At wits end with carrots and slugs

Hello all

Last year I sowed 10 rows of carrots, one after the other as each time the seedlings raised their heads they were eaten by, I assume, slugs.

I treated the soil with nematodes but to no avail.   I cannot use slugs pellets etc as I have a resident hedgehog and loads of frogs in the garden.

Tried again this year and had very successful germination only for them all to disappear only three days later.

I know it's a perennial question but does anyone have any ideas.   What is really odd is that the 3 years previously I grew fab carrots with no issues.   Mr hedgehog wasn't resident then.

I do grow some in pots but it's not the same.

Thank you. 

To be honest with you, I surround my carrots with net, just high enough so I can get my legs over so I can weed etc. But I mainly do this to protect them from carrot fly which can ruin my full crop. A net might keep Mr hedgehog out from the carrot patch.

Also, there are wildlife friendly slug pellets on the market these days, I think they are slighty more expensive then their cheaper counterparts. However, I have not tryed them, as I do not use pellets, but this could be another option for you.

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/p1821/ADVANCED-SLUG-KILLER-575g/product_info.html

As Marshmello says, there are safe wildlife-friendly slug pellets available, and they co-exist very happily with my large bird population, hedgehogs and frogs galore. The pellets linked to above are not a poison, but a chemical that affects slugs and snails by drying them and making them feel vile. As a result, they crawl away and hide to die. The pellets themselves break down into fertilizer after six weeks.

Brilliant news about the pellets, will pick some up today.

Thanks both.

I cover my carrots with fleece,  making sure the edges of the fleece are buried.  this makes a physical barrier which the slugs can't break.  It also prevents carrot fly.

Or as people have said use slug pellets but make sure they're pet and wildlife friendly !

Chris

also a good tip the slugs dont like crushed egg shells that works

This year i have put a 2" wide barrier of sand around my carrot bed so far no slugs

After a gap of 30yrs, I have started growing my own veg again - in raised beds, covered with Enviromesh, That I hope will keep out pretty much all predators.

Does it not occur to anybody that slug pellets are not hedgehog friendly; never, ever. If you kill all the slugs what are the hedgehogs to eat?  It is not a case of poisoning the hedgehogs, it's starving them.