how to keep away the bugs

[CoolBreeze87]

The past couple days ive been having problem with bugs, and in particular slugs chewing up my plants. They've killed one and the rest are damaged, but will hopefullly pull through. I've been pulling them off and spraying the plants with an organic insecticde to keep away the smaller bugs and today i put down epsom salt around the plants. Will the epsom salt do the trick? I was thinking of trying a beer trap next. The plants are only 2-3 week old seedlings so you know how devastating slugs can be to them. Has anyone experienced a slug attack on seedlings before and had their plants pull through? I assume most of them will make it since on most of their plants their is only one leaf completely eaten up.

 

[slyfoxberg]

i haven't had this problem myself, but i have read that if you put a ring of copper wire around base of the plant that the slugs wont come near it. i guess they can't cross the copper wire. the beer can trap is also quite effective. good luck.

 

[jaykush]

you put salt? not a good idea if you water it can go into the soil and really mess up your plants. theres other organic ways to get rid of pests and slugs. heres a few i grabbed from a site

• Beer
Slugs are attracted to beer. Set a small amount of beer in a shallow wide jar buried in the soil up to its neck. Slugs will crawl in and drown. Take the jar lid and prop it up with a small stick so rain won't dilute the beer. Leave space for slugs to enter the trap.

• Copper
Small strips of copper can be placed around flower pots or raised beds as obstructions for slugs to crawl over. Cut 2" strips of thin copper and wrap around the lower part of flower pots, like a ribbon. Or set the strips in the soil on edge, making a "fence" for the slugs to climb. Check to make sure no vegetation hangs over the copper which might provide a 'bridge' for the slugs. Copper barriers also work well around wood barrels used as planters.

i like this one ^^^ works good for outdoor plants that are pretty well established.

• Lava Rock
Like diatomaceous earth, the abrasive surface of lava rock will be avoided by slugs. Lava rock can be used as a barrier around plantings, but should be left mostly above soil level, otherwise dirt or vegetation soon forms a bridge for slugs to cross.

hope that helped there really easy to get rid of. same with gnats.

 

[CoolBreeze87]

epsom salts are not the same as table salt in fact i mix epsom salt in with my soil and ive heard of other organic growers doing the same. Im pretty sure epsom salts do not harm the soil in fact they help supply magnesium and sulfur. Anyways my seedlings are outside still in 16 oz beer cups and are not in their final location so i dont think it matters that ive put a circle of epsom salt around them. If the situation gets worse im going to have to get some slug and snail killer. I will try the copper wire though. I have some speaker wire from radio shack i never used im pretty sure its copper just needs to be stripped would this suffice?

 

[jaykush]

yes epsom salts are used in mixes, i myself use them in foliar teas. BUT too much of anything will really fuck up the plants and a lot of salts will do that. too much can result in nutrient lockouts which something you want to avoid.