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What a magnificent year it's been for slugs. The slug population on my plot is reaching epidemic proportions, with many at least the size of small elephants - well 10cm or more in length anyway.I'm so disheartened by their relentless devouring of my

A plea rings out from gardeners across the country every year for a reliable control for slugs - something that will put an end to their slimy antics. Perhaps I'm in a lucky minority, but despite not having a pond my garden is hopping with frogs

as these lovely, helpful insects I've also got a good smattering of the not-so-helpful varieties of wildlife, such as slugs, snails, chafer beetles and assorted aphids.I've also spotted a few cabbage white butterflies hovering around my brassicas. It's hard

across a slug, they enter its body, infecting it with bacteria and kill it. This dramatically reduces the slug population and many areas of my plot are now slug free, which makes me very happy.However, I didn't apply the nematodes to every part of my

slugs.The farm rodent operatives have also been very busy since the arrival of the warmer weather. There are three cats on the farm, Borage, Basil and his sister Myrtle. Basil (pictured) is a buffoon, but when he eventually does catch something he

) have a voracious appetite for aphids.The other leaf-munching pests are slugs. I'm now on night patrol. Night is the easiest and best time to go out with rubber gloves and torch, picking off as many as I can find. They are then disposed of. Not, I hasten

for the Spartans but they gave it a pretty good shot).Slug and snail control has been covered here a few times so you should have lots of available weaponry in the battle. Should you decide (as you should) that hostas are worth the trouble then it's easier

Every year the RHS publishes a list of popular pests: popular in that they are the ones about whom the RHS entomologists have had the most enquiries. Top of the charts this year are slugs and snails (everybody's bête noir) followed by the harlequin

My recent rant about this year's plague of slugs obviously touched a raw nerve with British allotmenteers. I'm clearly not alone in feeling ground down by the enormity of the problem.Now, as if to confirm that nature is gaining the upper hand on my

as the seedlings are not attacked by slugs. Last year this was a real problem, and many of my young vegetable plants were lost to slugs and snails.When sowing seeds outdoors, it's important to prepare the soil well, fork it to a fine tilth and rake it level