Slugs on cabbage: what to do, how to fight, preventive measures

The appearance of slugs on cabbage rarely goes unnoticed. Rounded holes in the leaves, waste products – all this indicates that the plantings were attacked by these invertebrates. Do not leave these symptoms unattended. If you do not process cabbage from slugs in time, then the result will be the most deplorable.

Why are slugs on cabbage dangerous?

Slugs are gastropods, invertebrate mollusks that resemble snails without shells. Their appearance on cabbage threatens with a number of serious troubles:

1. When moving, the mollusks secrete a sticky mucus, which contains enzymes that cause the cabbage leaf to rot.
2. Mucus clogs the pores of the leaves, making it difficult and disrupting the process of air exchange.
3. Mucus often contains pathogens of various diseases.
4. The mollusk itself feeds on the tissues of the cabbage leaf, gnawing numerous holes in it and thereby causing serious damage to cabbage plantings.

Gluttonous slugs can really hurt cabbage

Causes of slugs on cabbage

There may be several reasons for the appearance of slugs on cabbage plantings, but they are all directly related to excess moisture. Main factors:

1. Raw cool weather. Especially a lot of slugs happen after a mild winter and a long cold spring.
2. Excessive soil moisture (excessive watering).
3. Violation of the natural ventilation of beds with cabbage due to the strong density of plantings.
4. A large amount of organic residues on the soil, as a result of which its layer does not dry out.

Signs of the appearance of slugs on cabbage

Determining the appearance of slugs on cabbage is quite simple. This can be done in the following ways:

1. Small rounded holes in the leaves.
2. Mucous tracks on leaf blades.
3. Greenish-brown watery discharge.

Pests concentrate in the dampest places, under the cover leaves.

By bending back the upper integumentary leaves of the head, you can find the pests themselves. As a rule, they concentrate in places of greatest humidity, crawling into the folds between the leaves closer to the stalk.

How to get rid of slugs on cabbage

There are many ways in which you can drive slugs out of cabbage. They include both mechanical methods of pest removal and the use of various chemicals and folk remedies for plant treatment.

How to deal with slugs on cabbage folk remedies

The range of folk remedies used for processing cabbage from slugs is very wide. Since this mollusk, unlike many other gastropods, does not have a hard chitinous shell, it remains very vulnerable to any irritating substances. Contact with such products will cause serious harm or force the slugs to leave the cabbage plantings. Here is what can be used to treat this pest from folk remedies:

1. Vinegar. 50 ml of 9% table vinegar should be diluted in 10 liters of water. Cabbage beds are treated with this solution after sunset.
2. Ammonia. To prepare a solution for 10 liters of water, you need to take 40 ml of an ammonia preparation. Processing is carried out in 2 stages with an interval of 15 minutes.
3. Soda. Sprinkle dry powder on slugs. You can also use an aqueous solution of this substance for processing, adding it in an amount of 50 g per 10 liters of water. To enhance the adhesive properties, a few tablespoons of liquid soap are also added to the composition. In the fight against slugs on cabbage, both baking soda and soda ash can be used, although practice shows that the treatment of the latter is more effective.
   
   

   Both baking soda and soda ash can be used to control insects.

4. Coffee. The caffeine contained in coffee beans has a detrimental effect on slugs. For processing, you need to prepare a strong solution by adding 2 tsp. coffee for 1 tbsp. warm water. The method is effective, but not very cheap, given the current prices for this product.
5. Ash. This substance is known to be irritant, so it can also be used to treat cabbage from slugs. To enhance the effect, ground red pepper, mustard and salt are added to the mixture, and then the places of accumulation of mollusks are treated with it.
6. Mustard. Mustard powder can be used to treat cabbage from slugs and in the form of an aqueous solution. For insisting, you need 0,5 tbsp. dry mustard, it must be diluted in 10 liters of water and insisted for several hours. Plantings are treated with this infusion once every 1-3 days.
   A SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE WAY TO FIGHT SLUGS ON CABBAGE

7. Hot water. Spraying cabbage with water heated to a temperature of about 60 ° C will not harm the heads, but it will be fatal for slugs that are unable to tolerate such heat treatment.

How to protect cabbage from slugs and snails with chemicals

The use of chemicals to control slugs on cabbage is always undesirable and is a last resort. If the amount of the pest is small, then it is advisable to use other processing methods or much less toxic folk remedies. When there are a lot of slugs, and there is a threat of complete destruction of the crop, then the following drugs can be used to combat it:

1. Thunderstorm. Granular preparation containing metaldehyde – a potent toxic substance. The beds are treated by scattering granules on the surface of the soil around the heads of cabbage at the rate of 4-5 g per 1 sq. m.
   
   

   Thunderstorm contains metaldehyde – a strong poison

2. Thunder. Insecticide based on diazinon – substances of hazard class 3 (moderately toxic). Granules are a mixture of the active drug with food attractants and are, in fact, ready-made bait that is scattered on the soil surface. Thunder has excellent efficiency, destroying not only slugs, but also many other pests, such as ants, bears, wireworms, flies.
   Important! The effectiveness of treatment with Grom is from 95 to 100%.
   

   Thunder granules work both on the surface and in the soil

3. Meta. In fact, this is the same Thunderstorm drug, only produced in Switzerland. Processing is done in the same way.
   Important! Metaldehyde-based preparations can be used no more than 2 times per season, while the second treatment must be carried out no later than 1 month before the planned harvest.

Biological means of combating slugs on cabbage

Biological preparations are considered more environmentally friendly than chemical ones, since contact with them does not pose a danger to humans and animals. Such means of processing cabbage appeared relatively recently and are a new word in the science of plant protection. The mechanism of action of biological products is based on the dehydration of the body of slugs, as a result of which they die.

Here are some of the tools used to process cabbage:

1. Street Eco. This is a granular high-performance agent based on iron phosphate. Granules are scattered at a distance of 20-25 cm from heads of cabbage and between rows at the rate of 1,5 g per 1 sq. m. The drug has a long period of action, it can be used to treat crops in any weather.
   
   

   Ulicide can be applied in any weather

2. Ecokiller. This is a drug based on diatomide – a finely dispersed substance of contact action, which, when it hits the body of a slug, literally draws moisture out of it. Ecokiller is absolutely safe for humans, animals and birds.

   The new generation biological preparation Ecokiller is safe for people, animals and birds.

How to deal with slugs on cabbage mechanically

The easiest mechanical way to deal with slugs on cabbage is to manually collect shellfish. However, not everyone wants to do this, frankly, not a very pleasant thing. In addition, gastropod pests are active at night, during the day they hide in the folds of a head of cabbage, and it is often difficult to detect them. Therefore, gardeners prefer to use other means to protect the crop. Slugs can only move on a smooth surface, so a barrier of any dry bulk material can become an insurmountable obstacle for them. The following materials can be poured around the heads of cabbage:

• needles, pine or spruce;
• large sawdust;
• sunflower husk;
• crushed eggshell;
• small shell rock;
• wood ash.

The arsenal of anti-gastropods is very extensive

To combat gastropods, you can use various traps that are easy to make with your own hands. In this capacity, you can use the following materials:

1. Bank or any other container. The dishes are dug in so that the neck is flush with or slightly above the soil surface. Inside you need to pour some beer, fermented compote or mash, the smell of these products attracts slugs. During the day, the container must be kept closed, otherwise a large number of insects will fill up there, and open at night. Fallen pests will die.
   
   

   Beer cups dug in the garden serve as bait for gastropods

2. Polyethylene film. It can be put between the rows of cabbage. Slugs seeking shelter from the heat of the day will crawl under it in the morning, and in the afternoon they will die from thermal shock in such an impromptu “greenhouse”.
3. Board or piece of roofing material. You can use any dense material that slugs might mistake for a daytime cover. The soil under it must be moistened. Fleeing from the heat of the day, pests will hide under such an impromptu canopy, it remains only to wait for noon and simply collect them.

Prevention

As a preventive measure against the appearance of slugs, measures can be recommended that reduce excessive moisture. This includes irrigation rationing, and timely care of the beds, preventing their overgrowth or littering. It is important to observe the intervals between neighboring plants and the size of the row spacing, otherwise the soil in the root zone will never dry out.

A good prevention against slugs can be various plants planted in the immediate vicinity of the cabbage with a strong aroma, the smell of which repels mollusks. These are calendula, basil, parsley, rosemary. However, this measure does not always work. If fragrant herbs are constantly grown on the site, then the slugs develop immunity to their aromas, as a result of which these plantations themselves can eventually become food for gastropod pests.

Birds are natural enemies of slugs

Some birds and animals, such as hedgehogs and frogs, are known to feed on slugs, so it is not necessary to drive them from the site. On the contrary, everything should be done to keep them.

Gardeners tips

The problem of the appearance of slugs on cabbage has long been known. Therefore, considerable experience has been accumulated in the fight against these gastropods.

Here are some tips to help you fight these pests:

1. To fight slugs, it is best to involve their natural enemies – birds, hedgehogs and frogs. For birds, you can build feeders and hang them on trees, and for frogs, dig a natural puddle at the border. If a hedgehog is seen on the site, you can keep it if you put a piece of biscuit on the bed.
   
   

   If a couple of hedgehogs settle on the site, then you can forget about the slugs

2. As a rule, gardeners have no problems with fresh nettles. If you spread bunches of this burning grass between heads of cabbage, slugs will not appear in the garden. As the nettle dries out, it should be renewed.
3. Slugs love moisture, but not water. If you install grooves with water around the beds, then the pest will not be able to overcome such an obstacle.

Conclusion

You can treat cabbage from slugs with a variety of drugs. Of course, you should start with the most harmless and gentle ways: collect pests by hand, set traps and use folk remedies. Heavy chemicals for slug control should be used to treat plantings only in the most extreme cases, when other methods are ineffective. Fortunately, this happens quite rarely, especially if you keep the garden clean and take the recommended preventive measures.