Organic eradication of slugs and snails in beds!
Copperdog
Posts: 617
I have been collecting up slugs and snails and putting them in the dalek style composters for a few years now. Still getting lots of slug damage on stuff! I assume they don't really stay in there and prefer to come out at night for a Slug Fest! My latest thing is picking them up with latex gloves and putting them in the brown council bin and making sure on collecting day I have knocked them all back down in the cuttings to be carted away! I just planted some echinacea a couple of days ago and can see a couple of plants have already got lots of damage. Is picking off and brown binning still the best option or can i consider anything else. Been trying to search some old threads for info and some have recommended sheeps wool pellets would these still be classed as organic gardening? thank you.
Posts
Yes, the sheep's wool pellets are organic - as are nematodes https://www.nematodesdirect.co.uk/
Good luck
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dove, do you find they work well though? Do you use either method or do you still resort to picking by hand
(rotten old job that it is!)
Lots of regulars on here have found that they work well if you follow the directions.
I've not used them, but this garden has very gritty soil and doesn't seem to get too much slug damage (famous last words)
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dove, think I will give it a go and see how i get on. Appreciate you help.
I was looking at organic slug treatment today. The problem with the one I was looking at is that you need to put a solid ring of the stuff around each plant individually, to create a physical barrier. That's not a practical proposition in a garden the size of mine. I haven't yet found anything organic which is effective for large areas.
I noticed some organic slug defence gel in the garden centre yesterday. I haven't seen it before and it's a bit pricey, but just wondered if anyone had tried it and if it's effective.
I have tried both. The wool stuff was ok, but on bigger borders its simply not practical. And it didn't stop the odd pioneer getting through.
Last week I used nemaslu. And I haven't seen one of the little monsters since. Pretty impressive since they were totally destroying my lupins and alceA.
There are numerous threads discussing the war on slugs on this forum and my conclusion is that nematodes are the best solution. I have not tried them yet but certainly will do. The slug gel is pretty useless as are using crushed egg shells or coffee grounds. Beer traps plus hand-picking is more successful but labour-intensive. I have also 'rescued' plants by potting them up in pots with copper tape and moving them to a patio or potting bench until they recover.
As a sight aside, I'd never considred putting harvested slugs/snails in the composter before, but as a veritable paradise, wouldn't it potentially mean trillions of eggs in your compost followed by careful and measured distribution of said eggs around the garden? If not, very good idea - I just sling mine to the least planty area of the garden!
I collect them and put them in my council green recycling bin.
Like copperdog I noticed them gathering inside the lid and around the rim looking to escape. Now I make up a salt solution in a small spray bottle and give the top few inches of the inside and the lid a good squirt, it dries to a salty crust that they won't cross.