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I am wondering if any of you have had actual experience of using the nematode slug killer. It is quite expensive and I wonder how long it lasts etc. I used the wasp to control white fly in the greenhouse and found it very successful.

I have used it quite few times and its been very successful 'stuff' on my plots.
There is no definite 'how long it last' as it all depends how well you get it to work in first place...it is all about correct weather and ground condition= timing and how well you get the treatment coverage.
I haven't done any repeat treatments in same season, but found that one is enough for one growing season...nor have I repeated the treatment in same bit of land in following year....so in that sense the effect have lasted well. But I'm not looking to clear the slugs from ground...just reduce the number enough to avoid any major damage.

I know some people have found slug nematodes disappointment...but again..have they provided right ground conditions for them to flourish?...are their expectations of the level of 'clearance'  too high?

I can only highly recommend them...

Nematodes are not 100% efficient. As they are living organisms they are not going to totally wipe out their food source.

Yes, you will always get an equilibrium between slugs and nematodes - as the number of slugs drops, the number of nematodes will as well as they've nothing to feed on. So you'll never wipe them out, but hopefully will get a decent reduction in numbers.

I'm going to try it this year as the higher of my two halves is riddled with slugs (the other one flooded, so is currently covered in drowned slugs), I've heard that you can keep a stock going by keeping some liquid with nematodes in in a bucket with a lid and lobbing any slugs you find in just to keep them going, but I've never tried it - yet!

Adrian

Im glad you started this post i have been reading up them online as i am going to try them this year, had so much slug damage last year to my potatoes  really disappointed.

It is the same with the wasp for white fly they are meant as a control

Quote from: daitheplant on January 26, 2014, 22:12:25
Nematodes are not 100% efficient. As they are living organisms they are not going to totally wipe out their food source.

My limited experience of using this the last 2 years indicates :
Not so good on snails
Expensive if you use it as much as recommended in comparison to other allotment expenses, seed, fertilizer, tools, rent etc
Good in targetting under soil slugs better than other methods.
Works after rain.
theres a lot of reviews on amazon - including one which recommends a method of how to make sure it spreads in the slug population- something about getting slugs to cannabilise dead slugs sprinkled with nematodes.
I'd give it a go.

I use them on my tattie beds, and for swedes just because it's so depressing to find stuff with 'residents'. I find they work really well, but it's too expensive for me to use on the whole plot.

Quote from: daitheplant on January 26, 2014, 22:12:25
Nematodes are not 100% efficient. As they are living organisms they are not going to totally wipe out their food source.

No 'treatment'..chemical or biological will be that efficient. Nor one would want to neither as not all slugs cause trouble for our crops...killing 100 % would be disaster for soil ecology.
I can only repeat...nematodes have proven to be good enough for the money I spend for the purpose to just reduce the slug numbers , so that young plants and seedlings have a chance to grow.

We are using them this year and so far so good. We use nematodes on the raised beds combined with organic slug pellets around young plants to protect against snails. two pronged attack! Working OK though so far. Mind you the Beans and Peas are now being attacked by Pea/Bean Weevil.

I used them for the first time this year. I bought them 3 weeks ago and paid about £11 per pack, I used two packs and laid them when rain was forecast, we had intermittent rain for a few days afterwards, so good conditions. I put in a lot of baby veg last week and to my amazement, not one has been eaten. I do use a few pellets too as snails live on top of the soil. I think nematodes are fantastic based on my results and will use them every year, if only at the start of the planting out season but only if the ground is moist enough. I have been veg growing for 35 years and never seen such a good result tbh. wool pellets, beer traps and all that stuff, none of it works

The conditions seem to be very good for slugs this year, a lot of my crops are disappearing so I had also been considering nematodes, this thread is good for me too.

I've received a pack today that covers 40M^2.

I don't need to apply it to an area that large, is it OK to use a higher concentration/go back over it?

Is it OK to apply to beds already growing vegetables?

PS First post on here, looking forward to learning! Thanks.

Yes on both counts there AndersonC. Our second application is on route (they usually last about 6 weeks in total)

Grand thanks, I've read the pack and it says "up to 40 sq m" = so I'll give 20 sq m a good dose up. It's the first ever application so it won't do any harm to be a bit liberal with it.

Quote from: AndersonC on May 29, 2014, 18:56:51
PS First post on here, looking forward to learning! Thanks.

Sorry I can't help with your questions but wanted to say Hi and Welcome to the forum 

How kind, thank you.