Feeling in need of encouragement!

[greenstar]

There are wildlife friendly slug pellets available - and they work! Can't remember what they're called but you can get them from the Organic Gardening catalogue.

Aha, have just looked them up - they're called advanced slug killer:

The Organic Gardening Catalogue

[kfbtizzy]

A handy tip for slugs is that they hate copper. I am trying to put pieces of scrap copper pipe around things to keep them off. Only trouble is the price for scrap copper is very high at the moment.

[Two_Sheds]

My way with slugs is fill squeezy bottle with salty water and when it is dark go out with a torch ...see them slide down the side of the polly tunnel after a direct hit

Like it, like it

I turned over mother's fence panel the other day which had been laying flat on the soil for 6 months: there were about 100 snails lying there. Big wellies + hatred of snails = crunch, crunch, crunch

[bazzaboy]

Pip, Towards the end of quite a long article about slugs (on another List, sorree....) there's a collection of useful tips to reduce their devastating effect (without using pellets or nematodes).
See 'War On Slugs' at: Welcome to the Gardeners Club
You can't eradicate them but you can significantly reduce them by making conditions uncomfortable.
Good luck.
bb.

[momol]

I did have huge slugs problems at my first year of GYO, lots of seedlings are eaten alive. After months of setting beer traps, inviting birds (by setting grains and peanut for them) and hunting them (I like it early in the morning and after raining, no need of torch). Since last year I have very less problems with slugs and hopefully stay that way .

Don't be despair, sow again and sow more seeds to anticipate the worse (1 for the slugs, 1 for the mother nature and 1 for you to harvest) and only plant out when they are 10 to 15 cm tall (with 4 leaves or more).
I always end up having too much harvest of everything (my family, friends and neighbours are very happy with free fresh food) due to this practice but it is better than not enough.
Also Slugs don't seems to like mustards (in my garden). Good luck with it and please don't give up !!!