The problem of slugs thriving and ferociously chewing away crops has been a long-standing issue, particularly in wetter and temperate climate countries in Europe, and more so in the United Kingdom given its traditional dreary weather conditions all year round. So, can organic granular solutions such as Zagro’s DUSK™ be able to do the job of eradicating slugs? This short article examines the effectiveness of DUSK™ and to address users’ potential misconceptions over the possible inferiority of using organic snail and slug killers like DUSK™ versus other non-organic molluscicides like metaldehyde.
In case you might not be familiar with slugs and what are their differences with snails. Basically, to explain in a simple sentence, “Snails have shells, but slugs do not”. However, this simple explanation might not be convincing to many. So, a more detailed description is, and as shown in an article published on the website of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) of United Kingdom, slugs are gastropods; single-shelled, soft-bodied animals in the mollusc group of animals. Slugs come in various forms of species like Milacidae, Deroceras, and Arion spp. They look like what you see in natural history documentaries about blood-sucking leeches, but they generally do not pose much significant harm to humans.
Slugs are also active throughout the year, but more so in wetter and temperate climate countries like in the UK. Slugs also tend to aim for many types of ornamental plants and leafy vegetables grown in gardens and greenhouses, and they usually leave a trail of holes in leaves, flowers, and potato tubers. The plants’ seedlings are also not spared.
If there is a general conclusion that slugs pose major issues to farmers, be in home gardeners and/or profit oriented crop farmers, the question in most of your minds might be, can slugs be eliminated? Unfortunately, as shown on the website of RHS, slugs cannot be 100 per cent eradicated, but the population spreads can be carefully controlled using a variety of non-chemical control measures, and practitioners might want to consider using Zagro’s DUSK™ granules which are totally organic, and yet effective in cutting down the growth of slug populations, particularly during harvest and rainy seasons.
As demonstrated in one of the DUSK™ themed articles published recently on Zagro’s crop care website, Zagro’s DUSK™ granules are generally water resistant, and does not leech easily into the soil and ground water. Moreover, one the main bait types used in manufacturing Zagro’s DUSK™ products is the core-based granule nature of the product and has a kill rate of 80-100%. In addition, one of the main advantages of using Zagro’s DUSK™ is the environmentally friendly nature of the product, and Zagro does think that is product most suitable in the United Kingdom, particularly with the continued uncertainties surrounding the abrupt ban on the use of metaldehyde in September 2020, with product sales ending in March 2021 and remaining stocks to be used up or disposed of by 31st March 2022. The ban has led to a scramble for other types of molluscicides that have beens introduced in the market since the ban, including ferric phosphates.
Don’t worry, you are not alone. At Zagro, we are strong believers in using organic methods to pest control measures, and DUSK™ is just one of the many organic pest control products introduced globally for over the past six decades of our company’s history. Therefore, if you are still pondering about the various product choices available in the market, or unsure if and how will DUSK™ help in controlling slugs and snail populations, don’t wait any more, pick up the telephone, email us, or chat with one of our product specialists who is on standby to address your questions and uncertainties. Please be assured that Zagro stands ready to help our farmers and gardeners globally and we aim to be one of the major organisations that you can confidently rely on to meet all your agricultural needs.
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