Slugs and snails - (not including puppy dog tails)

[taff]

it won't have to look far in my garden, send it round....

[Two_Sheds]

WHY don't snails and slugs eat the massive quantity of weeds ... they always go for the smaller ... crops that we all spend ages nurturing?

The answer is right there: because they find smaller, more tender crops easier (and probably tastier) to eat. Grow your plants tough so they can withstand a certain amount of snail attack

I feel your pain though: they've eaten 80% of my peas and 98% of my sweet peas this year

If I see slugs or snails i throw them over the fence into the allotments behind me.

That's nice of you. I'm glad you aren't next to my allotment

Personally, I think a hedgehog's more efficient

An urban myth, that one. They will only eat slugs if nothing else is available

"Hedgehogs are insectivores with over 70% of their natural diet being insects and beetles, some worms and a very tiny amount of slugs and snails" source and here

[GardenFaery]

Also - have a pond and make it and surrounding area a welcome part of garden for frogs. Most of the snails and slugs I see are ones not (yet) eaten by frogs... enjoyed watching some of my frogs hop across the garden beds the other day, in the pouring rain, when it was too wet for me to garden - at least I knew SOMEONE was on snail patrol! Here is my snail management team...

Here is Sidney - chief ambassador of Gastropod control...I think he must have been on a tea-break when I found the two stomping snails.


Mildred - STEALTH division = watches and waits... although she looks remarkably like Sidney?...




Sasha - chief officer of submarine attack


and then there's Fred...noone knows WHAT he really does - he's SUPPOSED to be in charge of camouflage and disguise... but everyone knows it's just an excuse to dress up and play with hats!

[Two_Sheds]

An important predator of slug and snail eggs is the ground beetle: they like hidey dark places, little piles of old wood etc.
I get them under my planks (old bits of plank that I leave around the plot for slugs to shelter under. Then I turn the plank over and assSALT the slugs, mwa-hahahaha)

[Cue the Toms]

I would win an Olympic gold medal for drop kicking slugs and snails... Found a huge snail this morning heading for my peas... Jonny Wilkinson would have been jealous of that kick!

I don't know about you lot but I rarely carry a bucket of salted water around with me so it's either a long throw or a nice drop kick onto the main road at the back of my house!

Would it be classed as cruelty to force feed the bloody things with weeds? If not, I might try that!

[PyreneesPlot]

I have grass paths around all my beds and try to cut them at least once a week. The slugs can usually be found eating the clippings rather than the veggies. They are also much easier to collect for the Salt Pot of Death.
But perhaps I'm just feeding them?

[Leeds_lad]

I'm not quite sure if this is brilliant or terrifying, but a lecturer friend tells me that the robotics lab at the uni she works in is in the process of developing a slug-eating robot. It can detect slugs, actually digests them, and uses the energy to power itself. The only current problem is that it needs to eat more slugs to power itself that it can find using that power.


Personally, I think a hedgehog's more efficient, cheaper and less unnerving, but that's just me.

That thing has been around for years =p
SlugBot: Enemy of Slugs 2001 article

[hamamelis]

That thing has been around for years =p

Nah, they've just been *talking* about it for years (if you notice, the link says 'will soon'...and claims it should be ready in 3-4 years)- but they've only just got it working.
Almost.

It's still not really past the prototype stage. I believe they're currently working on adding a solar charger, because it runs out of power in dry low-slug spells. According to my friend, it would currently only work in a slug farm...

[Titansiren]

I am so glad I found this thread - I am sick to death of the slugs eating my runner beans and peas. they are absolute B******S. I've tried nematodes and organic slug pellets and still they eat - tomorrow am putting the copper stuff around the bean poles (does that work?). I'm looking for the nuclear option to deal with the blighters - has anyone invented a laser gun that destroys them yet? If not, why not?