Plant Doctor Archive

A feast for slugs

AN you tell me what is attacking the leaves of my succulent? It starts on the edges then spreads to the middle. Could it be earwigs? I have sprayed with Success.

THIS is typical of the damage slugs and snails do to many succulents. They hide away in sheltered spots during the day, then come out at night and nibble away at both the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves. Within a day or two the damaged area turns brown. Slug bait is the answer. Any of the widely available brands will do the trick, but make sure you spread it evenly around the plants and reapply it every couple of weeks for a while to really knock the slug population back. Success is only effective against caterpillars, so will be of no help in this case.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.