SLUGS

deemy

Hi there, I was wondering, has anyone got a tried and tested way of getting rid of these pescky pests. The garden is overrun with them once night falls. Huge black ones. I've had all my sunflowers devoured over the last 2 nights. They have started on broccoli, lettuce and bedding plants also (which are in pots) I dont want to go down the route of pellets if at all possible and was trying to get rid with a more natural way if this is possible? I go out every evening before bed and hand pick them and fling them over the wall (rural house btw !) and have tried beer traps but not working. Anyone any ideas on how to help. Tia

coolhull

Sharp sand or ashes/cinders laid around the plants. Slugs don't like having their bellies scratched!

deemy

Thanks Coolhull . If I were to replant the lettuce/broccoli in time would I just spread the sand/cinders right around the perimeter of the plot and this might do the trick? Would it damage the plants in any way or leave a stronger taste when eaten if it was in direct contact with the plant ( sorry if this is a stupid question, total novice gardener here :-/ ) As for now just place it at bottom of pot on ground ? Thank you for your reply

coolhull

Well, usually I place the grit in a circle a few inches from the plants (crushed egg shells are very good too). Or if in pots, around the inside perimeter of the pot. Someone also told me I could use Vaseline around the outer circumference of the pots, but I haven't tried that. I don't understand why the beer traps don't work. Maybe they weren't planted level with the top of the soil.
Anyway, good luck with your attempts!

CJhaughey

I find regular hand picking and put them in salt will eradicate a lot, if you don't kill them they will come back.
I use a big jar with some coarse salt in the bottom and drop them into it, they dry up very quickly this way.
A pair of disposable plastic tweezers works well to keep the slime off your fingers as well.
Copper strips work to stop them as well, but once you have them out of the area you still need to deal with the ones in the garden area.

ellejay

Last night I set 2 beer traps

This morning when I checked 1 had two slugs in it and the other one and 6.

The trap with 1 slug was just a saucer, placed on the ground with beer in it.
The trap with 6 slugs in it was a plastic container, placed in a hole in the ground, so the rim was at ground level. That had beer in it also.

I've tried the egg shells but didn't work for me, they just slimed all over it.

Hope that helps in the battle of the slugs.

catastrophy

I had a couple of horrendous years with slugs so this year I decided to fill all the pathways between and around my raised beds with 10 mm crushed limestone gravel. They hate it. Not one to be seen this year.

Jellybaby1

I used to have great lettuce harvests until the slugs took over. For three years I planted lettuce without getting much back after the slugs had (more than) their share. This year I decided to try again. I planted out 12 round lettuce plants and 12 curly plants. At first all seemed well, however the slugs soon turned up. I used egg shells but to no avail. Nightly, I can hear the slugs laughing and munching. Today I have 8 plants left from the 24. Most are gnawed. But I have two in pretty good condition after I covered them with plastic bottles with the bottoms cut out. They are now getting too big for the bottles and they have to come off. I can hear the slugs champing at the bit to get at them! My last resort, I purchased beer and I will set the traps and see what happens. I hate them slugs!

yellowlabrador

find that once plants get to a certain size, the slugs seem less keen. It's getting them to size that's the problem. I've read somewhere that plants produce a natural defence mechanism as they grow.

macraignil

There are some natural predators of slugs that can help keep the numbers under control. Some birds (like the trush and ducks for example) will eat slugs and snails. Also frogs and hedge hogs will eat them. Some insects will also eat the eggs. Centipedes are often found near slugs and are said to be particularly effective. Encouraging any of the above in your garden should help the situation.

Jellybaby1

Well we have lots of birds in the garden, as we feed them. Maybe we should feed them slugs instead of bird seed! I popped out into the garden a little after 10pm with a torch. One fat slug was making a bee line for one of the beer traps. Hope there will be more floating in it in the morning.

Jellybaby1

I couldn't wait to check the traps this morning. Could hardly believe my eyes, six slugs in one trap and four in the other. Brilliant! Now what to do? Do I leave the traps as they are for another night, or do I take the (ugh) slugs out, or do I pour the lot out and add fresh beer?

cobham

Gravel and sand .... and get my runner beans up to a decen size in pots before risking planting out in ground...sorry I use the blue stuff too:P

iainBB

cobham wrote: »

Gravel and sand .... and get my runner beans up to a decen size in pots before risking planting out in ground...sorry I use the blue stuff too:P

I have a frog in the green house eating mine. No issues there but runner beans are under attack outside lucky I have some spare in pots.

Jellybaby1

Strangely enough, they don't seem at all interested in broad beans!

iainBB

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Strangely enough, they don't seem at all interested in broad beans!

No but ants take that plant down

Gloomtastic!

If they like green leaves so much, why do they never like dandelions? :rolleyes:

Jellybaby1

iainBB wrote: »

No but ants take that plant down

Aww I didn't know that. Gotta get me some ant stuff now! :mad: Growing your own is a daily battle.

iainBB

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Aww I didn't know that. Gotta get me some ant stuff now! :mad: Growing your own is a daily battle.

Oh jellybaby it sure is . I am learning all the time.

Qualitymark

I put out beer traps for slugs and snails, and accidentally discovered that they really like honey, when I used one of those hive-shaped squeezy bottles of honey with a scrape of honey left in the bottom as a trap, filled up with beer. You can also make your own mix of yeast, a little flour, sugar and warm water, though they don't seem to go for that in the same numbers as the beer.

Jellybaby1

Well, they ARE Irish slugs remember! Partial to the drop.

livinsane

I think the best way if to hunt them out yourself. I go out just as it's getting dark, armed with my shears, and snip any I see in two. It's a quick death, better than drowning or salting I think. My slug numbers were drastically reduced last year when I started actively looking for them. I also give a poke around the dark areas of the garden, and under the soil at the base of my plants, during the day and I find a lot that way. Its really effective.


Cleaning up any debris and empty pots gets rid of hiding places for them too.

fred funk }{

As a gardening dumb wit, would it be a good idea to surround my pots, that are raised in the greenhouse, with salt to effectively create a salt perimeter?

There would be no issue with salt contaminating the plants. Just wondering.

coolhull

fred funk }{ wrote: »

As a gardening dumb wit, would it be a good idea to surround my pots, that are raised in the greenhouse, with salt to effectively create a salt perimeter?

There would be no issue with salt contaminating the plants. Just wondering.

I've been teopted to use salt too, but I'm afraid that it might damage the soil in the flower-beds?

fred funk }{

coolhull wrote: »

I've been teopted to use salt too, but I'm afraid that it might damage the soil in the flower-beds?

My garden is 100% covered with slabs so I'm not worried about salt contamination.

katydid

deemy wrote: »

Hi there, I was wondering, has anyone got a tried and tested way of getting rid of these pescky pests. The garden is overrun with them once night falls. Huge black ones. I've had all my sunflowers devoured over the last 2 nights. They have started on broccoli, lettuce and bedding plants also (which are in pots) I dont want to go down the route of pellets if at all possible and was trying to get rid with a more natural way if this is possible? I go out every evening before bed and hand pick them and fling them over the wall (rural house btw !) and have tried beer traps but not working. Anyone any ideas on how to help. Tia

There are organic pellets you can get that don't harm birds or the environment. We use them...they're not 100% effective, but pretty good.

Or buy a duck...

Jellybaby1

Years ago I used to salt the slugs. Every night I took myself off on a safari armed with a torch and salt cellar. The effect of the salt was so revolting I stopped it. Don't think I could snip them with a scissors either. I'm too squeamish to be a veg gardener really.

Qualitymark

Or use copper tape on the pots - around €7 for 4 metres. It shocks slugs and prevents them crossing it. Keep it cleaned, as it loses its conductivity if it gets dirty.

Shemale

coolhull wrote: »

Sharp sand or ashes/cinders laid around the plants. Slugs don't like having their bellies scratched!

Never knew that, thanks.

I caught a couple of them in my greenhouse last night, my garden is cobblelocked and underneath are lovely small sharp stones for drainage, reckon I will be lifting the blocks and have a ready made slug barrier underneath.

Everything in the greenhouse is in pots so shouldn't affect my pots.

Jellybaby1

I have sent about 40 slugs to alcoholic heaven so far!!

Qualitymark

If you go out every night and kill every slug and snail you see, after about two years your garden will be more or less clear of them.
I've been doing that; last night I came across the fastest-moving earthworms I'd ever seen, mahogany-coloured, pointed and segmented - thought they were something horrible, but in fact an organic gardener told me these were very good friends to the garden.

seagull

Some slugs are actually beneficial, in that they are carnivorous and eat other slugs and snails. It's worth educating yourself as to which are which if you're going hand collecting.

marask

seagull wrote: »

Some slugs are actually beneficial, in that they are carnivorous and eat other slugs and snails. It's worth educating yourself as to which are which if you're going hand collecting.

Would you be able to say which ones are the 'good'? We have loads of the black ones, at the moment I either collect or use the sluggo pellets.

iainBB

marask wrote: »

Would you be able to say which ones are the 'good'? We have loads of the black ones, at the moment I either collect or use the sluggo pellets.

I got 8 in my beer traps beside the running beans last night.
Only 5% are above the surface at one time so that would mean I have about 160 per square meter or so.

Jellybaby1

iainBB wrote: »

I got 8 in my beer traps beside the running beans last night.
Only 5% are above the surface at one time so that would mean I have about 160 per square meter or so.

Ugh! If I ever saw that many I think I'd drink the beer myself and I don't drink! I replenished the beer yesterday and there are more floating, and sunk in the jars today. That must be 50 by now. A lot done, but more to do.

Qualitymark

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Ugh! If I ever saw that many I think I'd drink the beer myself and I don't drink! I replenished the beer yesterday and there are more floating, and sunk in the jars today. That must be 50 by now. A lot done, but more to do.

Hopefully not before taking the slugs out

If you use beer traps (or the Scrooge version made with sugar, yeast, flour and warm water), and go out and kill a few every night, you lessen the problem unbelievably.

Still searching for artichoke and cardoon plants (sigh).

Nice video on different methods of getting rid of slugs. Wonder if you can get that nice seaweed powder in Ireland…

seagull

marask wrote: »

Would you be able to say which ones are the 'good'? We have loads of the black ones, at the moment I either collect or use the sluggo pellets.

I know leopard slugs are beneficial. I can't remember which others are.

One rule of thumb - If they're decorative and pointy, they're good, if they're plain and rounded, they're bad.

JuliusCaesar

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Ugh! If I ever saw that many I think I'd drink the beer myself and I don't drink! I replenished the beer yesterday and there are more floating, and sunk in the jars today. That must be 50 by now. A lot done, but more to do.

Qualitymark wrote: »

Hopefully not before taking the slugs out

LOL! Yuk! LOL! Yuk!
:eek: There is no emoticon that can do justice to this exchange!

deemy

As picking and killing the slugs on our nightly hunt last night I remembered that I had totally forgotten I had posted this question !!! Thank you for all the replies. We still have a problem here with the feckers. Someone suggested Bark mulch to me so bought some in Aldi yesterday....is it supposed to smell as bad as it does .. very plasticky smelling?? Not sure if I want to be spreading it all over my beets and courgettes tbh?? Anyhows was talking to our new neighbours this morning and they used seaweed collected straight from the beach and placed it around beds and as of yet all plants are still intact. Think I might try this. Just thought Id share. Super good for the soil also. I remember my grandad placing seaweed on his veggie patch at the end of each season and he had the yummiest of spuds

coolhull

deemy wrote: »

As picking and killing the slugs on our nightly hunt last night I remembered that I had totally forgotten I had posted this question !!! Thank you for all the replies. We still have a problem here with the feckers. Someone suggested Bark mulch to me so bought some in Aldi yesterday....is it supposed to smell as bad as it does .. very plasticky smelling?? Not sure if I want to be spreading it all over my beets and courgettes tbh?? Anyhows was talking to our new neighbours this morning and they used seaweed collected straight from the beach and placed it around beds and as of yet all plants are still intact. Think I might try this. Just thought Id share. Super good for the soil also. I remember my grandad placing seaweed on his veggie patch at the end of each season and he had the yummiest of spuds

Don't worry, the smell will go after a few days. The sharp edges of the bark are a great deterrent to creatures that crawl on their bare bellies!

Jellybaby1

Well the broken egg shells did not deter my slimy friends. I can't believe it but the beer has done a great job of getting rid of about 80+ slugs using two jars. I haven't even seen any live slugs since I started beer baiting them. Last year my garden was a wall-to-wall slug fest! I'm happy for the moment. My remaining lettuces are keeping us full of salads but I am watching my next batch of lettuce plants coming along in a seed tray and hoping I won't lose them all once I plant them out. Anyway, I now know how to stop the blighters in their tracks!

Qualitymark

This is why the eggshells aren't that reliable:

coolhull

Qualitymark wrote: »

This is why the eggshells aren't that reliable:

It makes you wonder why they didn't just go round . It wouldn't have made them much later for any appointments

Qualitymark

Short cut.

Jellybaby1

I flew through that - can't bare to look a slug in the face. Now I won't be able to sleep tonight!