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Thoughts on wool slug pellets

PurpleRosePurpleRose Posts: 538
in Problem solving
I like to try and garden as organically/nature friendly as I possibly can. Like.most gardeners, I have a problem with Slugs.

Each year, I fight a loosing battle and I think that I have tried most options.

I was searching online last night for other ideas and came across wool pellets, which you put around plants.

Has anyone  used them? What are your thoughts? Are they effective?

Thank you 😁
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Posts

  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    I used them a few years ago but the amount I needed would have required a lottery win so I have reverted to watching my plants turn to lace whilst quietly cursing under my breath. They seemed to work though so if you don't need a ton of the stuff, go for it. There is a certain wet sheep vibe after rain.
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose Posts: 538
    Thank you for your response. I will give them a go. I hope I dont need a lottery win to cover my space 😟 I will see what the wet sheep vibe is like after rain 😂😂
  • jiverdancerjiverdancer Posts: 1
    I have been putting my coffee grounds around the plants. I now the Slugs and snails like Marigolds for instatance. I have read somewhere the grounds are rough so the snails wont slither over them.
  • Janie BJanie B Posts: 963
    I use plastic cloches over my young delphiniums. Never been munched, but I don't think I have many slugs here anyway, so I'm not really sure how effective they are!
    Lincolnshire
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I don’t have a great slug problem but those I do have go for the dahlias. The thing I found was foolproof was a generous circle of volcanic gravel around the plants, something about the rough, dry texture really works. I get large sacks for €6 so works out cheap, from the local garden centre. Maybe have a look out for that if the wool pellets are expensive?
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • ShepherdsBarnShepherdsBarn Posts: 401
    You could try using raw sheep fleece ... you would have the benefit of fertilising the soil and protecting your plants from frost as well as keeping the slugs at bay and moisture in the soil. The fleece can also be used for lining hanging baskets and as a mulch. Fleeces are readily available on eBay (search raw sheep fleece); some fleeces are more suitable e.g. rough fell, herdwick, swaledale and valais blacknose due to the coarse quality ... slugs do not like the barbs on the wool. 
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I have a dreadful slug problem and was in despair. Nothing worked, even those nasty blue pellets. In the end, I started going out at night with a torch and a bucket with a couple of inches of very salty water, and some gloves, and picking the horrible things off. I didn't want to - revolting job - but I got used to it and even discovered all sorts of fascinating things about my garden after dark.
    Did it work? YES! You have to pick up the little ones and root around the foliage, but I don't have a major slug problem any more.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I found nematodes applied several years ago have really reduced the slug problem since. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Night patrols with a pair of snips work for me...brutal but such is life. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • AsarumAsarum Posts: 661
    I put some of these round a Salvia (can't remember which one) and it died.  I think I was angry about the slugs at the time and was over enthusiastic about the amount I put down!
    East Anglia
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