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Nematodes are the best!!!
debs64
Posts: 5,184
i have a very sluggy garden, lots of raised beds and large pots. Tried beer traps and copper and wildlife friendly pellets all to no avail. Broke my heart to see my precious plants nurtured from seed and tuber or purchased at great expense all part of a slug buffet. Dahlias, marigold, hostas even clematis in pots you name it they ate it! So I paid £12 for nematodes and watered them in on MayDay, in the rain, all week I have been keeping the soil moist and last night I set 3 beer traps..... 3 small slugs in one none in the other 2. I LOVE nematodes and would honestly advise anyone to give them a go!
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Hi debs thats great news, i looked at those yesterday online and was in two minds, you have made my decision for me, thank you?
I would just say do exactly what it says on the box, and keep your soil moist for at least a week but I am so impressed and wonderful to know it's completely safe for wildlife too.
I agree debs, I've just watered on my 2nd lot yeaterday, last year the slugs ate everything, we didn;t even get any sunflowers! ( I let the children grow them though I can't abide them!) This year I have 2 foot tall delphiniums and lupins with not a nibble! hurrah! I pick a few snails off the old stonme walls round the gardens back and front, and we seem to be doing great, the only thing is , this year so far has been muuch drier than last, which has probably contributed positively
We have been using nematodes for 3 years after finding out about them. Wouldn't use anything else
They are also a very useful natural species to rid your lawn of ants too.
however, once the ants were gone and the nematodes were clearly loving life, the birds came in an started to dig up my lawn to get the nematodes..... I guess it is to be expected when humans start to interfere with the food chain.
Are you sure that's what they are digging up the lawn for? Nematodes are microscopic. I think they are probably after other grubs in the grass.
probably, I'd imagine other things gobble up the nematodes and subsequently there were more of them in the soil than normal and they then attracted the birds.
Unlikely. Soil is naturally full of nematodes.
Nematode convert here too. Started using them last year and will never stop now!
Wish they got rid of my ants though, the monsters are all over our lawn
The birds must have pretty good eye sight to see a nematode! You wouldn't be able to see one.