I enjoyed the piece on GW last Friday, with the man growing plants from his West Indian background - ginger, bananas and hostas (!). He was saying that he used garlic spray on his hosta leaves and never had a slug attack, but that he knew it didn't work for everyone.
So, if these scientists are going to do some research I think it would be useful not just to know which is the most successful method, but why some methods work for some people and not for others. Why do some people's chickens eat slugs and others don't, why some slugs run away from coffee grounds while others use it as a play pen, etc.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
We have tons of slugs (West Wales). I find that our own sheeps wool works if put down before the slugs find the tasty shoots. If they already know there is tasty food on the other side, they will climb over it. I think the strong smell of lanolin might be hiding the plants from them. This has helped enormously with dahlias, salads and young brassicas. We also have chickens and lots of frogs, which no doubt help, but certainly are not enough on their own. I go out at night and squish any slugs that I find on really important plants. I don't ever sow slug favourites direct into the soil as its a waste of time and effort - and we have no wool at the start of the growing season with which to hide them. I grow them on in plugs which spend every night on an old table in the polytunnel. The table is standing on 4 round plant trays sprinkled with salt, I sprinkle a few slug pellets on the table in case I accidentally transport slugs onto it with the plants. Frogs and birds can't get to the table top, so I'm guilt-free about using pellets there. It's the only way to grow anything here, so worth the effort.
Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.
I agree, Paul. And also why different gardeners find different plants can be most affected. Obviously, some plants are always favourites, but you only have to look on this forum to see how the idea of 'slug proof' varies. Is it regional? Slug species related?
What interests me is what is in plants that they never touch.
I get the fact that hard or hairy plants don't attract them but what about penstemons, michelmas daisies, scarlet pimpernel and many other wild flowers and weeds that they never touch. What is it about them and why don't they put it in a spray?
I agree with @nutcutlet. I think the slug’s drive to eat makes them endure gravel, bark and other uncomfortable journeys. I have to grow anything delicious in pots and raise them on a bench before attempting to plant them or nestle the pots in the beds, and even then they will be munches. I try to encourage birds, frogs and hedgehogs to let nature fight it out. I wonder if a slug pellet that is only toxic to molluscs, and not to other wildlife, is the solution @The hopeful herpetologist ... probably impossible.
I wish, Posy. I can't get rid of mine. They grow in the paving (planted by previous owners). Six years on they still grow like topsy. They are one of my least fav plants.
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I get the fact that hard or hairy plants don't attract them but what about penstemons, michelmas daisies, scarlet pimpernel and many other wild flowers and weeds that they never touch.
What is it about them and why don't they put it in a spray?
I wonder if a slug pellet that is only toxic to molluscs, and not to other wildlife, is the solution @The hopeful herpetologist ... probably impossible.