Author: Alex Elderfield
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Control: Bed of nails (the barrier method)
Imagine you are out in your bare feet, you need to get to the nice juicy strawberries on the other side of the garden. Some delightful soul has sprinkled a handful of tacks, some sharp edged pieces of broken glass or even set up a bed of nails for *@*? sake. Set up a barrier…
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Control: Frogs and toads
You may think they are slimy and horrible, but oh boy, do they love eating slugs. Ideally you would have a small pond (keeping in mind child safety) to allow tadpoles to grow then provide some long grass and leaves to protect the frogs from birds, dogs and cats. Image: Chmee2 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)%5D
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Control: Hedgehogs
What is not to love? They look cute and they eat slugs. To encourage them in, look to create a welcoming home (a small pile of sticks and straw) and access to water. You also need to make sure they are protected from dogs and cats. Find a corner of you garden, place a couple…
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Product: Aphids – Life Science Provanto Ultimate Bug Killer
This is the spray I used (after trying the washing up liquid and water approach) with great success on the aphid infested fruit trees in the back garden. Well, I say success, it killed off the aphid infestation but I left it too late to save one of the pear trees and one of the…
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Control: Aphids – What to do?
From the experts: RHS https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=181 Non-pesticide control Where possible tolerate infestations of aphids. Aphids have many natural enemies (aphid predators), including ladybirds, hoverfly larvae, lacewing larvae and parasitic wasps. Some of these are available for biological control of aphids in greenhouses. Out of doors, aphid infestations can build up in spring before the natural enemies are active in sufficient numbers…
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Pest Profile: Aphids
From the RHS ExpertsArticle: RHS – https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=181 Common names Aphids, greenfly, blackfly, plant liceScientific name Various – many speciesPlants affected Most plants are susceptibleMain symptoms Poor and distorted growth, sticky honeydew and sooty mouldsMost active Spring to late summer on garden plants; all year round indoors What are aphids? Aphids are sap-sucking true-bugs. They range in size from 1 to 7mm…
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Pest Trouble: Aphids
Grrr… my cherry tree has just finished flowering and I’m starting to see the first nascent cherries appear on the tree. Not that many this year, lots of flowers but not that many were fertilised, it makes me worry about the drop in bee numbers, more on this later. What I am seeing is aphids…
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Control: Barrier – Slug Wall
Rather than copper tape, take a leaf out of Trump’s book and build a wall. Ok, this method is cheaper and more likely to be be successful and appropriate than the current US president’s attempts. Rather than relying upon tape stuck a pot or nailed to a raised bed, the slug barrier is a small…
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From the Archive: BBC – Coffee and Slugs
Take a look at this BBC archive article assessing the viability of using coffee, well caffeine, as a control for slugs, you can always rely upon the Radio 4 listener to provide just the right amount of constructive feedback. The War on Slugs – Listeners’ Emails We spoke to Dr Robert Hollingsworth about his research…
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Pest Profile: Slugs
Slugs Slugs are persistent and widespread pests which can cause havoc in the garden, eating holes in leaves, stems, flowers, tubers and bulbs. They can cause damage throughout the year on a wide range of plants, but seedlings and new growth on herbaceous plants in spring are most at risk. See the original article at https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=228 RHS…
Eaten by Slugs 