My birds have done a rubbish job at gettin rid of me slugs. I don't like beer traps cuz they kill beetles too, so I'm gonna try the biological control.
I have tried the garlic wash mentioned on this website and It does seem to be working ( Beer traps didn't work for me at all, neither did organic slug pellets or copper tape which is around almost every pot i own!
A couple of years ago my neighbour and I experimented with snails and taking them from their habitat, to see if they returned. We each took five snails and marked with different coloured nail polish (on the shell!) we placed our own snails into the others garden and waited to see if they returned. Yes they did! all of mine returned, four within a few days, and the fifth I had given up on but found 12 months later, still with its nail polish on!!!! I wonder just how far they will travel 'back home'? I have told my husband on many occassions NOT to throw them over the fence, as like the terminator, they will be back!
The Saint.....if you use yoghurt pots half filled with beer and don't sink them right into the ground, ie leave a lip about half an inch above ground, beetles don't usually fall in.
There are folks who empty the beer and slugs onto their compost heaps every couple of days, or if they are making comfrey tea, slop it into to the mix....not sure whether thats a wise move or not!
I hate slugs and snails....i pick them off, put them on newspaper and pour salt over them..then wrap them up. I have no mercy! my mum chops them in half with shears... yuk
I have a method of stopping them eating your plants which is 100% effective! but won't work when it's wet, so it does have a down side.
Go to a horse feed dealer and buy a sack of bran. You can get it from a supermarket but you will pay dearly for it wheras you can get a 20kg sack of it for about £7! imagine how long that would last.
Just sprinkle a good amount around your plant, I sprinkle a ring around my dahlias, when the slugs try to cross it they are dehydrated immediately and in the morning you will find loads and loads of them just sitting on the bran. When I had Koi, I used to feed the slugs to them.
You could bury some sort of guttering pipe into the ground around the edges of your beds, you would just have to scrap out the old wet bran when it rains and replace it. It really does work!!!!!!!!!
I reccomend eggv shells they work a treat (fill a bucket up with egg shells when you havee eggs and use them as and when you need them). But as you find most of the time they get eaten attract birds etc. Beer traps work fine (you can them from pound shops) slugs pellets (you can them from pound shops). You will soon find your own stratergy but try out all the ones I have suggested.
Trouble with beer traps is you get at most 5 or 6 at a time. I literally have 100s of slugs in my veg patch alone. I've used tons of coffee grinds, which have kept them at bay to a certain degree, but this only works when they're dry. I collected over 100 yesterday morning, then again at 10:00 pm I went out & collected another 80 odd. This is every day!! The very mild winter and all the rain we've been getting just seems to be the perfect conditions for them. As I say, this is only my veg patch. My flowers are infested, and my lawn is totally covered. I could probably sustain the entire population of blackbirds and thrushes on my lawn alone!
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A couple of years ago my neighbour and I experimented with snails and taking them from their habitat, to see if they returned. We each took five snails and marked with different coloured nail polish (on the shell!) we placed our own snails into the others garden and waited to see if they returned. Yes they did! all of mine returned, four within a few days, and the fifth I had given up on but found 12 months later, still with its nail polish on!!!! I wonder just how far they will travel 'back home'? I have told my husband on many occassions NOT to throw them over the fence, as like the terminator, they will be back!
The Saint.....if you use yoghurt pots half filled with beer and don't sink them right into the ground, ie leave a lip about half an inch above ground, beetles don't usually fall in.
There are folks who empty the beer and slugs onto their compost heaps every couple of days, or if they are making comfrey tea, slop it into to the mix....not sure whether thats a wise move or not!
I hate slugs and snails....i pick them off, put them on newspaper and pour salt over them..then wrap them up. I have no mercy! my mum chops them in half with shears... yuk
Get blue pellets at Wilkinsons they only cost a few pounds and kill alot of snails and slugs.
I have a method of stopping them eating your plants which is 100% effective! but won't work when it's wet, so it does have a down side.
Go to a horse feed dealer and buy a sack of bran. You can get it from a supermarket but you will pay dearly for it wheras you can get a 20kg sack of it for about £7! imagine how long that would last.
Just sprinkle a good amount around your plant, I sprinkle a ring around my dahlias, when the slugs try to cross it they are dehydrated immediately and in the morning you will find loads and loads of them just sitting on the bran. When I had Koi, I used to feed the slugs to them.
You could bury some sort of guttering pipe into the ground around the edges of your beds, you would just have to scrap out the old wet bran when it rains and replace it. It really does work!!!!!!!!!
Horrible aren't they? Shudder!
I am using nematodes this year for the first time and so far so good. Think it's saved my runner beans from premature death!
Dolly11,
I reccomend eggv shells they work a treat (fill a bucket up with egg shells when you havee eggs and use them as and when you need them). But as you find most of the time they get eaten attract birds etc. Beer traps work fine (you can them from pound shops) slugs pellets (you can them from pound shops). You will soon find your own stratergy but try out all the ones I have suggested.
Good Luck,
Lalat
Trouble with beer traps is you get at most 5 or 6 at a time. I literally have 100s of slugs in my veg patch alone. I've used tons of coffee grinds, which have kept them at bay to a certain degree, but this only works when they're dry. I collected over 100 yesterday morning, then again at 10:00 pm I went out & collected another 80 odd. This is every day!! The very mild winter and all the rain we've been getting just seems to be the perfect conditions for them. As I say, this is only my veg patch. My flowers are infested, and my lawn is totally covered. I could probably sustain the entire population of blackbirds and thrushes on my lawn alone!