I think that there's a sort of disconnect, @Fire. People who don't have our Spanish friends just can't imagine what it's like. Their well-meaning references to natural control only reveal how little they understand. Lucky devils!
I am hestitant to blame 'Spanish slugs' (arion vulgaris) for my garden woes as the slugs are hard to ID conclusively, as the link describes. Much like 'Jerusalem artichokes' the title is a misnomer. Spanish slugs have nothing to do with Spain. They are perhaps better described as "British Slugs". I find slug ID hard at the best of times.
Note to any slugs reading this. It's the greedyboys who gorge on a single plant that get noticed and snipped. A nibble here and there might go unnoticed.
Note to any slugs reading this. It's the greedyboys who gorge on a single plant that get noticed and snipped. A nibble here and there might go unnoticed.
PS If you eat dandelions, bittercress and docks, I'll set up little slug houses for you.
I am fortunate here to have a healthy population of thrushes and a lot of toads. I'm also plagued with small rodents, mostly bank voles and field mice, which is why I grow seedlings on high shelves and only plant out big plants, which also slows the slugs up a bit. Not saying I don't get eaten plants, but I have less issue here than in my previous gardens
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Something ate it's way through practically all of my celandine this year. It was getting out of control anyway. Seeing as it likes yellow flowers, perhaps the oxalis next
Note to any slugs reading this. It's the greedyboys who gorge on a single plant that get noticed and snipped. A nibble here and there might go unnoticed.
Yes, sharing is great. Demolition, not so much.
I appreciate not having challenges with deer, rabbits, moles, badgers or voles.
Constant battle here too. I try to make a wildlife friendly garden, as having a rich diversity creates a predator and prey harmony. Considering the amount of birds and frogs I have, I am surprised that slugs still reign however. I have tried most things over the years and find a combination works best - e.g. beer traps, sand/gravel/wool moats, sacrificial plants, and the use of pots to make slug-patrol slightly easier.
I’ve snipped slugs before and then noticed its head part still moving off and away. Can it regenerate？
Lol.
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I have frogs and toads and they seem to just hang out together by the pond and chill. As the OP says, you can have frogs, toads and hedgehogs and still have a big slug problem.
Possibly a herd of ducks, chickens and peacocks would help.
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I am fortunate here to have a healthy population of thrushes and a lot of toads. I'm also plagued with small rodents, mostly bank voles and field mice, which is why I grow seedlings on high shelves and only plant out big plants, which also slows the slugs up a bit. Not saying I don't get eaten plants, but I have less issue here than in my previous gardens
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Seeing as it likes yellow flowers, perhaps the oxalis next
I try to make a wildlife friendly garden, as having a rich diversity creates a predator and prey harmony. Considering the amount of birds and frogs I have, I am surprised that slugs still reign however. I have tried most things over the years and find a combination works best - e.g. beer traps, sand/gravel/wool moats, sacrificial plants, and the use of pots to make slug-patrol slightly easier.