Innovation: Slugging away

Gardeners will welcome a biological slug-killer that is harmless to beneficial species such as earthworms. Nemaslug uses parasitic worms called nematodes, which invade the slugs, grow and rapidly reproduce, killing their host. In laboratory trials, the nematodes killed all pest species of slug tested, as well as one species of snail; and in field trials a range of plants was protected from slug damage. The product is sold as a friable clay containing the larval stages of the worms, and is mixed with water before being applied with a watering can. The nematodes remain active for about six weeks and are said to be harmless to pets and wildlife because they die at mammal body temperature.