Slugs damaging Wimmera canola crops

And it's as a result of the positive seasonal conditions, which may have set croppers up for a good start to the season, but the timing of the summer rains and autumn break have caused slugs to appear in significant numbers.

Birchip Cropping Group senior research and extension officer Kelly Angel said while traditionally wetter regions dealt with slugs more regularly, the Wimmera was seeing significant damage in areas that wouldn't normally be affected by slugs.

"People who haven't had to deal with slugs before are having a big issue this year," she said.

The scale of the outbreaks varies throughout the region with some farmers seeing small patches of damage within crops while others are reporting more widespread infestations.

Ms Angel said canola crops were particularly susceptible to outbreaks.

"The slugs treat the crop like a salad," she said.

"They chew away at the leaves and if slug numbers are high they can take out large areas quite quickly.

"The input costs of growing canola are expensive at the best of times and everything else on top just further impacts profit margins so people are quite passionate about trying to protect their crops in the best way that they can."

Cropping farmer Tim Rethus, Vectis, agreed, saying "croppers are nervous because canola crops are worth so much and they are really desperate to protect it for the final harvest".

"Canola is a one-shot wonder," Mr Rethus said.

"If it is chopped off, it is gone."

He said while canola crops were significant, the slug issue was more related to soil location rather than specific crops.

"They will eat whatever is planted there," he said.

He said he had seen significant attacks on his bean paddock as well as a neighbouring wheat crop.

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Ms Angel said baiting was the key method of combatting slugs because "once they are there, they aren't going away unless you do something about them".

Not all baits are the same, however, some have different poison concentrations and different pellet constructions.

She said as an additional factor, people who were new to the management of slugs also needed to consider the spreading and application process and infrastructure needed.

"So for the farmers who haven't dealt with slugs before, there are a lot of factors at play," she said.

Mr Rethus said slug baiting in the Wimmera was difficult because it was not something that local farmers were used to dealing with to this extent, with some farmers triple baiting paddocks and attempting various novel methods of containment.

"By the time you see the slugs they are well established and it is almost impossible to stop them," he said.

"Some guys are going out and finding dozens of slugs around a single bait.

"There are so many, it is just sheer weight of numbers.

"It is overwhelming us."

Sourcing the necessary baits in required quantities is also proving an issue.

Mr Rethus said while the timeliness of baiting programs was paramount as soon as slugs were identified, bait supply had been difficult at times.

"The farmers know that canola is worth a lot so they are willing to pay the money to try and keep the slugs at bay, but where do you get the baits from when everyone is baiting?" he said.

Ben Batters, St Arnaud, said while he had fortunately seen minimal impacts on his cropping operation, he was very conscious of the potential for significant losses.

"We are baiting a small amount, but you always have to be wary of the things like this," Mr Batters said.

"You don't expect slugs in your area, but with the right conditions anything can happen."