A problem this year is the wet weather and mild winter has created perfect slug conditions, so there are a lot more of them. I have found them eating lots of slug proof plants this year - Hellebores, Mahonia, Eunonymous and etc. Best pick them out at dusk with tweezers as others have said.
I think given half a chance slugs will have a go at anything ! I springle coffee grounds round my dahlias and that seems to do the trick.
As for slug proof plants I have found verbena bonariensis , achilleas and irises to be pretty slug resistant. The most slug resistant if not slug repelling plant I have is Aconitum carmichaelii not only do the slugs do not touch it , i expect this is due to the fact that monkshoods are really quite poisionous ( a proper gloves job when cutting back) . The weird thing is that i grow hostas near by and the slugs dont seem to come near them due to the presence of the monkshood !
Of the perennials in my garden I found the following quite slug resistent: aquilegias, hardy geraniums, centranthus (valerian), japanese anemones, lysimachia clethroides (chinese loosetrife), scabiosa, heucherella, polemonium (jacobs ladder), sisyrinchium. Bedding plants: I don't grow many but I found fuchsias and lobelias resistent to slugs, although the slugs seemed to hide under the lobelias but did not touch them.
I have nt seen anybody talking about a slug killer/ repellent that I have started using....Salt. Particulaly at this time of year when the slugs and snails come out in their herds. I sprinkle it on them and even if they are on plants the salt sticks to them. I'm trying it as a barrier at the moment, i appreciate there the obvious drawbacks but its working for me
It is so heartening to see that there are people out there that really do care about our wildlife and will not use pellets in their gardens to get kill slugs/snails. I do not know how people can live with themselves that use SALT and other INHUMANE ways to kill them - disgraceful, and audrey23 should be ashamed taking a perverse pleasure in stamping on them. They are creatures that need to eat to live like all of us (and a lot of them do eat the rotting matter, etc. on the ground). There are other ways to protect young shoots and plants (e.g. planting inexpensive decoy plants, such as marigolds, until the plants become more established and humane ways to get rid of them. Hedgehogs. frogs and birds will eat them and if you must destroy then using stout/beer iI believe is one of the kinder ways though still not very nice. You can always gather them up and take them to woodland or a nature reserve.
I personally do not kill the slugs, I sometimes pick them and throw them to the grass path next to my house, but I am sure they come back. I would love to grow lupins and delphiniums but Ihave given up because they get all eaten.
I'm lifting my delphiniums for the winter and planting them in pots like I do with my lilies. I am also going to use nematodes next year because I do hate slug pellets.
Posts
A problem this year is the wet weather and mild winter has created perfect slug conditions, so there are a lot more of them. I have found them eating lots of slug proof plants this year - Hellebores, Mahonia, Eunonymous and etc. Best pick them out at dusk with tweezers as others have said.
I think given half a chance slugs will have a go at anything ! I springle coffee grounds round my dahlias and that seems to do the trick.
As for slug proof plants I have found verbena bonariensis , achilleas and irises to be pretty slug resistant. The most slug resistant if not slug repelling plant I have is Aconitum carmichaelii not only do the slugs do not touch it , i expect this is due to the fact that monkshoods are really quite poisionous ( a proper gloves job when cutting back) . The weird thing is that i grow hostas near by and the slugs dont seem to come near them due to the presence of the monkshood !
Of the perennials in my garden I found the following quite slug resistent: aquilegias, hardy geraniums, centranthus (valerian), japanese anemones, lysimachia clethroides (chinese loosetrife), scabiosa, heucherella, polemonium (jacobs ladder), sisyrinchium. Bedding plants: I don't grow many but I found fuchsias and lobelias resistent to slugs, although the slugs seemed to hide under the lobelias but did not touch them.
I have nt seen anybody talking about a slug killer/ repellent that I have started using....Salt. Particulaly at this time of year when the slugs and snails come out in their herds. I sprinkle it on them and even if they are on plants the salt sticks to them. I'm trying it as a barrier at the moment, i appreciate there the obvious drawbacks but its working for me
It is so heartening to see that there are people out there that really do care about our wildlife and will not use pellets in their gardens to get kill slugs/snails. I do not know how people can live with themselves that use SALT and other INHUMANE ways to kill them - disgraceful, and audrey23 should be ashamed taking a perverse pleasure in stamping on them. They are creatures that need to eat to live like all of us (and a lot of them do eat the rotting matter, etc. on the ground). There are other ways to protect young shoots and plants (e.g. planting inexpensive decoy plants, such as marigolds, until the plants become more established and humane ways to get rid of them. Hedgehogs. frogs and birds will eat them and if you must destroy then using stout/beer iI believe is one of the kinder ways though still not very nice. You can always gather them up and take them to woodland or a nature reserve.
I personally do not kill the slugs, I sometimes pick them and throw them to the grass path next to my house, but I am sure they come back. I would love to grow lupins and delphiniums but Ihave given up because they get all eaten.
I'm lifting my delphiniums for the winter and planting them in pots like I do with my lilies. I am also going to use nematodes next year because I do hate slug pellets.