Pesticides

[jansman]

Many of you here are gardeners, I know. Me too. How many have suffered caterpillar and slug damage?
I have never known it so bad in 30 years of growing. My crops are ok yield-wise, but only because I have so much land at my disposal. Without slug pellets and pesticide sprays, it would have been a total disaster. SHTF it could be even worse.

I know many gardeners like to use 'organic ' methods, but I like results. That is why I keep a stash of slug pellets and caterpillar/aphid sprays.

Do you?

[preppingsu]

I have to admit I use slug pellets, as well as a beer trap and crushed egg shells. Other than that I net things but my little experiment in polyculture this season has meant that we haven't 'lost' as much as we normally do.

Had a shock yesterday. I opened one of the cold frames (had some not so good radish growing in there) and they were completely decimated by green caterpillars. They were everywhere, all over the plants, hanging from the glass, crawling all over the inside of the frame. I have never seen anything like it!

[junmist]

Normally I would encourage toads frogs and birds to look after the slug's and snail's but in my present garden toads frogs and birds 1 slugs and snails 101 so pellets are a must as for beer traps I'd rather drink the beer

[Cocotte]

Provided water isn't an issue, wouldn't it be worth making a small channel around your crops to stop the slugs?
Even half buried rain guttering or a couple of inch wide & deep cement channel. In theory it'd work but I've only got pots & hanging baskets myself. Is there a reason why this wouldn't work?

There was also an episode of Gardener's World which said to pick off caterpillars and throw them in the watering can before watering your plants. The caterpillar water would keep alive ones away. Once again no experience with this as I haven't had any problems with caterpillars

[grenfell]

I'm not so sure a small moat would work , I've seen slugs come out of a bucket of water after I've thrown them in, although it may deter them from attempting to cross it in the first place.
Personally I don't think there is a much better method than to go out collecting them either at night using a torch or easier still place a few black plastic bags or bin lids in the garden and let the slugs and snails collect underneath . They tend to hide in the daytime under things and so are much easier and quicker to collect.
A customer of mine has tried the nemotoads (spelling?) which worked for a few years and is a lot less work and cost her just less than a tenner a year.

[jansman]

Keeler Slugs-the little black ones, live IN the soil. So a moat would not do a lot of good IMO. I think it would also be rather a lot of work.