Bloody slugs

elsien

They look fairly content when they're swaying gently in the breeze whilst munching away at the top of my lupins.

REEN

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Foldable-Reaching-Gripper-Grabber-Helping/dp/B00CFW73H4

Brilliant for reaching the climbers. Also grips slugs in those rubber cups and slides them off leaves without damaging the plants.

moneyistooshorttomention

ktjackson wrote: »

I feel your pain. Snails are the brain of my life at the moment. I have a morning ritual of pulling them off my plants and drowning them in soapy water. Its a pain but I'd rather do that than have my garden destroyed...I just hope karma doesn't exist or I may come back as one of the slimy creatures!

Well - as my belief is one only comes back in human form and for majority of us that's by choice

...........then I have no such compunction. I still feel a bit squeamish about it - but if its slugs/snails or me - then I belt them one with something heavy (or have even been known to get out the kitchen scissors to them) as soon as look at them. Or...there's always salt...

moneyistooshorttomention

Further thought - a friend here was ripping "unwanted" type leaves from my existing garden plants and doing "chop and drop" with them on my soil near my wanted plants. She told me that she reckons slugs will head for this decoy greenery to eat, rather than the plants I actually want/

I've now just read that snails prefer rotting green waste (eg "unwanted"/past it plants done "chop and drop" on the soil) - rather than seedlings.

So - verdict please. Do others think slugs (and snails) will go for "chop and drop" leaves instead of my seedlings/young plants?

DaftyDuck

They might... but they'll be well-fed, and produce even more offspring....

rich13348

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Well - as my belief is one only comes back in human form and for majority of us that's by choice

...........then I have no such compunction. I still feel a bit squeamish about it - but if its slugs/snails or me - then I belt them one with something heavy (or have even been known to get out the kitchen scissors to them) as soon as look at them. Or...there's always salt...

I've tried all three of these in years gone by. My current method is crush them with a big stone, which makes a lovely sound with the big fat snails.
Radio 4 GQT suggested putting old carpet pile side down near the plants and they will live under their instead in the ground and every couple of days just flip it over and dispatch them.

forgotmyname

ASDA kitten food in a small bowl, they swarm to it, then just salt the lot, and hose it away.

moneyistooshorttomention

forgotmyname wrote: »

ASDA kitten food in a small bowl, they swarm to it, then just salt the lot, and hose it away.

Hmmmm.....not some "magic ingredient" in just Asda kitten food I hope? Wondering if Aldi or Tesco do kitten food (and, quite possibly, off the same assembly line)??

The thought of spending money on getting rid of the little b&s does go against the grain:( - but, if needs must...

EDIT; Darn - just as I thought "I might have a plan...." realised a certain neighbouring cat would probably head into my garden rather more often than the "furry pain (in the !!!)" currently does....back to the drawing board...

-taff

I've tried the crushed eggshells. didn't work for me, or else it was a year that they were hyped on steroids...
Gone for the eco friendly pellets this year because I haven't got anough plants to afford to lose any more...three sowings of beans is enough for anyone.....

TheGardener

Dried dog food seems to have the same effect as the kitten food - if I leave our pooches bowl outside its swarming with slugs by late evening...

There is a brook near our house and I regularly find frogs in the garden - and a lot of empty snail shells. My Mum put a small pond in her garden a couple years ago and gets a lot of frogs and reckons the slug population has plummeted since the frogs moved in.

I find hunting under pots and nooks and crannies during the day is a good way to deal with them - nab them while they are snoozing and dump in a bowl of salt water I keep behind the shed.

I have often though that if anyone bred mutant slugs and and produced a slug that loves dandelion and bindweed - they would be a millionaire!