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Slug deterrent

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  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    edited February 2022
    There are lots of perennials they don't eat. Although I understand the Spanish slugs are less picky.
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1026135/most-slug-resistant-perennials
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    We don't have them here as far as I know @B3.
    Often - it's a case of experimenting with plants anyway. It's all that soft green, lush growth they like, so things like delphiniums, for example, are a waste of time here.
    The point is that you can usually find something similar - colour, height, flowering time etc to replace them  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Regardless what others say, I have found that slugs will happily munch on perennials they're not suppose to! My garden is already fully planted so I'm not going to start from scratch. 

    It looks like I'll try pellets and picking them off which isn't ideal but having spent so much time and money on getting the garden how it is, I'm not prepared to just sit back and do nothing! 
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    I second @b3 and @fairy54  We don't grow things that they love to eat, or we are prepared to sacrifice them. There are too many battles to fight these days (Box moth, Agapanthus gall midge, etc).  
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I simply overwhelm them with numbers. 
    I get some damage by the end of the season, but nothing to stress about. 
    I know some Hosta fans who swear by garlic spray, but I've never tried it.
    Devon.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    We don't have the problems with box to contend with here @KeenOnGreen, but frankly - life's too short to spend it fannying around with every problem you can conceivably have in a garden - even a small one. It stops being a healthy hobby if you let it consume you.  :)
    Like rabbits, and lots of other things @Wildlifelover -slugs don't read the books.  ;)
    Sometimes, a garden in isolation means you get the brunt of the interlopers. There aren't huge numbers of dedicated gardeners here, so I get lots of pests. I'm afraid I can't really get too excited about controlling them all, and I learned a very long time ago that there are ways around it, but if you have lots of soft lush plants, you'll also get lots of their predators.
    It's like offering kids chocolate instead of broccoli.... ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • I am pretty tolerant of other 'pests' but it's the slugs/snails that cause the most devastating damage so keeping numbers down would really help. 

    I'll see how it goes with pellets and picking and hopefully, things won't be battered in due course! 


  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    edited February 2022
    Regardless what others say, I have found that slugs will happily munch on perennials they're not suppose to! My garden is already fully planted so I'm not going to start from scratch. 

    It looks like I'll try pellets and picking them off which isn't ideal but having spent so much time and money on getting the garden how it is, I'm not prepared to just sit back and do nothing! 
    I would suggest you don't use pellets. They actually attract slugs..that's how they work. A lot of deterrents will work to some degree but you'll only deter or kill a mere fraction.
    A successful method I've used is to attract birds, and if possible, hedgehogs. The latter turned up in my garden by good fortune but are the best slug killers in the business. Although frogs and toads are great slug munchers too. Build a pond perhaps?
    Also, if you can, don't over feed or over fertilize your plants...slugs adore sapping young growth..be a bit harsher with your perennials.
    The biggest pest I have to contend with is Earwigs...so I gave up growing Dahlias ...it was a battle I was never going to win.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I've never bothered with that garlic thing either. it would need applying at least once a day here 'cos it would just get washed off, especially when foliage is emerging. I hate the smell of garlic too, so that wouldn't help  ;)

    Slugs are the main pest here too, so you might need to consider changing some of your planting @Wildlifelover. Less stressful in the long run  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    We have Spanish slugs here. It got to the point where there were parts of the garden where you couldn't put a foot down on the grass without stepping on several. I was collecting hundreds every night. They eat everything, don't waste your time changing your planting, it won't work.
    The blue pellets have some effect but the slugs often prefer the plants, anyway. Picking the slugs works  especially if you do it before they are mature and start breeding. And it's  not so bad - you'd only be relaxing anyway at that time of night....
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