Hi, CumbriMan. I consider myself a bit of a slug expert, because like Bee witched, I had a real problem, particularly with Spanish slugs. The nematodes work well unless the soil is very cold or dry but they are very expensive, so only useful in a small garden, or if you are very rich. I started going out into my garden at about 10pm, with bucket and torch, about twice a week, early in the year, up to five nights in full summer. I made a rule to do no more than one hour and I was picking up 400 - 500 slugs each night, sometimes many more. These days I do two nights and struggle to get more than 50. I have lupins, delphiniums, all sorts. The hosts still get shedded, though!
I used to use beer traps but hated the smell. Luckily the bigger and older my hostas got the less prone to damage they seem. They are also grown in a dry area and surrounded by a woodchip mulch path. Also helps that ducks invade our garden on a regular basis to do their bit.
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I started going out into my garden at about 10pm, with bucket and torch, about twice a week, early in the year, up to five nights in full summer. I made a rule to do no more than one hour and I was picking up 400 - 500 slugs each night, sometimes many more. These days I do two nights and struggle to get more than 50. I have lupins, delphiniums, all sorts. The hosts still get shedded, though!
They are safe for both .... apparently they occur naturally in the soil, so you are just topping up the levels.
Some info. here ...
https://www.gardening-naturally.com/nemaslug-slug-nematodes-40-sqm
Bee x
PS I've no connection to this supplier ....
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime