Slugs (again)

TWi58630

Member
Location
Durham
I have found mixing ferric phosphate and metaldyhyde mini pellets 50/50 works well 2.5 kgs of each per hectare.
none of the pellets we are allowed to use now last for more than a light shower of rain.
If you want to see if you have a problem with slugs and you have nothing better to do, go out when it is dark and the dew has come in and look with a torch, you will get a shock. Its the baby slugs that do the damage.
I have spread 2 x 5 kg/ha lots on our OSR in the last7 days and the little sods are still munching but there are a lot of them not feeling very well.
 

britt

Member
BASE UK Member
Rape's had a full rate Meta pre-em and then 2/3 rate pheric phosphate a week later. There are lots of tiny ones.
Even had to pellet some forage rye which they were shredding as it came through. They don't seem to like the fodder raddish though (perhaps the rye is tastier).
 

Shutesy

Moderator
Arable Farmer
Think I've lost a good % of my OSR to juvenile slugs working underground, hollowing out seeds, probably haven't even come above ground to eat the 5kg/ha Sluxx I applied though they did seem to disappear quickly! Fields were also raked before drilling to try and knock a few on the head and smash a few eggs about. Perhaps I should have ploughed and powerharrowed the field to a fine tilth, but then I would only have suceeded in loosing every bit of moisture rather than that which the DTS has conserved which did manage to get the crop going....just, and then when it did rain it probably would have capped!!!
 
Think I've lost a good % of my OSR to juvenile slugs working underground, hollowing out seeds, probably haven't even come above ground to eat the 5kg/ha Sluxx I applied though they did seem to disappear quickly! Fields were also raked before drilling to try and knock a few on the head and smash a few eggs about. Perhaps I should have ploughed and powerharrowed the field to a fine tilth, but then I would only have suceeded in loosing every bit of moisture rather than that which the DTS has conserved which did manage to get the crop going....just, and then when it did rain it probably would have capped!!!
One day you might get round to trying something different that we discussed, you never know you might be pleasantly surprised rather than having the feeling you are feeding and breeding them
 

Shutesy

Moderator
Arable Farmer
One day you might get round to trying something different that we discussed, you never know you might be pleasantly surprised rather than having the feeling you are feeding and breeding them
Would Breakthru have worked if said juvenile slugs never came to the surface? In the various slug traps I have in my different fields I haven't yet had 4 slugs in one when checked early mornings, and above ground grazing of plants hasn't actually been to bad. Everything has been eaten below the surface and some might be flea beetle damage!
 

Dan Powell

Member
Location
Shropshire
None apart from brassicas
Sown any grass/clover? Getting hammered here - may have to re-drill in spring...

One field of rape dosed twice so far. Not sure it's killing the little ones that are doing the damage. Cover crops got away fine with one dose at drilling.

Losing patience with the system. If it wasn't for the slugs I would have no worries but it's the same every year. 4 years in a row no till failures because of slugs.

This NEVER happened with ploughing.
 
Sown any grass/clover? Getting hammered here - may have to re-drill in spring...

One field of rape dosed twice so far. Not sure it's killing the little ones that are doing the damage. Cover crops got away fine with one dose at drilling.

Losing patience with the system. If it wasn't for the slugs I would have no worries but it's the same every year. 4 years in a row no till failures because of slugs.

This NEVER happened with ploughing.

To be honest a lot of things I chose not to do because of timing it with worst slug pressure ie chopping straw, osr if I can avoid it etc. I agree lots of pellets makes the job dearer.
 

No Worries

Member
Location
Cheshire
Sown any grass/clover? Getting hammered here - may have to re-drill in spring...

One field of rape dosed twice so far. Not sure it's killing the little ones that are doing the damage. Cover crops got away fine with one dose at drilling.

Losing patience with the system. If it wasn't for the slugs I would have no worries but it's the same every year. 4 years in a row no till failures because of slugs.

This NEVER happened with ploughing.

Dan it might be worth having a word with @drummer_bruhaha. I did the other day, and found it helpful.
 

Louis Mc

Member
Location
Meath, Ireland
We have lost some patches of our cover crops to slugs but to be fair we didn't put up much of a fight. No straw harrowing, rolling or pellets. It looks bad from the road but I'm not overly worried about it. Most of our covers are quite goo and asking pressure is much less after wheat where harvest was in drier conditions.

Our rape although quite thin in places should be fine now I think, drilled with pellets and some on top post rolling. It's been a sluggy year for certain, but to be fair most others on traditional and sumo type establishment have Used about the same amount of pellets
 
Sown any grass/clover? Getting hammered here - may have to re-drill in spring...

One field of rape dosed twice so far. Not sure it's killing the little ones that are doing the damage. Cover crops got away fine with one dose at drilling.

Losing patience with the system. If it wasn't for the slugs I would have no worries but it's the same every year. 4 years in a row no till failures because of slugs.

This NEVER happened with ploughing.

Do you grow OSR?
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Be honest now, how many slug pellets are you using because I'm using bloody loads and still having crops decimated.

Does ferric phosphate actually do anything? Loads of little tiny slugs are the problem.

OSR had 4kgs of FP applied by the drill using what is normally the avadex applicator, so far so good but monitoring carefully !

also split the AS fert - half with drill and the rest on top at night - that gets a mega kill

rolled nearly all OSR this year
 

Dan Powell

Member
Location
Shropshire
consolidation - tines don't do that so well vs a disc

loose open soil is a slugs best mate
That was my gut feeling too.

Are you using your CO6 for rape or the green one?

Interesting that you rate the ammonium sulphate method - what time of night are you applying? And will it rust my sprayer up (I need it to last a good 20 years...)
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
That was my gut feeling too.

Are you using your CO6 for rape or the green one?

Interesting that you rate the ammonium sulphate method - what time of night are you applying? And will it rust my sprayer up (I need it to last a good 20 years...)


used both, more in with 750a than Co though

AS - yes its is corrosive but not as bad as AN etc however - just wash down after us, our bateman has been ding it for 6 years now and isn't rusty, no specific time, just in conditions whene slugs are on surface, its a contact thing
 

Dan Powell

Member
Location
Shropshire
used both, more in with 750a than Co though

AS - yes its is corrosive but not as bad as AN etc however - just wash down after us, our bateman has been ding it for 6 years now and isn't rusty, no specific time, just in conditions whene slugs are on surface, its a contact thing
Cheers, will give it a go.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
All osr crops get 2 doses of metaldehyde. I have a couple of fields that didn't get rolled afterwards & the slugs seem to be enjoying the loose freedom that chopped straw gives them. Luckily there's enough rain about to bring them to the surface to be attracted to the pellets instead of staying underground & feasting on the crop's shoots instead. All wheat after grass or osr will get 2 doses. A normal year means one dose post rolling as a "test baiting" with follow up as necessary. More than 3 doses means I've not go the first one on quickly enough & the little buggers have had a head start.
 

Dan Powell

Member
Location
Shropshire
What should I do with this. Been for a bit of a walk across my OSR stubble and found 5-10 biggish slugs per square foot. I dosed with 5 kgs of sluxx immediately post harvest hoping to let the volunteers get away so I could sow on the green.

Well the volunteers are growing but by the looks of it so is the slug population...

@drummer_bruhaha ?
 

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