Watch: Is a quad the answer for tackling slugs on winter crops?
Prevention is better than cure; there is no point in putting out pellets when the slugs are eating your emerging winter crops.
That is according to a tillage farmer in Co. Offaly, who told Agriland why he chose to get slug pellets spread on his winter barley.
With milder winters now the norm, slugs can be a big threat to emerging winter crops.
According to the tillage farmer, "slugs can have a lot of damage done unbeknownst to you, especially when land is a long way from the yard".
The tillage farmer hired Michael Cummins, a contractor from Co. Tipperary, to help him tackle the pests using a lightweight solution.
Cummins runs a quad-based contracting business offering slug pellet spreading, spot spraying of pesticides, as well as grass seed and fertiliser application.
Cummins says demand for spreading slug pellets is growing year-on-year.
He said he saw an opening for his business after working for a large tillage farmer in Kilkenny.
"I was doing this type of work for him, but I could see that other farmers needed this service too.
"The main benefit of the quad is that it does not damage the land," Cummins added.
Cummins said that timing is everything when it comes to slugs and the emerging shoot.
"When the shoot comes out of the seed, slugs have a tendency to eat the shoot.
"Ideally, you want the slugs eating the blue pellets when they're still hungry.
"That's why it's better to get them out sooner rather than later," he added.
In spring, Cummins will be back in the same field of winter barley that he spread slug pellets on this week.
When the time comes, he will spot spray the headlands to prevent the spread of sterile brome.
