snails

Lotus-eater

I always leave the spiders in the greenhouse, don't they eat all the pests?

Lord_Gardener

mapcr77 wrote: »

Use the pellets (the pet friendly ones). I tried coffee, hair, grit, beer traps and nothing works as well as the pellets. Plus, pigeons killed my seedlings while trying to get to the crushed eggshells! So that was the worst method of the lot...

As for wasting valuable protein, I actually prefer to throw some of the slugs and snails into the compost bin, in there they're welcome to eat as much as they please!
But now that slugs are under control, my problem is aphids... :eek:

Good luck!

Give the aphids a good blast with very dilute washing-up liquid which will work a treat. As for the snails, if they've been eating your veg, collect and cook them with a touch of garlic butter - should go down a treat!!!!

lindens

Send your snails to me! I am getting chickens tomorrow and they love them lol

teedy23

I,m drowning them in beer and then the birds are eating them. I think I,m just setting up a veggie burger and beer joint actually. They still manage a hearty meal before the booze gets them.

Larumbelle

I was just picking myself some spring onions for tea when I heard a rustling behind me... a hedgehog was scuttling up the path, apparently unconcerned that I was there. I followed him as he disappeared into a bed full of crocosmia. I couldn't see him but I could see the crocosmia fronds dance slightly as he moved.
Then suddenly... CRUNCH! Followed by lots of slurping and snorting. I think I just heard Mr Hedgepig eating a snail for his tea :rotfl:

Errata

Please ask Mr Hedgehog if he would like for pudding the 6" slug I've just rehomed into next door's garden !

Ladygrim

Quick question.

If you use pellets to kill the slugs/snail, and then a hedgehog eats it, does that not also kill the hedgehog?

LG

Davesnave

Ladygrim wrote: »

Quick question.

If you use pellets to kill the slugs/snail, and then a hedgehog eats it, does that not also kill the hedgehog?

LG

No, it is estimated that it would take around 200 similarly affected snails eaten over a relatively short time to hurt a hedgehog. There is possibly more danger to frogs, which don't fare well if exposed to copper compounds, such as those which give pellets their blue colour. However, the danger to frogs has only been partially investigated, and then in relation to commercial applications, rather than garden ones.

The whole area is a bit of a minefield, but there is not much hard evidence that the anti-pellet lobby can cite to back up their case. There should be more research. Luckily, there are environmentally-friendly pellets, and even the ordinary ones are based on a safer chemical than those of old.

The animal most likely to be injured directly by pellets is a dog, because some dogs will eat anything they can and may not be dissuaded by the Bitrex put in most pellets to deter them! However, properly distributed pellets aren't the problem; it is more a case of dogs eating direct from the packet!

I use as few pellets as possible, have healthy hedgehogs, and my frog breeding is currently a bit too successful. I don't like killing anything, even snails, but if I'm honest, the human foot & the Flymo are probably the greatest threat to frogs here!