Ph nematodes as slug predators: a miracle solution?
If you've discovered my blog, you're probably bothered by slugs and snails.
You'd probably be very interested in the 7 Steps to get rid of slug by attracting the Alpha predator I have designed with the help of Science, and The slug-proof garden Design I have made (with the help of dozens of scientific studies too).
It changed everything for me. I can finally grow lettuces, cabbages, strawberries and cucurbits without pulling the hair out of my head.
Don't hesitate, you'll probably save a lot of time!
Are ph nematodes the miracle solution for permaculture gardeners? Can they hinder sustainable natural regulation of the slug problem in the vegetable garden?
In this article, I try to answer these and other questions. I then list the various advantages and disadvantages of using nematodes to control slugs in the garden.
What are slug predator nematodes, and how can they be used to control slugs in the vegetable garden?
Nematodes, also known as roundworms, are parasitic worms. They make up more than 80% of the planet’s animal kingdom, and are divided into over 40,000 different species.
Some species of ph nematodes have specialized as slug parasites. A case in point is phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita (known simply as “ph”), which can only survive in the presence of these gastropods.
This microscopic worm enters a slug through its respiratory orifice (pneumostome), then once inside, the nematode spreads symbiotic bacteria that will decompose the slug from the inside. Normally, after 3 days, the slug stops eating, dying after 6 to 10 days. And it takes an average of 2 to 3 weeks to see significant effects on the slug population in the garden. As ph nematodes live underground, only slugs that have taken refuge there will be infested by the parasite.
Slugs infested with ph nematodes can be recognized by their more swollen upper bodies than the normal .
Whilealmost all slugs are vulnerable to ph nematodes, this is not the case foradultSpanish slugs (arion vulgaris) (scientificsource), but they also spare snails.
How to use ph nematodes
After storing in the fridge (please note that the shelf life is fairly short), dilute the powder (the nematodes) in a watering can (for dilution volume, see your packaging leaflet). Then water the area of your garden to be treated (ph nematodes need moisture to move around, and take refuge inside the soil), after first wetting your soil. Be careful to spray only in the evening, as ph nematodes are very sensitive to sunlight (they live underground ).
Do nematodes, considered to be natural slug control agents, provide sustainable control of slug populations in the garden?
The first thing that jumps out at me, personally, is that a strong new change is being made to your garden system. Your vegetable garden is already a modification of a natural ecosystem. (most plants are not indigenous, for example)this biological treatment can be seen as the vector of a new imbalance, that we often can’t anticipate… And if the ph nematodes manage to adapt to the ecosystem and stay there (and even attack other prey), what are the potential risks? If not, what could be the impact on the ecosystem, if only the Spanish slugs survive?
And then, if these parasitic worms kill all the slugs in your garden, won’t the natural predators of these gastropods run the risk of running out of food? In my opinion, that’s the risk… and the consequence is that it makes it very difficult for these natural predators to establish themselves in the long term.
And, while ph nematodes can be very effective in eradicating all slugs from your vegetable garden, the effect is only temporary. As soon as these worms run out of slugs to eat, they will die.
And, as this type of treatment slows down most of the slugs’ long-term regulation mechanisms (installation of natural predators, for example), you’ll have to repeat the treatment every year, rather than letting nature rebalance itself.
We must also remember that slugs play an essential role in an ecosystem, and that “eradication”, as opposed to “regulation”, deprives the garden of these benefits.
Robin
A passionate experimental vegetable grower, I had huge slug problems during my first 2 years of vegetable gardening.
Nothing (eggshells, ashes, etc.) seemed to work…
And yet, if the Internet was to be believed, everything was supposed to work…
In short, faced with an obvious problem of misinformation, I decided to take action: I tested all the famous “slug barriers”, so as to have a clear mind, and know what to do.
I filmed my (13) tests(here, in French)
The results were crystal clear: nothing was able to effectively block the path of slugs and snails, except Water, usable with trenches at least 5 cm deep and 10 cm wide, or Copper, if used vertically, if its height is at least 7 cm
But a water-based barrier is difficult to implement, and copper is expensive…
It was by turning to scientific studies that I found the solution: adopting a slug predator in the garden, present everywhere in the world, which has a huge regulatory effect on them.
The studies show it. And I called this predator the Alpha predator of slugs.
Using dozens of scientific studies again, I constructed an action plan of the most effective arrangements to attract this Alpha predator to the garden sustainably, and to see it multiply by itself, year after year, season after season.
And to get rid, definitively (and intelligently), of slugs.
I have gathered these 7 steps in a digital book that I propose on this site, and at the end of the book, there is also a video training module on designing a slug-proof garden.
You can find this digital book (which contains all of this) by clicking here.
And what if you don’t get rid of your slugs by following the advice in this book? It’s simple, I will refund you in full (but it will work, if you follow the instructions properly).
So, don’t hesitate to discover the simple 7 Steps that can change your springs.
Advantages of using ph nematodes for slug control
ph nematodes are highly effective at eradicating slugs
This method of control by living organisms is targeted, and a priori has no side-effects on plants, other animals or the health of your soil (if this is not the side-effects indirect following the disappearance of slugs from the garden system).
ph nematodes do not work on snails
Disadvantages of using ph nematodes in a permaculture vegetable garden
The price of ph nematodes is quite high: around 45 euros for 100 square meters.
Their action is not effective on adult Spanish slugs (arion vulgaris).
The solution isonly punctual, and you’ll have to retreat if slugs reappear.
The use of these worms to eradicate slugs seems to me to be too recent to be certain that they do not have any side effects (short-term or longer-term) for the environment.
This type of treatment slows down the natural long-term regulation of slugs in your garden, especially as their natural predators are suddenly unable to find food.
The action of ph nematodes is rather “trashy”, and slug death is slow and probably painful. Life science cannot definitively say whether slugs (invertebrates in general) are -or non- sentient beings (whetherthey can subjectively feel pain: phenomenal consciousness in Ned Block’s sense). As a precautionary measure, out of respect, and given that the introduction of nematodes depends solely on our choice, I think this is also a factor to be taken into account.
Conclusion
At first glance, ph nematodes are the miracle solution for organic gardeners beset by slugs: their action is both formidable and biological.
But be careful, because introducing them into your vegetable garden is yet another modification to the system.
This change not only has a one-off effect, but also hampers the natural long-term regulation of slug populations, for example by preventing natural predators from establishing themselves in the garden over the long term.
The rather trashy mode of action of ph nematodes may also lead us to reconsider the situation, looking back to the philosophical roots of permaculture.
There are other ways of controlling slug populations in the garden without hindering long-term control of the problem:
Among the so-called natural slug pellets
“, can try slug barriers (see the main article in the “Slugs” section), slug-proof mulchesplanting plants with repellent properties (see the “prevention through plants” section of my website), or attract predators of these gastropods (see below). …
The hedgehog
Leopard slugs
Carabid beetles
Even better! Follow scrupulously these 7 steps 👇
This is the action plan I devised following the findings of dozens of scientific studies on the subject.
I owe the success of my cabbages, salads, strawberries and cucurbits to it.
Click here to find out more:
0 Comments