A visual guide to slug infestations in the garden: The plants they love

Summer is just around the corner, and we’re now entering a season with plenty of rain. It rained last week, and more rain is expected next week. On the one hand, this is very encouraging news; on the other hand, excessive moisture creates the perfect conditions for slugs to run rampant. There are currently quite a few of them in the gardens. In the following lines, we’ll take a closer look at the plants that the slugs have attacked. They certainly didn’t like all of them, but they gave some of them a hard time.

Beans as the biggest attraction

That’s right. We planted beans for the first time. They became a literal target for the slugs and acted like a red rag to a bull. Some plants didn’t survive the slimy pests’ rampage. Others now resemble colanders. The holes in the leaves are more than obvious. Still, many plants survived.

Photo: Radek Stepan

Slugs love lettuce

We’ve seen this for ourselves as well. Some heads of lettuce weren’t even heads anymore. The slugs literally devastated them overnight.

Photo: Radek Stepan

Sweet potatoes and potatoes full of holey leaves

We decided to grow both crops in bags this year. But the bags certainly aren’t much of an obstacle for the slugs. Slime trails are visible on the sides of the bags and, of course, on the plants. It’s not so bad with the potatoes, but the slugs absolutely love the sweet potatoes. The sight of the plant itself is quite disheartening, as you can see for yourself.

Photo: Radek Stepan

Our favorite Peruvian groundcherry

We have four of these plants. The slugs managed to wreak havoc on some of them, even though the Peruvian ground cherries are in raised beds. Although smaller, they could still serve as a barrier. In reality, however, this is not the case.

They’ve only nibbled on the watermelons

The slugs aren’t really interested in watermelons this year. They probably prefer the sweet fruit to the watermelon leaves. Only the first few leaves have been lightly nibbled. The zucchini we have growing next to the watermelons have remained untouched.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers seem to be safe

The slugs have also left the most classic crops untouched. Perhaps only a few peppers show minor damage.

Sources: Author

Photo and photogallery: Radek Stepan