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Birds eating my ferric phosphate slug pellets

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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I still don't understand the comment @Loxley. I must be missing something...

    Perhaps @geordief 's comment was aimed at the 'other' poster, as it often disagrees with @GardenerSuze  :)  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
    The poster @Fire (sadly missing in action) did some interesting experiments with beer traps, I think, but I can't seem to find them.

    Good for you, @Balgay.Hill... I am taking baby steps in that direction, too. Hoping a bigger pool will attract frogs again to get rid of the Spanish slugs that the birds don't seem too inclined to eat. 
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    Oh dear.  We are squabbling among ourselves over whether this pest control is safer than that one, whilst the big agrochemical companies are wreaking their own devastation on the planet.  They are powerful lobbyists and do disrupt efforts to try and ban pesticides (of course they do - profits first!).  Read this: https://corporateeurope.org/en/2022/03/loud-lobby-silent-spring

    Personally I swerve anything that is made by any of the big chemical companies.  (Also see John le Carre's The Constant Gardener). 
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Some people have success with beer traps @WAMS - it's a common solution. I won't use them for reasons I'm not going into here. Nothing to do with the slugs.

    Spanish slugs don't have predators in the UK as far as I'm aware.
    Frogs don't eat as many ordinary slugs as people tend to think anyway. Neither do hedgehogs. It's only a small part of their diet  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
    That's interesting @Fairygirl.
    (Now I mentioned beer traps but whether or not I'd be able to force myself to go into an off licence and purchase the stuff in cold blood is another matter.😁 )

    Seems frogs are not going to be much help then. Will just have to attract them 'cos they're cute, then. 🐸 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Frogs will eat some slugs, but not as many as people tend to think, so if you have loads of them, it isn't that simple.  :)
    My problem with beer stems from an ex partner. Even the sound of a can [any can] being opened turns my stomach and gives me flashbacks. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    We can make a big difference as gardeners. There are twenty three million gardens in the UK.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    As @Fairygirl says it is a bit of a myth that Frogs and Hedgehogs will solve a slug problem.  A part of their diet for sure but not a be all, end all solution.
    OTOH, if it encourages people to make a habitat friendly  garden for both predators in the hope of reducing their slug problem, it isn't altogether a bad myth  ;)
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Why does it not surprise me that, @bede would use Metaldehyde, as we also know he is keen on vinegar and bleach.
    I wonder whether he has Agent Orange stored in his shed.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    OTOH, if it encourages people to make a habitat friendly  garden for both predators in the hope of reducing their slug problem, it isn't altogether a bad myth  ;)
    Indeed. Anything that can encourage, and hopefully increase, wildlife is a good thing, whether it's a small log pile for overwintering insects, a hog house or a safe place for birds to nest. Little measures all add up to create a bigger, better picture   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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