Chemical Control of Slugs Affecting Vegetables and Strawberries in the Pacific Northwest1

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in western Washington on the control of slugs affecting vegetables and strawberries using metal-dehyde baits, sprays, and dusts. Slug populations for the most part consisted of Deroceras reticulatum (Muller) and Arion ater (Linnaeus); although other species including Prophysaon andersoni (Cooper), Milax gagates (Linnaeus), Arion circumscriptus (Johnston), and Limax maximus Linnaeus were present. The best method of determining slug populations was to establish bait stations in plots. Baits were placed under boards; then dead slugs were collected from the bait stations. Metaldehyde dusts and sprays reduced slug populations in bean and corn plantings. In strawberry plantings, metaldehyde sprays and dusts were superior to baits in reducing populations. Metaldehyde sprays and dusts were effective only when the boom was lowered to within a few inches of the ground. No control was obtained when the materials were applied above the foliage.