They are the tried and tested methods many gardeners swear by for keeping slugs at bay.
But popular homemade deterrents designed to stop them won’t actually protect your prized plants at all, a study suggests.
A series of traditional remedies, from copper tape to eggshells, were found to be no help in warding slugs and snails off lettuce, the Royal Horticultural Society found.
In light of the results, the garden experts are recommending green-fingered growers embrace natural predators such as birds instead, or put down traps – or just physically remove slugs and snails by hand.
Home remedies such as copper tape and eggshells are ineffective against slugs and snails (Andrew Halstead/RHS/PA)
Gardeners can also use slug pellets to stop the pests – as long as they stick to the manufacturer’s instructions to minimise any risks to other wildlife, experts said.
The study saw 108 lettuces sown in a series of pots and raised beds at the RHS’s John MacLeod Field Research Facility in Wisley, Surrey, and treated with various methods for controlling slugs and snails, including nothing at all.
The five home remedies tried out in the study were copper tape, horticultural grit, pine bark mulch, wool pellets and eggshells. The lettuces were grown for six weeks before being harvested and the leaves of each lettuce examined to work out the proportion of damage.
Results showed that the slugs and snails inflicted the same amount of damage on the lettuces treated with the remedies as those without. Lettuces treated with wool pellets or pine bark did yield a bigger crop, however, as the treatments acted as a fertiliser, the RHS said.
Although the rough and sharp textures of the home remedies might look unattractive for soft-bodied creatures, the thick slime of slugs and snails is a protective shield, allowing them to glide over the barriers, the experts suggested. Dr Hayley Jones, entomologist at the RHS and lead researcher, said: ‘Many gardeners could be wasting time and money by turning to home remedies in a bid to protect their prized plants.
‘With the likes of eggshells, barks and mulch so far proving no discernible deterrent to slugs and snails we would recommend using proven formulas like nematode biological control if the damage is just too much to bear.’
RHS experts said they would continue to test home remedies for tackling slugs and snails, looking at whether other factors such as environmental conditions and local slug populations made a difference.
The lettuces were grown for six weeks before being harvested and the leaves of each lettuce examined to work out the proportion of damage.
Results showed that the slugs and snails inflicted the same amount of damage on the lettuces treated with the remedies as those without.
Lettuces treated with wool pellets or pine bark did yield a bigger crop, however, as the treatments acted as a fertiliser and mulch, the RHS said.
Although the rough and sharp textures of the home remedies might look unattractive for soft-bodied creatures, the thick slime of slugs and snails is a protective shield, allowing them to glide over the barriers, the experts suggested.
Dr Hayley Jones, entomologist at the RHS and lead researcher, said: “Our study reveals that many gardeners could be wasting time and money by turning to home remedies in a bid to protect their prized plants.
“With the likes of eggshells, barks and mulch so far proving no discernible deterrent to slugs and snails we would recommend using proven formulas like nematode biological control if the damage is just too much to bear.”
RHS experts said they would continue to test home remedies for tackling slugs and snails, looking at whether other factors such as environmental conditions and local slug populations make a difference.
They will also be testing other classic methods for tackling the pesky pests, such as beer traps.
Link textbacklinkexchanges.com
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/lettuce-at-them-why-homespun-remedies-wont-stop-peckish-slugs/
News Pictures Lettuce at them: Why homespun remedies WON’T stop peckish slugs
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2018/09/27/19/wire-4593862-1538073221-68_634x475.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий