Amy I live in Howwood Renfrewshire and it was really wet last year as you probably know. The little horrors love the wet so how can we keep them out with all the rain we get? Fighting a losing battle I think, but I am going to keep at it.Where do the little menaces come from anyway?
Goddy, totally agree with you about the cats. I have a dog and always pick up after it. Can you image if it did its needs in a cat owners garden what a fuss there would be? The cat that uses my garden breaks my plants and hey ho its ok cause its a cat and they can go where ever it likes.Time to change the law. And by the way I like cats too.
I heard egg shells work crumbled, as they hate spikey surfaces? With that logic bark might be helpful, as I think about it, I never have problems with my plants that grow amongst the mulch. I also got coffee grounds from a local GC but not too hopeful that they'll work.
Aym280 , just looked up about nematodes and think I might give them a go. First time I have heard of them, but I am quite new to gardening, but loving it. If it works then it will be worth the money. I actually quite liked hunting them up when I was weeding seen it as therapy . My sister thought I was nuts but hey each to there own
Thanks Linda, The fact that cats hide their mess in our gardens means that only gardeners get to see it so joe public never complain. The cat worm by the way is killer!!!
In Dublin we usually have hoards of slugs and snails. I put copper tape around the inside edge of the raised beds - it certainly gives some protection but not perfect. The nematodes are worth doing every couple of years when the numbers start peaking again. But so much damage is done before it is time to use nematodes that it is really an investment in the future. I expect trouble this spring because the winter was relatively mild. My most successful strategy is like the French guy somebody mentioned: I put on my headlamp and go out to collect them before going to bed every night. I don;t wish for nightmares, so I don't murder them myself, but I do put them in a recycled plastic bag, tie it, and put them in the bin to suffocate or starve or whatever. I have never tallied my hauls, but am not surprised by the count. Certainly in one 15 minute hunt I can easily collect 50 or 60 slugs or snails.I would love to have a better technique, but this is the one that works so far.
Used nematodes for the first time last year and now I'm a converted fan. More expensive than the more conventional methods but so worth it. The blighters are out in force all ready judging by the look of my winter veg. Just have to wait for the soil to warm up a bit and I shall be out there parading up and down the veggie patch with watering can armed with the liquid of destruction
Linda - you might find the slugs are slightly fewer this spring as it's definitely been a bit drier and with enough frosts to kill off a few more than usual. I'm just slightly south of you and know Howwood quite well
Picking plants that are less attractive to them is a good method - so plant fewer soft perennials with nice juicy new springtime shoots, and a bit more woody planting. Things like Delphiniums for example are hopeless unless you wan to use slug pellets. Might as well hang a big 'free dinner' sign in neon lights for them!
Getting stuck in at this time of year with a night time hunt pays off too. You get a good amount of them to dispatch, and it reduces the amount they can then produce. Encourage birds - blackbirds and thrushes in particular, and they'll help you out.
Hopefully we may get a drier spring up here and that will make life easier!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Fairygirl, I have started to encourage the birds into the garden with fat balls and nuts, so I hope that will help. 2 years ago I planted Lobelia Queen Victoria and they were beautiful and healthy but last year the slugs had a mega meal with them, it practically happened overnight. I could have cried when I saw them. .That's when I started to hunt them out. I will be prepared for the little horrors this year.
Last year was peak slug and snail time. They even climbed to the top of my 6ft French bean fence eating every leaf along the way. I have never seen them eating bean plants before.
I have stopped encouraging birds with food because I now have a cat who is an expert hunter. They still use the pond but numbers are way down. It is too bad.
Posts
Amy I live in Howwood Renfrewshire and it was really wet last year as you probably know. The little horrors love the wet so how can we keep them out with all the rain we get? Fighting a losing battle I think, but I am going to keep at it.Where do the little menaces come from anyway?
Goddy, totally agree with you about the cats. I have a dog and always pick up after it. Can you image if it did its needs in a cat owners garden what a fuss there would be? The cat that uses my garden breaks my plants and hey ho its ok cause its a cat and they can go where ever it likes.Time to change the law. And by the way I like cats too.
I heard egg shells work crumbled, as they hate spikey surfaces? With that logic bark might be helpful, as I think about it, I never have problems with my plants that grow amongst the mulch. I also got coffee grounds from a local GC but not too hopeful that they'll work.
Aym280 , just looked up about nematodes and think I might give them a go. First time I have heard of them, but I am quite new to gardening, but loving it
. If it works then it will be worth the money. I actually quite liked hunting them up when I was weeding seen it as therapy . My sister thought I was nuts but hey each to there own
Thanks Linda, The fact that cats hide their mess in our gardens means that only gardeners get to see it so joe public never complain. The cat worm by the way is killer!!!
In Dublin we usually have hoards of slugs and snails. I put copper tape around the inside edge of the raised beds - it certainly gives some protection but not perfect. The nematodes are worth doing every couple of years when the numbers start peaking again. But so much damage is done before it is time to use nematodes that it is really an investment in the future. I expect trouble this spring because the winter was relatively mild. My most successful strategy is like the French guy somebody mentioned: I put on my headlamp and go out to collect them before going to bed every night. I don;t wish for nightmares, so I don't murder them myself, but I do put them in a recycled plastic bag, tie it, and put them in the bin to suffocate or starve or whatever. I have never tallied my hauls, but am not surprised by the count. Certainly in one 15 minute hunt I can easily collect 50 or 60 slugs or snails.I would love to have a better technique, but this is the one that works so far.
Used nematodes for the first time last year and now I'm a converted fan. More expensive than the more conventional methods but so worth it. The blighters are out in force all ready judging by the look of my winter veg. Just have to wait for the soil to warm up a bit and I shall be out there parading up and down the veggie patch with watering can armed with the liquid of destruction
Linda - you might find the slugs are slightly fewer this spring as it's definitely been a bit drier and with enough frosts to kill off a few more than usual. I'm just slightly south of you and know Howwood quite well
Picking plants that are less attractive to them is a good method - so plant fewer soft perennials with nice juicy new springtime shoots, and a bit more woody planting. Things like Delphiniums for example are hopeless unless you wan to use slug pellets. Might as well hang a big 'free dinner' sign in neon lights for them!
Getting stuck in at this time of year with a night time hunt pays off too. You get a good amount of them to dispatch, and it reduces the amount they can then produce. Encourage birds - blackbirds and thrushes in particular, and they'll help you out.
Hopefully we may get a drier spring up here and that will make life easier!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Fairygirl, I have started to encourage the birds into the garden with fat balls and nuts, so I hope that will help.
2 years ago I planted Lobelia Queen Victoria and they were beautiful and healthy but last year the slugs had a mega meal with them, it practically happened overnight. I could have cried when I saw them. 
.That's when I started to hunt them out. I will be prepared for the little horrors this year.
Last year was peak slug and snail time. They even climbed to the top of my 6ft French bean fence eating every leaf along the way. I have never seen them eating bean plants before.
I have stopped encouraging birds with food because I now have a cat who is an expert hunter. They still use the pond but numbers are way down. It is too bad.