In the Garden.

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXII, Issue 249, 20 August 1928, Page 3

In the Garden.

REMEDIES AGAINST SLUGS. Some experiments with slugs at Harpenden are described in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Journal, and as a result should interest many who have not had an opportunity of reading that magazine. Twelve substances were employed, with the object of testing their effect. Curiously enough, the one most commonly used in gardens —lime —was not among them. That may have been because it was tried a good many years ago, and was found that it merely made the slugs change their skins, and that they seemed none the worse for it. So long as it remains dry, it may keep them away from plants surrounded by it, for it adheres to their slimy bodies, and would eventually suffocate them if they became completely covered by it, but when once it has been wetted by rain or heavy dew, tuey can crawl over it in safety. Of the 12 substances employed in the Harpenden experiments, four produced little or no effect; five were irritant, but the slugs afterwards recovered; the remaining three, borax, sodium fluoride, and aluminium sulphate, proved to be deadly. Borax, however, had to be discarded, as it destroyed vegetation, and sodium fluoride had a scorching effect which could not be remedied. Aliminium sulphate acted in the same way, but when lime was added it was found to be quite safe. The recipe given is: — Half a pound of quick lime dissolved in four gallons of water, the clear liquid strained off when cold and added to 11b of aluminium sulphate dissolved in a gallon of water, and the whole again strained. “The most advantageous time to spray,” we are told, “is shortly after sundown or after a shower —that is to say, when the slugs arc most likely to be astir. In the experiments, thorough wettings with the spray at this concentration proved fatal to the slug. Individuals shelterings at the base of the plants were not actually killed, but would not touch foliage so sprayed, and being unable to crawl far on the surrounding soil, eventually perished. Several applications at intervals of a few days have been found to destroy every slug in an area so treated.” This should be good news for gardeners.