Mid-Pacific Institute, Grade 8

 

My project was to find a solution for controlling slugs using common household products instead of commercially bought products that may contain chemicals in it. My experiment consisted of planting 18 lettuces and surrounding each lettuce with a specific material such as eggshells or apple skins. The experiment was conducted over a four-week period during which time I observed and measured the length of the longest leaf of each plant on a weekly basis. During the second week of this experiment, I got three slugs and tested them on each material to see if they turned away from the materials or went through them to the plant. By observing the behavior of the slugs, I was able to see how effective each of these materials was and calculated the percentage of time the materials worked. From my results, I discovered that cinnamon, sand, and volcanic cinders didn't work. The materials that did work were the chopped fruits (i.e. apple skins and watermelon rinds), coffee grinds, eggshells, dog hair, chili powder and baking powder. Some of the materials that repelled slugs had additional benefits to the plants. For example, dog hair adds nitrogen to the soil and crushed eggshells releases calcium into the soil. However, other materials that repelled slugs had some disadvantages. For example, the chopped fruits attracted flies and the wind blew away the dog hair. In conclusion, I found that it is possible to control slugs using common household products. I would recommend using finely crushed eggshells because it repels slugs and benefits the soil.