Caterpillars, slugs, creepy crawlies and how to kill them.

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BML

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I only started a vegetable garden three years ago and each year I have either been assailed by flood, drought or all sorts of creatures intent on destroying whatever I’ve planted from Carrot beetle, to Potato slugs to Cabbage caterpillars and now when I see white butterfly’s flitting about the garden far from considering them beautiful homicidal thoughts raise themselves in my mind.
When I visit a supermarket all I see are pristine vegetables so why are mine destroyed and what can one do to block Carrot beetles, Potato slugs and caterpillars? 

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mumofstig

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Re: Caterpillars, slugs, creepy crawlies and how to kill them.
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2013, 16:43 »
carrots- cover with enviromesh, potatoes - grow slug resistant varieties (some people add a few pellets with each seed potato, caterpillars on brassicas? - cover with brassica or debris netting  ;)

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m1ckz

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Re: Caterpillars, slugs, creepy crawlies and how to kill them.
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2013, 16:55 »
same..simples          :ohmy: ::)

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Salmo

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Re: Caterpillars, slugs, creepy crawlies and how to kill them.
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2013, 18:56 »
The reason why supermarket fruit and vegetables are pristine is that anything damaged or the wrong shape has been removed by the grower in the packhouse. The supermarket will have specified exactly what they want on the growers contract. To avoid damage in the first place the grower will have used both cultural and chemical techniques. There is a lot of covering with fleece and mesh of various sorts.

The other factor that comes in is that in a 20 acre field the butterflies are unlikely to lay their eggs on every cabbage whereas on your plot a couple of butterflies can infest everything.

There are simple ways to combat the three pests that you have mentioned. Carrot fly and caterpillars are straight forward. Keep carrots covered with fine mesh at all times. Either pick off caterpillars or cage cabbages in netting less than 7mm. Slugs are a bigger problem. Look and see if you are leaving areas for the slugs to breed up. The utlimate answer is nematodes in the form of Nemaslug which can be very effective and not expensive if targeted at the most vunerable areas e.g. potatoes and/or brassicas.




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