I've also used a 'liquid' to water the area round the seedlings & that was quite successful. Also tried using small pieces of gravel as well as broken egg shells.
Its an ongoing battle---almost as bad as the cat poo!!!!!!!
I've had limited success with Pistachio nut shells, they don't like the salt. But my waistline doesn't like the volume needed.
I tried that as well - a few weeks later I found a slug inside the Pistachio shell.
I did read a paper once on using very dilute salt water on the garden. Enough to kill/deter slugs but not enough to kill all your plants. I do think Garlic spray works but it takes months as it is systemic.
We have a big hosta grower nearby. His advice is slug pellets on 14th Feb (the valentine day massacre) followed by garlic spray when the leaves come out. There wasn't a nibble on his thousands of hostas when i went for a visit!
I use egg shells in the GH bed and in pots outdoors, I'm convinced it works and even if it doesn't it gives me a sense of satisfaction and if nothing else the calcium is good for the plants .
I also start using a garlic spray around hostas early in March and use a home made seaweed spray from mid summer. Mulch pots with washed up seaweed too. It has a little sea salt in it which slugs don't like and if all else fails rely on a sprinkling of blue pellets.
The GH bed is also mulched with seaweed a couple of time during the growing season and there's never been slugs in there.
If it's warm enough for plant growth I think evolutionary theory would probably suggest the slugs are following just behind?
I thought wind had got my Arum lily leaves but it was lots of small slugs eating the stalk making them fall over...I found loads tidying up a few days ago. It has been very wet and mild so they are out having a feast. I use pellets but I think it is too wet for them to work properly.
Clari - there will be an exact recipe on the web somewhere but the principle is to boil up a bulb of garlic in a saucepan of water for a while. You then store the liquid in the fridge and use in a sprayer. Think you have to reapply quite frequently. If you search for "hanging hostas of hampshire" there is a youtube clip which shows you how
Mike you write so clearly thank you ever so much. I didn't realise slugs could survive pellets if rained on! What a gruesome way to die (mind you I used to pick them up with chop sticks and leave them on the bird table in the morning so that's hardly a better way to go!)
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I've also used a 'liquid' to water the area round the seedlings & that was quite successful. Also tried using small pieces of gravel as well as broken egg shells.
Its an ongoing battle---almost as bad as the cat poo!!!!!!!
I tried that as well - a few weeks later I found a slug inside the Pistachio shell.
I did read a paper once on using very dilute salt water on the garden. Enough to kill/deter slugs but not enough to kill all your plants. I do think Garlic spray works but it takes months as it is systemic.
We have a big hosta grower nearby. His advice is slug pellets on 14th Feb (the valentine day massacre) followed by garlic spray when the leaves come out. There wasn't a nibble on his thousands of hostas when i went for a visit!
I use egg shells in the GH bed and in pots outdoors, I'm convinced it works and even if it doesn't it gives me a sense of satisfaction and if nothing else the calcium is good for the plants
.
I also start using a garlic spray around hostas early in March and use a home made seaweed spray from mid summer. Mulch pots with washed up seaweed too. It has a little sea salt in it which slugs don't like and if all else fails rely on a sprinkling of blue pellets.
The GH bed is also mulched with seaweed a couple of time during the growing season and there's never been slugs in there.
If it's warm enough for plant growth I think evolutionary theory would probably suggest the slugs are following just behind?
I thought wind had got my Arum lily leaves but it was lots of small slugs eating the stalk making them fall over...I found loads tidying up a few days ago. It has been very wet and mild so they are out having a feast. I use pellets but I think it is too wet for them to work properly.
How do you make garlic spray? I keep seeing it mentioned and it seems a very useful product!
Clari - there will be an exact recipe on the web somewhere but the principle is to boil up a bulb of garlic in a saucepan of water for a while. You then store the liquid in the fridge and use in a sprayer. Think you have to reapply quite frequently. If you search for "hanging hostas of hampshire" there is a youtube clip which shows you how
Thank you Chicky I will do that now.
Mike you write so clearly thank you ever so much. I didn't realise slugs could survive pellets if rained on! What a gruesome way to die (mind you I used to pick them up with chop sticks and leave them on the bird table in the morning so that's hardly a better way to go!)