Slug or not ?

powderworks · June 2023

I'm growing brassicas under fine netting and believe I have made it slug proof. However this evening I found one or two leaves which are making me question it.
However there are no trails anywhere. I have found just one slug which was unable to get past the netting.
I'd be very grateful for any comments as to what this is.
Thanks.

B3 · June 2023

Not😐

Fairygirl · June 2023

Slugs don't just travel overground, so netting won't stop them

However, caterpillars are the more likely cause by the look of that.

powderworks · June 2023

Any remedies you can recommend ?

Fairygirl · June 2023

I don't grow them I'm afraid, but lots of people do. The netting has to be small enough to prevent the butterflies getting through to lay eggs. It also has to be far enough away from the plants, so it needs to be quite sturdy, and pulled tight.
There's usually quite a few threads on this, so it might be worth using the search facility at the top of the page, or even just searching generally to find methods of netting the plants successfully. Some people make what is basically a large cloche using plastic pipe with the netting pulled tight over it and secured at ground level.

It may be something else causing the problem of course, so you could wait and see what others say

Liriodendron · June 2023

The tiny holes look like flea beetle. It's possible that there was the odd pest stowing away on your brassicas before you planted them out, perhaps? Flea beetles pupate in the soil, so they may have been in the bed before you covered it. They are tiny, and eggs of moths & butterflies are often well camouflaged. Sticky traps might be worth a try against the flea beetle - they jump off the plants when disturbed. If you can see the slugs or caterpillars it's not too difficult to remove them by hand, though it's tedious. There's no point spraying for a pest which is no longer around, or which you can't identify, though.

Here's a link to an RHS article about flea beetle so you can see if that's what it might be.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/flea-beetles-on-brassicas-and-allied-plants

Fairygirl · June 2023

Thanks for that @Liriodendron. I was only going by what seemed obvious, but I knew someone would be able to help properly

Liriodendron · June 2023

I'm not sure I'm right, @Fairygirl - it may be more than one attacker!

Fairygirl · June 2023

That's often the problem isn't it @Liriodendron!
It certainly doesn't look like slug.

powderworks · June 2023

Thanks @Liriodendronand @Fairygirl. Much appreciated..... other than reading that it may be more than one attacker !

bédé · June 2023

Slugs can be very small, how fine is your mesh? Slugs can travel underground. So-saying, I don't think the culprits are slugs.

The damage looks to me like flea- beetle. They will be very obvious jumping about when disturbed/

Slug or not ?

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