Garden Infested With Slugs

Lemlin

I don't know much about gardening but my garden is infested with slugs. Whenever I'm out in it with the dog I see two or three, especially if its been raining.

Now I've heard about slug pellets but can I put those down (whatever they are) without harming my dog?

ozzirt

NO!, slug pellets are loved by dogs, and very toxic.

A solution that I've been told of is to put out a few saucers with a tablespoon or so of beer in them. The slugs and snails love it and it is poisonous to them

http://www.sustainable-gardening-tips.com/garden-snails.html

Lemlin

ozzirt wrote: »

NO!, slug pellets are loved by dogs, and very toxic.

A solution that I've been told of is to put out a few saucers with a tablespoon or so of beer in them. The slugs and snails love it and it is poisonous to them

http://www.sustainable-gardening-tips.com/garden-snails.html

The dog would knock over anything like that. She's wired to the moon.

Could I leave her with a friend for a day or two and put down the pellets? How long do they take to dissolve or whatever they do!?

Sorry but I really haven't a notion.

Dr Galen

they can last for quite a while. If your dog eats them he'll be a very sick doggy.

There are pet safe pellets you can get. they have different ingredients to the much more common types of slug pellets out there. Ypu'll have to search a bit for them, Homebase is your best bet. Just be totally sure that they are pet safe before you use them.

byhookorbycrook

you need nematodes, microscopic thingies you add to the soil, they eat slugs from the inside out. Mr Middletons garden shop sells them online

dardevle

.


'ferramol' slug pellets are organically approved and generally regarded as safe for pets and wildlife(except slugs of course), the active ingredient in them is ferric phosphate which breaks down into iron and phosphate in the soil which are both naturally occuring elements themselves....they can be got mail order from http://www.theorganiccentre.ie/.


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dh0661

Lemlin wrote: »

my garden is infested with slugs. Whenever I'm out in it with the dog I see two or three, especially if its been raining.

Look closer - you'll probably find 200 or 300. --- especially when it's raining

magicianz

Used to have a slug problem in my back garden where we would find about 20-30 slugs every morning. We took a hands on approach.....every morning for a few weeks, putting them all into a plastic bag, tying it off and throwing it in the bin! Not had a problem in about 2 years now!

newbie2

I had major issues with slugs in my garden. tried everything - beer, organic pellets, blue pellets, nematodes, nothing worked satisfactorily. There were just too many of the buggers.
Decided, in the end, to opt for plants that slugs don't eat. I'm pleasantly surprised with the results.

BTW, I know I'm going to get lashed for this, but I found the blue pellets the best. My dog didn't eat them, (I can't see why dogs would eat them, they're predominantly just salt!) but they did leave a bit of a mess as the slugs "dissolved".

Good Luck

Cupcake Girl

I have loads of slugs but always saw them as harmless..are they???

Rujib1

What you need is a duck Let your duck ramble around your garden, and I assure you, the slugs will come off second best. Plus you can have nice cholestral free eggs for brekki

R1

Darlughda

Limes!

Slugs hate them.
I chop up a few limes, peels juicy bits'n all and throw in a bit of garlic for good measure. Then plot them around all my plants.

Now its a bit time consuming and after a cupla days you will need to remove them. But its well worth having a few limes ready to put out around precious plants.

Lemlin

Cupcake Girl wrote: »

I have loads of slugs but always saw them as harmless..are they???

They probably are but I hate the sight of them. Out throwing the ball with the dog and all I can see is huge slugs!

Lemlin

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

you need nematodes, microscopic thingies you add to the soil, they eat slugs from the inside out. Mr Middletons garden shop sells them online

I looked these up on wikipedia and it said they're actually ringworm or roundworm. Surely that'd give the dog worms then.

Lemlin

magicianz wrote: »

Used to have a slug problem in my back garden where we would find about 20-30 slugs every morning. We took a hands on approach.....every morning for a few weeks, putting them all into a plastic bag, tying it off and throwing it in the bin! Not had a problem in about 2 years now!

I went round with a shovel this morning and lifted over 20 and threw them all into a big clump of cut grass I have at the back of the lawn. Would they break that down?

greendom

Maybe your dog is putting off birds from eating the slugs in the garden?

That's my son's theory for the large quantity we have in ours anyway

seagull

Lemlin wrote: »

I looked these up on wikipedia and it said they're actually ringworm or roundworm. Surely that'd give the dog worms then.

Your comment is like saying all insects are fleas. Nematodes are a family of worms. Ringworms are a type of nematode.

The ones used for this are species specific, and target slugs.

foxinsox

Lemlin wrote: »

I went round with a shovel this morning and lifted over 20 and threw them all into a big clump of cut grass I have at the back of the lawn. Would they break that down?

If I was a slug?

I would much rather eat juicy plants than yucky old grass, so I'd heaad back towards the juicy plants!

Beer Beer and more Beer works... saucers of beer and they "happily" drown!