It depends how organic you want to be, @RoddersUK. I've had a lot of snails and slugs this Spring. Knowing that I want them from July on, many of the new plants were eaten. Two days ago, I had enough and collected most of them. I released them in front of the house. From there, it will take them a couple of days before they are back in the garden but they have to pass first the neighbour's veggy garden. I didn't kill them, but gave my plants grow-holidays.
A pinch of salt and they disintegrate in seconds. I did once consider devising a perforated plastic tube to mount on my fishing line for sea fishing. As they dissolved, it might attract fish. Then I gave all my tackle away and .......
All you can do is slow the slugs down. I'd stick to the nightly, torch lit, patrol until the plants, if they make it, are large enough to cope with the odd nibble. Planting larger plants also helps if it's new plants you are adding. The bigger the plant the more able to resist it is and for things like lettuce, they become less palettable with age as it's the newer growth that slugs and snails prefer. Another option is to put a flat rock or some cover near the plants because the slugs need somewhere to hide during the day. The idea is that rather than having to go searching for them in every nook and crannies, they are conveniently hold up under something you can easily get to. On the allotment many people use a wooden plank for this job.
I don't use slug pellets (or beer traps etc) but if you do you need to remember that these can attract more slugs into the area. I often laugh when I see the little blue pellets used in such high quantities that they must be pulling in everyone else's slugs from such a great distance. If you look on the back they should be used quite sparingly, beer is similar because it has a strong smell.
Posts
I ♥ my garden.
I'd never use salt - horrible. Just squish or snip, far kinder to them.
It's an ongoing battle anyway, so you either have to accept them, and/or grow plants that are less vulnerable, or don't have any plants at all.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Another option is to put a flat rock or some cover near the plants because the slugs need somewhere to hide during the day. The idea is that rather than having to go searching for them in every nook and crannies, they are conveniently hold up under something you can easily get to. On the allotment many people use a wooden plank for this job.
I don't use slug pellets (or beer traps etc) but if you do you need to remember that these can attract more slugs into the area. I often laugh when I see the little blue pellets used in such high quantities that they must be pulling in everyone else's slugs from such a great distance. If you look on the back they should be used quite sparingly, beer is similar because it has a strong smell.