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slug invasion
Miranda12
Posts: 2
so,, I have literally hundreds of slugs,,really dont want to hurt them but my new flowers are getting ripped to shreds,,Ive tried sand, beer, tea lemons etc etc I have cats and dogs too so any advice would be great please!
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I have hundredds too - I hunt them and snip them. The snails get chucked into the road.
If you don't want to use a chemical solution, it's about the only way of keeping them in manageable numbers. During the day, look for them - in bigger foliage plants, under pot rims and under the pots as well - anywhere they can be hiding. At night go out with a torch.
I grow fewer plants that they're attracted to, but I understand that many people won't want to do that.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If you can get to watch the latest edition of "Beechgrove" Sunday BBC2, Chris Beardshaw was making a brew from garlic, spraying Hostas with it, he said the beer isnt very successful, because most of the slugs are underground. I read that for everyone ! you see, there are 20 more nearby underground. I did make beer troughs a couple of years back out of old margarine tubs burried to the rim, got quite a few slugs, BUT at one point caught our them year old border collie drinking the beer. Luckily, about 12 years ago, my vet warned me about lumg worm in dogs and we use "Advocate".But yuck, it was revolting. I had my orchids outside, normally they are off the ground on a wooden "theatre hubby made, but not on there,because of the high winds, so on a shingle tray (they live on indoors) on a completely shingle area, and a ot of the leaves have been scoffed by slugs. Chris recomended using the sheep wool pelletts, as a natural alternative, but fairy is correct, torch at night, (you still have to dispatch them, I have a bucket with added salt water)
okidoki Thanks so much
I've found that an application of slug-specific nematodes has been really effective
http://www.slugoff.co.uk/killing-slugs/nematodes
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have tried the water retention crystals sprinkled around plants, this works as the slugs dehydrate when trying to reach the plants. I too had pets so couldn't use chemicals.
I agree with Dove Nematodes are the way to go with slugs- does not do anything against snails though as they live above ground. Fairygirl has a good point too, when I did the RHS course our tutor said he had a big problem in his (shady) front garden. In the end he opted to change the planting rather than continually battle with the molluscs!
go out on a damp evening ( plenty of them this year ) with a pair of scissors.
Instant, and I'm sure, painless and the birds and frogs and hedgehogs can still come along and eat what's left.
Last year I got really annoyed with slugs because they demolished everything, and we're getting into my greenhouse is vast numbers and wrecking my tomatoes. I waged a pretty brutal war; snipping them and putting out milk traps yet still they kept coming. The milk traps were pretty effective actually.
I felt pretty bad and ultimately decided that one shouldn't really try to compete against nature because, frankly I think more harm than good can come from that. I found myself to be quite angry with them running off to get my scissors at the nearest sight of them. This year I've decided not to kill anything and I feel much better for it. I fixed the gap in my greenhouse and I put my most precious (Dahlias) in pots on slabs and they're left alone by slugs. Those planted in danger areas are thing I know they won't touch. I have suffered no more damage this year than I did last year (less, actually).
Aside from growing in pots the other thing you can do is put out a thick ground sheet somewhere out of sight, the slugs will hide under there during sunlight. You can then simply pick them off and move them elsewhere (I guess it's up to you whether you destroy them at this point) but you should find that quite a reliable means of reducing their numbers.
I do slug patrols too & lambs wool pellets/grit as a mulch when fresh shoots emerge in Spring. Minus the last few weeks, it's been a very dry year so far, I haven't had half as much trouble with them as last year which was horrific as a result of the wet June.
Last edited: 08 August 2017 11:25:21
I have got lot sof stuff in pots on slabs and shingle they still manage to march oer it, and sneak underneath the pots!