Arrrgh slugs!!

[greasemonkey67]

I started off some cauli and cabbage seeds in my heated propagator and they came on lovely,and been too over keen to get them in the ground i put about 10 plants in,covered the rows with tunnels to stop the pesky birds having them before I do. BUT since the rain feels like its been coming down since god was a lad,the slugs have beaten both the birds and myself to the first crop!I pulled back the tunnel this morning and the area was covered in them.Do the more experienced gardeners among you think i should have waited a bit longer or covered the ground in slug pellets?

[rustylady]

You don't need to cover the ground with slug pellets. Just scatter them thinly.

[greasemonkey67]

Yeah,sorry I didnt mean litterally. Is there a Rule of thumb for scattering them?

[Potstubsdustbins]

I don't use pellets unless I have to but when I do I like them about 6" apart and some folks say thats to close.

Colin

[greasemonkey67]

Do you use any other method of slug prevention if you dont always use pellets?I would prefer not to use pellets,I know people use beer but I would rather drink that myself! And I dont share very well.LOL.

[Potstubsdustbins]

No I personally don't bother with anything else, used correctly and sparingly I don't have a problem with them. Others of course will think differently and have come up with some ingenious ideas on how to deal with the problem.

Colin

[cardiffsteve]

The "smell" of slug pellets stays around for about 5 years.
So the slugs/snails can still smell them and come looking for them and when they cant find them they eat your veg.

[Urban]

Think im going to use some nematodes in my raised beds this year

[lottie dolly]

had another idea,for peeps with raised beds,don't know if it would work or not,but working on the principle that slugs don't like grity surfaces,put a strip of glue around the frame and embed some sort of grit/eggshell onto it,also large patio pots,what ever suits,also is easier to clean without repeatedly re aplying, or some course sand paper strips,but these wound not last long,
what do peeps think,

[Florence Fennel]

It's a good idea LD, but they also lurk under the soil and come out inside whatever barrier you've erected when you're not looking. Pesky varmints. (See how I didn't swear there?)

[lottie dolly]

i know some breeds do,so far this year,the only littleones i have seen,have been under storage area,yes i am another mass murderer hehehe,chop,chop,just rememer what you last used the knife/scissors for,

[Chocolate8me]

We have so many slugs in our garden so I'm afraid my crops are going to be munched by them.

I am a shift worker so I will be periodically coming home when I'm on lates and mooching around the garden with a torch to remove the little pests (as per GYO magazine advice).

We have an awful lot of tadpoles in the pond too so I'm hoping they will keep the numbers of slugs & snails down when they turn into frogs. Fingers crossed!

[kentishgal]

I have a feeling that slugs and snails will be the bane of my life this year.
I seem to have tons and everything I plant in the garden gets munched, even the rhubarb (which I was informed by everybody was pretty slug resistant) has been munched away to a teeny pathetic stalk!!
I have no natural predators in or around my garden either so I have been going out often and drowning, dismembering and squishing any I find, also sprinkling the blue pellets and Im about to apply nematodes too!
Has anyone had any luck with copper tape?? (obviously you couldnt put it round the whole garden but Id be willing to spend the money to protect the odd container!)

[Florence Fennel]

I've been out to check on some of my little plants in loo rolls after the awful downpours of rain to find many, many stalks. No sign of any slugs, just stalks. The air was blue.

[Potstubsdustbins]

The "smell" of slug pellets stays around for about 5 years.
So the slugs/snails can still smell them and come looking for them and when they cant find them they eat your veg.

I am surround by grass on three sides. With my neighbours permission I scatter pellets on their side of the fence. Which means I get the slugs before they get on my patch and any on my patch go to the neighbours.

Colin