slugs are taking over that bed. In the bed with the landscape fabric I get few slugs in spite of never putting out bait.

Scott

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How to control Slugs in my Strawberries?

Comments (7)

danzeb

johnnysapples

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agrocoders

alisande

agrocoders

drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a

Scott F Smith

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