Slug nematodes

How it works

Microscopic worms (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) that hunt slugs in the soil, enter through the breathing pore and release bacteria that stop them feeding. The slug dies underground, out of sight.

Recipe

Mix the pack into water per label and apply through a watering can with a coarse rose to pre-moistened soil.

How to apply

Water into moist soil above 5 C, ideally in the evening. Protection lasts about 6 weeks; repeat for a vulnerable crop like lettuce or hosta.

Targets — pests

Slugs

Targets — diseases

Not recorded — the field is blank rather than guessed.

Supplies: Slug nematodes, Watering can with coarse rose

Days to harvest after spraying: 0

Best months: March, April, May, September, October

Cautions

Living organisms - they arrive with a use-by date and must be refrigerated and used quickly. Useless on dry or cold soil. Will not touch snails on foliage above ground.

The thing people get wrong

Nematodes are the only slug control that works on the young slugs still underground, which is where 95 percent of the population actually is. Traps and pellets only ever catch the few that have surfaced.