Would velcro stop slugs?

[Pumpkin Becki]

I have my doubts...there's a photo on here somewhere of a slug (or snail) happily scrambling over a very prickly cactus!!

However, in the interest of science...give it a bash. I'd use a staple gun, and if the velcro doesn't work, you could always use the staple gun on the slugs instead.

[oldie]

Ebay have 25mtr rolls of the hook only side for £12 including p&p. Quite a lot of sellers have self adhesive strips but more expensive. A lot cheaper than copper tape.

[crazywitch]

try sticking sandpaper or use a staplegun to fix it on all around raised beds as iv'e heard slugs dont like gritty surfaces and it must be cheaper than velcro

[Bigmallly]

Have just done quite a bit of googling & can only find one referrence to slugs & velcro. I personally am going to use beer traps.

[oldie]

Tried sandpaper - hopeless when it gets wet. Strips of roofing felt were quite good but not when very wet although they did dry out whilst sandpaper fell apart. Velcro would probably suffer in the wet but I think it would dry quite quickly. Beer traps work even with the cheapest supermarket beer which I do not find drinkable.

[HeyWayne]

I was waiting for Wayne's gem on this subject.

Of course the real brainteaser will be to find some thing to do with the yards of the furry side you'll have left..... Don't worry they laughed at many of the great innovators of the past.

I'm never one to disappoint Paul, you know me.

As for the furry bits - maybe a trade in Grouch Mark masks...



If I may be serious for a moment (Paul, you may want to sit down for this), I'm not convinced that the 'prickly' bit of 'hook and loop fasteners' (other types are available) would work. To us, the prickly bit feels exactly that, prickly - but on closer inspection (at slug level) it's not actually that prickly really.

[COMPOST CORNER]

I btoo have doubts of the eficacy of any "this is a rough surface" slug stopping devices.
I have seen evidence of a slug going unharmed along a razor blade. They just produce extra slime to get to where they want.

Snails & Slugs

[maytreefrannie]

What about those big sticky walls they have on some wacky game shows, where the contestants jump water and have to stick up on the wall? Only problem would be getting the slugs into the sticky suits.

[sauzee]

I have heard that some people are putting a line of road grit round their borders as the grit contains salt but takes a long time to disperse
sauzee

[ann-the-nan]

Would velcro stop slugs?

Sounds to me like a difficult way of dealing with a problem that can easily be dealt with slug pellets. I am on clay (have not been gardening here long enough to work enough compost in) so nematodes don't work. My friend was on sand so used them. She said she found her plot riven with exploded slugs and it was 'orrible.

[pipscariad]

I have to say that I have my doubts about the efficiency of Velcro, but as someone suggested you could try it on a small sacrificial area first? I'm going for bran this year, not tried it before but read good reviews. Will back it up with some Growing Success organic pellets, which are good but simply couldn't keep up with the vast numbers of slugs last year.

Will be interested to hear how you get on should you try it.

[gillian62]

As I have chickens this year, I am planning to provide them with as much of the snail/slug delicacy that they enjoy. However, I haven't quite worked out how to catch them first, as I can't use slug pellets. I did wonder about the beer trap, but have visions of drunk chickens wandering around the garden, and visits from RSPCA.

[oldie]

As a young boy I remember the farmer asking us to clear the junk out of his cellar. Whilst doing so we found some old bottles of raisin wine. We did not like the taste so poured the liquid away and threw the raisins out to the hens. An hour or so later when we saw the hens flopping about or lying down trying to flap their wings we decided it was time to disappear for several hours as we thought we had killed them. They did all recover.

[rogesse]

Am I the only one who didn't have a slug problem last year - I was expecting them by the thousands but there were few, I expect to be invaded by millions this year.

I seem to have tried everything to keep them out of my raised beds in the past - they just see them as an hotel. I've got plenty of spare velcro so I might as well give it a try. I don't expect any results but hey I've tried everything else!

[Rossa]

As I have chickens this year, I am planning to provide them with as much of the snail/slug delicacy that they enjoy. However, I haven't quite worked out how to catch them first, as I can't use slug pellets. I did wonder about the beer trap, but have visions of drunk chickens wandering around the garden, and visits from RSPCA.

I think the Growing Success ones should be ok with the chickens as they are supposed to be a natural product. They claim their pellets don't affect the birds or children eating them and I have 3 cats, though I've never seen them try to eat one.

I liked the sandpaper idea til I read Oldie's comment but then I thought you could get "wet and dry" sandpaper, unless getting it too wet makes it disintegrate.

Like all ideas this is starting to sound like too much of a faff, so I think I'll stick to the pellets again this year. Saying that did anyone try those wool slug bug*ers last year? Did they work or are they just another marketing wet dream?

"... I went from adolescence to senility, trying to bypass maturity ..." - Tom Lehrer
Earth Wind and Fire