[NorfolkVeg]

Before I start, I thought it best to ask what measures do you all take in terms of Pest Control on the allotment? Do you put things around the plantings or fruits to 'hide' them away etc?

Rabbits eating your leaves/produce?
Pheasants/Birds eating the berries etc?
Slugs?


Rick

[Kristen]

We have Rabbits. My plot has Rabbit Wire (looks like chicken wire, but "holes" are smaller to stop rabbits getting through)

I put Scaffolder's Debris netting over things that Cabbage White Butterfly, or birds, will eat.

I don't have too much trouble with slugs, but those that do wage war on them - mostly with Slug Pellets I think (they are probably the last bastion in the Wanna-be Organic Gardener's armoury.

White Fly in the greenhouse are a pain for me.  French Marigolds to deter them and sticky yellow card to catch them.

And Red Spider.  Keep the humidity high ...

... but not much, in anything (insecticide-wide), knocks them on the head. I've tried predatory Biological Control but it didn't make much difference, for the cost.

[paintedlady]

I don't think you can hide your crop from pests - most have a good sense of smell.  Physical barriers are necessary if you have problems with animals such as rabbits, deer, pigeons as they do the most damage in a very short space of time.

Slugs & snails, bugs etc - depends on whether you don't mind following a chemical warfare and use slug pellets, or try alternate methods and encourage other wildlife to the plot which feed on them.  However, pest numbers can get rapidly out of control before predators move in so you'll have to think of other methods such as barriers & fine netting.  These are particularly useful to prevent carrot fly infestation, or cabbage white butterflies from laying eggs on leaves, don't forget collars round brassica roots to stop cabbage root flies from laying eggs.  A soapy spray help keep aphid numbers down without harming beneficial insects.  And beer traps can be appealling to slugs.  Using pesticide approved for crops should be a last resort if all else fails, and even then, avoid flowering plants where bees may come in contact with it.

Most (all) plants seem to be at their most vulnerable at the seedling stage and become instant snail food.  However, once at a later stage of growth, some plants seem less appealling & don't need quite the same level of protection.  Also, when it is hot and dry, the snail population seem missing, but after the rain they are at their worst ....

[mumofstig]

  Using pesticide approved for crops should be a last resort if all else fails,

This is paintedlady's opinion  of course    some of us do use pesticides and fungicides, some of us don't........tis your choice to make Rick 

Certainly fine netting is useful against butterflies and carrot fly.
fruit netting is also useful if you want to eat the strawberries/raspberries etc, rather than let the birds have them 

[shokkyy]

I never use chemicals of any sort, but I do use slug pellets. Last year I was using the Growing Success pellets that are approved for organic use and they worked a treat. They don't harm anything else but slugs and snails, not even birds that eat either pellet or slugs killed by pellet.

We do have a thriving rabbit warren in the garden, so I put chicken wire around the veggie beds and that keeps them out fine. The only other barrier I use is netting over the strawberry bed, more for the squirrels than the birds.

[Comfortably Numb]

I use the Growing Success slug pellets as well. The good thing with them is that the slugs crawl away and die somewhere else, so you're not confronted by loads of dead bodies every time you visit the plot 

For crop protection I use debris netting or fleece. My weed killer armoury is a Wolf push-pull hoe 

[fatbelly]

I use Enviromesh against Carrot Root Fly. Netting against the flying rats. Slug Pellets but only under netting or underground when sowing spuds, so the birds can't be harmed by them

[paintedlady]

  Using pesticide approved for crops should be a last resort if all else fails,

This is paintedlady's opinion  of course    some of us do use pesticides and fungicides, some of us don't........tis your choice to make Rick 

depends on whether you don't mind following a chemical warfare ... or try alternate methods

I absolutely agree - hence the earlier sentence    When using pesticides and fungicides, use them wisely as they can do as much harm to beneficial organisms as they do to pests.  The last resort is when all else fails, and ensure the pesticide is suitable for using on crops