snail and slug patrol

rosy

Snails are whittling down my new courgette and bean plants, every morning more greenery has disappeared. I've tried all the things I can think of (except pellets which I don't want to use) and nothing has worked so I have resorted to torchlit expeditions. First night last night - got a couple of dozen (was naively expecting five or six!).
What I wondered was - how long do I have to keep doing this for? Will it be best to check each evening over the summer or does it eventually get rid of them?

Jack's_mummy

I don't think you'll ever totally get rid of them.

I'm a slug pellet girl anyway

Orange_King

For ever and ever is the answer unfortunately.

I'm with Jack's mummy - slug pellets have worked for me and I also go out looking for the little sods of an evening. Hate it when you lift a pot to look underneath and feel the slime of one on your fingers!

I have a special chisel for getting my own back.

icecreamdogpark

"Slug stop" liquid you mix with water and water around plants this is working great for me :j

suejb2

I've tried copper tape for the first time this year and so far so good

invisiblecabbage

I love my nightly slug patrols. I gather them up then wang them over the fence to the alley behind (just hope no-one is walking back late from the pub:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:)

andyg9053

small pot filled with 2 inches of beer sunk into soil, caught 4 by my runner beans last night. they drown happy!!

savemoney

They love the rain the blighter

I lost a half mature lettuce plant today and another half eaten, they were in pots

mum1plus1

Hate them just done patrol and found 2 slugs and 5 snails!:eek: I chuck them into the hedge for the birds but i cant understand how they get into the grow bags as they are all sat on gravel??

Dont want to use pellets either just dont like the thought of eating veggies that have been near chems (daft i know when you consider what we buy from the supermarket)

rosy

Thanks everybody - at least I know I'm not alone! Despite getting rid of loads of the pests last night I checked the courgettes a wee while ago and :eek: yet more damage grrrrr!!!!! I never had anything like this bother last year. Have put a load of fleece over the plants as a temporary measure to try to keep them out and DH is out now chucking more snails over the wall. I think I'll have to resort to the chemicals (I'm just a bit concerned about doing that though because next door's cat treats our garden as if its his own). Just as well I've got a few extra plants in pots as standbys, at this rate none of the first batch will be left at all:(

savemoney

I been pretty lucky until the past few days think all that rain we got as brought them to life

I tend to use slug pellets but around flowers, shrubs etc

I do kill them when I find them but I have so many walls in which they can hide that its impossible task