fungi and slugs

[lindsay]

Had some trouble with slugs last year. so I purchased some organic

slug killer. when I read on the packet the active constituent was iron,

something went click. 

I had observed when I put my mushroom off cuts on the compost heap.

then look at night, the mushroom would be covered in slugs, "a real 

attractant". I was also aware that mushrooms accumulate heavy metals.

so I added some chelated iron to some grain and inoculated with some

oyster mushroom. this spawn works fresh and dried.

it takes about 3 days to kill the slug, by stopping it digestion.

 

5 nights back i took a quick walk around the garden with the torch

and easily could have counted 100+ slugs over a cm in size.

so I through out some dried spawn. and last night when i took a look

all I could find was some really small ones, recently hatched I guess

and the few larger ones I could find seemed dehydrated.

 

recipe- 1 gram of chelated iron per 100 grams of dry grains.

mixed into the cooked grain before sterilization.

[Darklight]

21 hours ago, lindsay said:

recipe- 1 gram of chelated iron per 100 grams of dry grains.

mixed into the cooked grain before sterilization.

 

Whoa- lovely work, seriously impressive. Definitely warrants further investigation at other sites

[rottenjonny]

8 hours ago, Darklight said:

 

Whoa- lovely work, seriously impressive. Definitely warrants further investigation at other sites

 

in a controlled environment

[lindsay]

Yep I do agree, in a controlled environment, would be then real science.

 

A 25 ltr bucket with a lid, some wet rocks in the bottom, so they can hide.

and say 10 each, of each type of slug (I may have 3 types here) or 30 in total.

a tray with some young broccoli leaves and pea sprouts. so you knew you were

no starving them to death, and a tray for the bait. some observations say 2 x per day.

 then in 3 days do a head count of the living or dead.

 

I do know it works myself. it just was not, until the other night did i notice the contrast

in what i could see. I had seen snow peas were just busting through the ground that day.

so i took a look that night. The year before they took out half of them and had to

replant the gaps. this year they are up a inch and only one has been chewed at.

i have be at this place for 3 years and have never know a place so chronic for slugs.

the first year I squashed hundreds and getting close to a thousand.

the second year i use a iron based bait i got online and this worked, but was not cheep.

this year its costing me next to nothing. 

someone else needs to run a trial.

I am just one man who is happy with a victory.

if can help someone else then i may have two.