Ground beetles vs slugs

Good afternoon. I ask for advice from entomologists: do ground beetles eat slugs? types of ground beetles that eat slugs? ground beetle preferences (slug sizes)? and all that you can suggest about this. Problem: I decided to transfer my garden to the basics of organic farming, one of the aspects is mulch. Under it, slugs feel great, it's difficult to fight them with chemistry and you don't really want to. Toads are rare in our area (a large garden area and the absence of permanent reservoirs nearby). I will be grateful for all the tips. The area is the Saratov region.

Of course they eat, there is even such a genus of ground beetles Chlaenius-slugs, larvae and imago of ground beetles from the genus Cychrus, Procerus feed on mollusks, and I think that all predatory ground beetles will not refuse slugs ))

Dear cats, will the size relationships between ground beetle and slug matter when choosing a victim? Simply put - when populating the site with ground beetles, I will have to choose large slugs manually, as now, or can I entrust this to ground beetles? I. if you are an expert in the subject of ground beetles, tell me what are the problems in breeding ground beetles as entomophages? or where can I read about it?

And I wonder why fight slugs? If they live in the soil and do not harm the cultivated plants, then let them live, why not, quite organically ) Yes, and the predator themselves will pay attention if the slugs multiply again, probably no one will need to be launched..

Dear cats, will the size relationships between ground beetle and slug matter when choosing a victim? Simply put - when populating the site with ground beetles, I will have to choose large slugs manually, as now, or can I entrust this to ground beetles? I. if you are an expert in the subject of ground beetles, tell me what are the problems in breeding ground beetles as entomophages? or where can I read about it?

No, I'm not much of a specialist )) I just wrote what I know and am sure of. Personally, I don't think the size really matters, if the slug is too big, then it will be attacked by several beetles and still end up being eaten.In breeding as entomophages, why not? It's never too late to try, because almost everything in this life is learned empirically ))

Dear Hierophis, slug (aka slimak)) he eats plants with a wild appetite, this year he caused me a lot of damage on sweet peppers - the gnawed fruits fall off.
I was glad to hear you in this topic - we haven't crossed paths for a long time.

Thank you for being happy, I just don't know the nuances associated with growing garden crops, it seemed to me that slugs are not so harmful in this regard ) As for biological methods of control-all this is not so simple.. Even proven methods don't always work. You can try plowing for the winter, or if the site is not very large for plowing, also open the ground from snow.

Get a hedgehog instead. One hedgehog consumes the same amount of biomass per day as several hundred carabuses, and not only slugs, but also other pests, and even mice and voles. And it is much easier to adapt and keep it on the site. It's also a nice chug at night...

Dear Barnaba, you are absolutely right, but you imagine the life of a hedgehog in suburban areas-full of children, dogs, cars and anxiety... In general, you need a fairly stress-resistant type of hedgehog. It's the same story with toads. You have to look for something that will not attract the attention of dogs and children and that is easier to catch in the forest.

Dear Hierophis, plowing contradicts my worldviews and the size of my plot )) Opening the ground from snow in the conditions of Saratov is also difficult - at my dacha in winter, the snow level is up to my waist, and I am not one of the pygmies.

Pan Hierophis has closed itself within its tiny patch of Southern Ukraine, where, due to special climatic conditions, slugs survive in suspended animation in summer, and in general survive at the limit of stability and, therefore, cannot harm garden and garden plants, and in winter it is easy to open the ground from snow with an ordinary broom. The fact that somewhere in the world can be very different, he either forgot, or never knew. This is similar to the surprise of an African aboriginal from a wild tribe, who learned that in Russia none of the usual fruits for his diet does not grow. But that's excusable, not only did he not finish his first year of biology, but he didn't even finish secondary school. But how a person with claims to the status of a carrier of European civilization and deep zoological knowledge can be surprised by such a well-known phenomenon as pest slugs is beyond comprehension.

I'm afraid that if the large slugs described belong to the genus Arion, no one will eat them very much, because they are poisonous and probably very disgusting to the taste.

This post was edited by ENO-08.08.2016 04: 16

For the first time, I regret that I did not take curatorship over the topic in order to deprive the words of provocateurs like ENO. This is not a gazebo or a place for political or personal arguments and insults. And, if you really wanted to shine, I did not indicate the genus Arion anywhere, I am not sure that they are present in the Volga forest-steppe region.

Come on, what's really here, well, a person has accumulated bile in excess, hopes about the golden mountains that are about to fill up his northern neighbor have not come true, that's evil!)

borigv, you're funny. Unlike Pan Stepovoi, I answered you in substance, but you immediately imagined some kind of politics. Let me explain: my use of the word "Ukraine" in this case had nothing to do with politics at all. Jaya had no second thoughts. Just in Southern Ukraine, from May to September, it is so dry that slugs survive it in the state of estivation and can not harm. About. So it doesn't look like the air world is so lucky, pan. he doesn't know, and he's very surprised. that slugs can significantly harm the garden in principle. And they can, and how. And this is a very well-known fact. But Pan only believes the facts. which he learned from his own experience (for everything else in his view is the work of certain "okodemigs" - falsifiers, rebirths of the cursed Soviet Department and unworthy of the attention of a true naturalist. And since pan has never been outside of his tiny neighborhood and his personal experience is very narrow geographically, very much that exists in other distant lands causes him cognitive dissonance ("why fight slugs?") and makes him give rather dubious advice ("open the ground from snow"). If these strange recommendations frighten you - well, your right to follow them, open the land...

From this outlier is

I don't see any reason for a dispute.
The method of removing snow was not the most original during my search. The size of slugs I had was "tied" to the size of ground beetles, the greatest harm is noticeable from slug specimens in an elongated state one and a half to two times longer than ground beetles.
And a big request-stop the propaganda, I'm talking about the daily shelling of those engaged in their favorite work for a small fee. I want to say something like that-go ... To the Gazebo.
I took a look when this connoisseur registered. I think I can guess who this ENO is and I don't expect any good advice from him, there is no question of any "besieged Donetsk under the fire of brutal fascists".

This post was edited by borigv-09.08.2016 15: 30