Not surprisingly, I’ve received several calls about slugs in corn this week. This will migrate into soybean and cotton once we get some out of the ground, especially in no-till fields following corn. Please refer to my previous article (link here) on some management tips, But the most important things to remember are as follows.
- Check fields at planting for the presence of slugs to know if the potential for problems exists. Be especially alert in no-till fields with a lot of crop residue.
- Row your row cleaners aggressively. This will provide some relief, at least until the next heavy rain redistributed the debris.
- Plan in advance if you are finding slugs. This means to start tracking down slug bait and figuring out a way to spread it if things go from bad to worse.
Remember that unexplained holes and general leaf feeding, especially in fields with high residue, is a good hint that slugs are present. They typically will be hidden under debris during the day. Below are a couple of pictures sent to me this week. The person who sent these images wasn’t thinking slugs at first until they looked under the residue … and bingo! It takes some guesswork to determine how bad it is going to get and whether plants are just being fed upon or stand is being lost. Remember, corn is sensitive to stand loss. Infestations threatening more than 5% stand loss should not be tolerated.
