Carrots

[Flummery]

You can use wildlife friendly slug pellets on your plot - I do in the garden, but only when I've netted the patch. I still don't take chances that my birds will eat something poisonous.

[moggssue]

Those blue pellets say they're wildlife friendly but i worry about the birds eating them. Anyone got any recommendations for pellets that are REALLY okay to use?? I must admit I'm at my wits end where slugs are concerned.

[Cutecumber]

I have bought some of the new slug pellets this year - the organic approved ones. I would never have contemplated it before, but I am having to trust what they say on the information that they are safe because I cannot spend any more time trapping the damn things.

[TEB]

Saw a thread about crushed Oyser shells and started experimenting on the Dahlias that were being cruelly ravished and can report that not one Dahlia has been touched since.

[Flummery]

Aha! Crushed oyster shell is available in huge bags from the place we get our budgie seed!

[Jimmy]

I saw a program where they grew them on top of a barrel. This was supposed to be higher than the carrot fly flies. With the advent of wheelie bins I had an old dustbin. So I have cut out the bottom, filled with compost and will give it a try. They are currently about 1" tall.

[kate&rob]

if you spray wd40 around your carrot tub then slugs and snails wont cross it. i had the same problem with mine till it tried this, they are coming on a treat now.

[moggssue]

Really - I'll have to give wd40 a go then, I'll try anything (animal friendly) to get rid of the little b******s.

[cms]

Alternative slug repellant

I am trying a tip passed on to me by a work colleague to keep slugs and snails off my veggies this year - used coffee grounds, spread around growing crops (could use it as a mulch on seed beds or top of pots). It works on similar lines to oyster shell/grit/egg shell except as well as being gritty it dehydrates slugs and snails if they crawl on it. Not necessarily organic unless you buy organic coffee in the first place but certainly environmentally friendly and from experience to date it works.

I posted details originally on a thread "Gruesome Slug Experiment" if you want to know more {still finding my way round the forum so not sure if there is a quick way to provide a link to another thread, apologies if there is and I have missed it}.

The other thing that is claimed to work is applying cocoa shell as a mulch - but need to be careful if dogs can access the area because until well wetted it is poisonous to dogs (theobromine)) - once it has been rained on (watered in) the individual pieces gel together to make a crust, which still allows water and feed through, reduces weeds and for some reason slugs don't like it - added bonus is if you like chocolate the smell when its applied is yummy!

Here's to freedom from slugs and snails and delicious veggies for us to enjoy.

Cathy