Thursday 13th 2019 Edition No. 9 FREE

That's the title for this edition!

Home remedies used by gardeners to deter and are to be tested scientifically for the first time.

Researchers at the Royal Horticultural Society are investigating whether the likes of egg shells and copper have any effect in keeping slugs away.

The RHS is starting scientific trials of five traditional remedies to see if they are based on science or myth.

Dr Hayley Jones says the results, available in the autumn, will help them advise gardeners with real confidence.

"It will really start to tell us how well some of these barriers work," she said. "Is it worth spending your time and money on them?"

Scientific trials at the RHS research facility in Wisley, Surrey

(image copyright RHS))

Until now there has been no formal study of the benefits of copper tape, sharp horticultural grit, pine bark mulch, wool pellets and egg shells, compared with doing nothing, she said.

"With slugs and snails regularly topping the list of gardener complaints we want to know if home remedies have a role to play or are nothing more than a 'plants man's placebo'," said Dr Jones, an RHS entomologist.

The methods will be tested at the RHS research facility at Wisley Gardens, on lettuce plants grown in pots and raised beds.

The plants will be examined weekly for signs of damage and, at the end of the experiment, all the lettuces will be harvested and weighed.

The grey garden , Deroceras reticulatum, is an important agricultural

(image copyright RHS)

Meanwhile, a garden at this year's RHS Chatworth Flower Show, will highlight the importance of plant health.

Dr Jones said many people don't realise that slugs can be an important part of the ecosystem in the garden.

They are "super interesting", and often overlooked, she added.

Common misconceptions include:

All slugs are pests

There are more than 40 of slug currently found in the UK, with only a small number of these considered as pest species. Not all slugs feed on vegetation; some eat fungi and a small number are carnivorous, feeding on the likes of earthworms.

Slugs all look the same

For many people, the large, black species of slug springs to mind; yet those that are tiny, up to 2cm long, can be the biggest pest.

The rise of Spanish "killer" slugs While invasions of cannibal slugs from Spain (Arion vulgaris) have attracted attention, most slugs will eat another dead slug if they find one.

One home remedy that has yet to be tested is beer. Some have advocated putting out a saucer of beer to tempt Spanish slugs to an early end.

No-one has yet done "real scientific" studies on beer and slugs, but it was an area of interest, said Dr Jones

SLUG JOKE OF THE WEEK

How do you show a slug who’s boss?

Assault him.

COULD CAFFEINE BE THE NEW SLUG PELLETS?

Humans have a new weapon in the eternal battle against slugs and snails - the double espresso.

Slugs and snails hate caffeine, researchers have discovered. The chemical could become an environmentally acceptable pesticide.

Robert Hollingsworth of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service in Hilo, Hawaii, and his colleagues were testing caffeine sprays against the coqui , an introduced species that infests potted plants.

They noticed that a 1-2% caffeine solution killed nearly all the slugs and snails within two days. Concentrations as low as 0.01% put the pests off their dinner. A cup of instant coffee contains about 0.05% caffeine, and brewed coffee has more.

Coffee grounds are already recommended as a home remedy for keeping slugs and snails at bay. Grounds repel slugs, Hollingsworth found, but a caffeine solution is much more effective, he says: "Slugs turn back immediately after contacting the [caffeinated soil]."

Caffeine is more effective against snails than the current commercial standard, metaldehyde. It may even qualify as organic, adds Hollingsworth.

“Caffeine is likely to have an effect on beneficial insects”

"I would expect caffeine applications to kill small snails and slugs, and repel the larger ones," says Hollingsworth. He envisages it being used in orchid greenhouses and on fruit and vegetable crops.

Toxicologist Peter Usherwood, of the University of Nottingham, UK, thinks that caffeine is best suited for use in domestic gardens. But he cautions that the chemical's toxic effects are not limited to slugs and snails. "It's likely to have an effect on beneficial insects," he says.

In cricket a slug is counted as an Tyrannosaur express! obstruction so if a cricket ball hits a slug the batting side receives 5 points, the same applies with hats!

Slug Trump

Some quick slug stuff

Key information

Several species are widespread and common in gardens:

• Garden slug - - up to 30 mm long, bluish-black with orange underside • Great grey slug - Limax maximus - up to 200 mm long, pale grey with dark spots • Large - Arion ater - up to 150 mm long, jet black or orange with a black head. Slugs are similar to snails, but they have no shell. Instead they have a horny plate concealed under the mantle or saddle. Slugs are active only when the temperature is above 5 degrees C. In dry, cold weather they stay deep in the soil.

Slugs have both male and female reproductive cells () but must find a mate to exchange sperm before they can reproduce. They lay batches of gelatinous, watery eggs in moist crevices. The climatic conditions determine how quickly the eggs develop and hatch – the warmer it is, the quicker they develop. It takes about a year for slugs to mature into adults, which can live for about two years.

Slugs can be serious garden pests, eating seedlings, plants and fruit and vegetable crops. However, they are eaten by a range of wildlife including , foxes, , many , slow worms, violet ground and Devil’s coach horses. What they eat:

Slugs eat plant leaves, stems and roots, decaying matter and plant debris, fungi and earthworms. Identifying features:

Natural habitats: Bog garden Compost heap Flower border Hedge Herb garden Lawn/grassy area Log pile Meadow area Patio Rock/stone pile Shrub Woodland area Where and when to see them You can find slugs throughout the garden, especially at night. Sometimes on the lawn after heavy rain. Also, in hedgerows, meadows, parks and woods.

• JAN • FEB MAR APR MAY • JUN JUL SEP • OCT NOV+DEC

(blue highlighted months are months when you can find slugs)

They can generally be seen at night in spring, summer and autumn.

Welcome to the bottle! At the bottle we give advice, news updates and Ideas for charities and organizations you could follow. Look at our website for more information.

Don't try this at home!

Accepting a simple dare — eat a garden slug — had devastating consequences for one teenage rugby player in Australia, according to news reports: When the teen swallowed the slug, it led to a parasitic infection that caused a serious brain disease, leaving the teen paralyzed from the neck down.

Sam Ballard was 19 years old in 2010 when he swallowed the slug, which was carrying the roundworm parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, commonly known as the rat lungworm, according to Australian news site News.com.au. As adults, these parasites typically infect rats, but during the earlier stages of their life cycle, they may be carried by slugs and snails that eat rat feces — and they can infect people who consume infected snails or slugs that are undercooked. In Ballard's case, the parasite caused a serious brain infection. He fell into a coma for 420 days and was paralyzed from the neck down when he was released from the hospital three years later, News.com.au recently reported. Ballard, who is still paralyzed and requires round-the-clock care, was in the news this month after his insurance benefits package from Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme was recently slashed from 492,000 Australian dollars ($383,700) to about AU$135,000 ($105,000), according to News.com.au.

In addition to snails and slugs, rat lungworm can parasitize , land crabs and freshwater shrimp, which may also pass the infection to people if these are consumed raw or undercooked, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with rat lungworm infections often don't develop any symptoms, or they may exhibit mild, short-term symptoms such as fever, headache, stiff neck, or nausea and vomiting. In fact, the parasite generally dies on its own, even if the infected person receives no treatment, the CDC says.

However, the infection can sometimes lead to a rare form of meningitis known as eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, in which a type of white blood cell known as an eosinophil increases in number in the brain and spinal fluid. (Meningitis refers to inflammation of the meninges, the lining of the brain and spinal cord.) In some cases — such as Ballard's — this can lead to severe disruption of the nervous system, causing paralysis or even death, according to the CDC.

Though most of the known cases of rat lungworm infection have been documented in the Pacific islands and parts of Asia, a study published in May 2017 in the journal PLOS ONE indicated that the parasite is now established throughout Florida. What's more, cases of the parasitic infection on Maui in Hawaii are also on the rise, with four people infected and four suspected infections reported in April of last year. Researchers warned that as the world continues to warm, the worm's range will likely continue to expand, potentially introducing it across the continental United States.

Puzzle page!

§ A slug’s blood is green. § § Most British slugs eat rotting vegetation, but a few are carnivorous. § § Slugs do play an important role in ecology by eating decomposing vegetation. § § A slug lays 20-100 eggs several times a year. § § Slug eggs can lay dormant in the soil for years and then hatch when conditions are right. § § Gastropods form the second largest class in the kingdom, the largest being the insects. § § Slugs are hermaphrodite, having both male and female reproductive organs. § § In favourable conditions a slug can live for up to 6 years. § § A slug is basically a muscular foot, and the name ‘gastropod’ literally means stomach foot. § § Unlike snails that hibernate during winter, slugs are active whenever the temperature is above 5°C. § § A slug is essentially a without a shell. § § Slugs used to live in the ocean, which is why they still need to keep moist. § § § § § § A slug’s blood is green. § § Most British slugs eat rotting vegetation, but a few are carnivorous. § § Slugs do play an important role in ecology by eating decomposing vegetation. § § A slug lays 20-100 eggs several times a year. § § Slug eggs can lay dormant in the soil for years and then hatch when conditions are right. § § Gastropods form the second largest class in the animal kingdom, the largest being the insects. § § Slugs are hermaphrodite, having both male and female reproductive organs. § § In favourable conditions a slug can live for up to 6 years.

§ § A slug is basically a muscular foot, and the name ‘gastropod’ literally means stomach foot. § § Unlike snails that hibernate during winter, slugs are active whenever the temperature is above 5°C. § § A slug is essentially a snail without a shell. § § Slugs used to live in the ocean, which is why they still need to keep moist. §