somethings eating up my spinach leaves and other plant leave

[misscheeky]

not sure if its slugs/snails/ or caterpillers??? wat does it seem like, this pic i took had the biggest eaten patch in it, and some spinach leaves have white dots on them not sure what these are and how i can stop them
can anyone help please:)[/code][img][img]http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad233/misscheeky22/SDC11357.jpg[/img][/img]

[!potatoes!]

seems more like slugs/snails than caterpillars. had a lot of similar damage from slugs this spring.

[rainbowgardener]

That's what I thought too when I saw the damage. Try sprinkling diatomaceous earth around your plants...

[gixxerific]

That's what I thought too when I saw the damage. Try sprinkling diatomaceous earth around your plants...

I was thinking that DE was dangerous to all of the little critters in the garden good and bad. If I'm wrong that is good. I did look it up a bit and didn't see any one way or the other.

I did notice that it is like 80% silica. If it is safe to use I'm a bricklayer\mason and my lungs are filled with silica. I could just cough on my plants and they will do great.

[Diane]

That's what I read too. That's why I used sluggo sparingly.
When plants are small they only have a few leaves and can't take the constant barrage.
Another thing that helped was putting tomato leaves in the pots of my small potato plants.

[cynthia_h]

We've had MAJOR, LONG discussions about slug/snail management here at THG this season. Please look up threads containing phrases like "snail hunting," "number of slugs," and such.

Guaranteed: you will have LOTS of non-toxic options for these gross gastropods.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[misscheeky]

i have read about slugs/snails and how to keep em away, i have been usin the egg shel tecnique crumbling them and placin them around plants, hav't seen that many slugs/snails about, i jus visited a garden centre yesterday and i was told slug pellets are the best way to get rid of them and keep them away