Slugs and tomatoes

Jon Ziemba

Sou Coupe plant French marygold. Songs live the m und Pferde the m oder tomatoes.

MrsK

What about a nice ring of diatomaceous earth around the plants?

Jon Ziemba

Will try interplanting marigolds next year - thank you Jens.  Didn’t think of that.

MrsK - I’m using DE right now, and it is working well for our previous ant problem.  Unfortunately, it’s not deterring the slugs.

Fts

What is your climate like and are you supporting your tomatoes in any way?

 

Jon Ziemba

We’re in 5b, short growing season - May 31 last frost and September 10 first frost.  We had 330 inches snow last winter.

The tomatoes are staked and we use twine to secure them at several points on each plant.

Fts

Are you in an area that gets lots of rain?  Slugs generally like areas that are very wet.  Are you positive that the damage is being caused by slugs.  Tomato fruit worms and horn worms are both active right now and can cause fruit and folage damage.  Is there any way that you could post a photo of your growing set up and the damage you are seeing?

 

Dominica

I had problems with slugs and my sunflowers this year. What worked for me was a barrier of copper tape and ground up coffee beans. I just left a ring around each plant and that seemed to keep them away. Good luck!

Jon Ziemba

Hello Fts, our Fall and Winter months are our wettest months.  We get just enough rain so that we only need to water maybe once per week in the late Spring and Summer months.  This Summer was really dry - we had a 4-5 week stretch with very little rain.

I suspect the damage is from slugs because I pulled lots off the tomatoes.  I haven’t seen any other pests around the plants.

Unfortunately, most of our plants have died back or have been pulled at this point, and we have canned or eaten most of our harvest.  I don’t have any photos on my phone.

Jon Ziemba

Hi Dominica- I will give that a try!  Do you use freshly ground coffee or the grounds after brewing the coffee?

christen

Hi Jon, I don't think it matters - it is the texture of the grounds that stops the slugs from crossing.  I don't drink coffee, but your question got me to thinking about maybe buying some and using it only for that!

Jon Ziemba

Christen211 -  I see.  I think my only concern with unbrewed coffee would be the acidity.  From what I understand, coffee loses most of its acidity when it’s brewed.

Cherlynn

lids with beer in them really draw the slugs away.   The area I'm in now really doesn't have slugs.   Or at least I've never seen them.  Had tons of them in the last place we lived.  Horned worms really thrive where I'm at now and I'd rather have slugs!

christen

I started using beer - it helped some, but I don't think the slugs appreciated my cheap beer.  I don't drink it, so I wasn't going buy them the expensive stuff! ;-)

Fts

Did you actually see the slugs on your tomatoes?  I have never  know slugs to be a significant pest on tomatoes and rarely make their own holes in fruits tougher than strawberries.  They usually stay close to the ground and take advantage of holes made by other creatures.  If you have that high a slug population I would suggest removing the mulch and putting down wooden boards that can be turned over so you can remove slugs that hide on the bottom of them during the day.  You can go out in the mornings and scrape them into a bucket of water with a drop or two of soap added so the slugs will sink and drown.  If done now and early in the spring this will greatly reduce your slug population.  If you don't find many slugs on the bottom of the boards we need to try to figure out what else could be causing your tomato problems.

 

christen

Usually by the time we get to tomatoes, it's too warm for slugs, so I haven't.  I was referring to my experience with lettuce.  Sorry for the confusion.