Talkback: Slugs - Page 2

I've used pellets between rows in veg beds but never between plants and always sparingly. I also drop some between the paths, in damp corners and around my cold frames. Also I heard that pellets only need to be used in spring to reduce the first generation of slugs that wildlife will keep at bay later and to spray susceptible plants with garlic spray through the summer autumn months. I am going to try this as the rest of my garden is organic sans pellets, does anyone have a recipe handy?

EDIT: Oops! Just spotted previous page and that garlic recipe, thanks to Nyakocat

Jason Raymond wrote (see)

How do I stop slugs eating my. Veg

Dont invite them for dinner and read the comments on here might be a start

*Blueeyes*

Scissors *UKgirl*? Blimey that takes devotion!

I used the nematodes last year, also nematodes for vine weevil and yes, they weren't cheap but boy did they do the trick.

I wish we had wandering hedgehogs and had even considered nabbing one from Hampstead Heath and releasing it into our back gardens, but they are all very closed off and I fear they wouldn't get enough to eat just from mine...plus mine is only 6mx6m so probably not big enough for the hedgehog to make a home in

On a serious not there is something called lung worm which is apparently spreading in this country. Dogs are affected and can be caused by them licking/playing with things that have slug slime on, as well eating slugs and snails. Also by having outside drinking water. 

It is suggested that toys are kept inside apart from when dogs are playing with

them.http://www.dfordog.co.uk/article-be-lungworm-aware.html

go ukcowgirl i discovered the scissors solution last year ,it's quick they don't suffer long (i make sure I get them in one go) and the birds have their breakfast cut up for them.I have lost so much to slugs,snails and caterpillers it's unreal, so i don't feel guilty any more .Over the years I have spent a fortune on socalled anti slug and pest gadgets and repelants but no more it's scissors for me from now on.Sometimes it's the simplest thing that work best.

No mercy for slugs around here.  I use nasty metaldehyde pellets in places wildlife can't get to, organic pellets, beer traps, snipping with secateurs, slug nematodes, garlic spray, salt and any other inventive ideas folk come up with.  I tried leaving it to nature for a couple of years and I'm not going back to having a devastated garden, or spending 3 months raising plants only to have them destroyed in a single night!

Even with the above full-blown assault, I still can't grow hostas.  Good job I don't find them particularly attractive!

Copper rings, vaseline, eggshells, sharp grit (even tried crushed glass once) and a myriad of other 'slug deterrents', including expensive commercial ones have absolutely no detectable effect for me, unfortunately.

Do we 'clay gardeners' have more of a problem with slugs than other soil types?  There's anecdotal evidence for this which I've read on various forums over the years, but I'd love to see an actual poll done.

Has anyone tried ' copper tape round the containers 'method. I was thinking of growing some lettuces this year with said method and also using them for tomato growing, as last year it was the first time ever, that the little blighters successfully nibbled through about 12 plants that had been replaced three times!!. Is it a tried and tested method.

My soil is very heavy and wet and yes, they are absolutely massive and there was alot of them last year, the like of which I have not seen before.. My parents soil is much lighter (they live a mile away at the top of the hill in our town, we live at the bottom in the Waveney valley) and they have hardly any.

My slugs were huge (clay soil) until I obliterated them with nematodes - they worked really well - no more slugs AT ALL - only snails now  and nothing short of stamping on them or chucking them over the wall into a disused garden works...

Huge slugs could be the Spanish slug, from which we are suffering an invasion:

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/plague-of-giant-spanish-superslugs-invade-britain-8139877.html

I've pre-ordered a nemaslug 'planned programme', so will be sent 6 lots of live nematodes at 6 week intervals.  It's expensive but this is war!