Giving up on lettuce

[monkeyboy]

So this weekend, I went to chop out a lettuce. Two slugs sitting on the leaves, munching away. I used nemaslug a few weeks ago so I had hoped they would have died. I cut out the lettuce (leaving the root) and chucked it. Heartbreaking as I could smell fresh lettuce leaves.

I don't like eating slugs and hate the idea of eating food that's been slimed by slugs. Right now, I'm contemplating ditching the lettuce for something else or using it as slug-bait so it doesn't attack the rest of the veg.

[bario1]

Slugs are an almost unavoidable part of growing your own... the other night the missus had to pick a fairly large steamed slug out of our pan of fresh spinach... she wasn't impressed, but I'd washed it thoroughly twice! What can you do?

[robbra]

I grow my Webbs Wonder in a large pot on a bench and never once had a slug or snail on them. It could be the fact it's off the ground or maybe they just don't like what I grow.
Rob

[Penellype]

Nematodes will never kill all the slugs, they will simply keep the population down somewhat. Slugs are very hard to avoid on leafy veg like lettuce, cabbage and spinach especially if you are growing them in the ground. I've had my best lettuce results in a hotbed early in the year (could have been a fluke), in pots on a shelf which had copper tape round the legs and in pots under lights indoors.

[Tripmeup]

Have grown lettuce in Flower Buckets as a sort of experiment this year along with usual ones in ground and not one slug on the bucket ones, so will be repeating this approach...

[Bren In Pots]

I grow some of my lettuce in troughs stood a horizontal ladder fixed to the garage not sure why but the slugs don't seem to get to them I don't think the height puts them of so I've been putting it down to the aluminium ladder.

[veggiechicken]

Slugs are an almost unavoidable part of growing your own... the other night the missus had to pick a fairly large steamed slug out of our pan of fresh spinach... she wasn't impressed, but I'd washed it thoroughly twice! What can you do?

At least the slug was well washed
Loose leaf lettuce are better than hearted ones as you can pick each leaf separately and inspect it well.

[Jungle Jane]

You could put a circle of sand around the lettuce with some crushed up eggshell,or put a little mug of beer at the edge they’re eating from. Don’t let them put you off eating it,rinse the leaves in some salt water they’ll be totally fine. That’s all your hard work you should enjoy it,I cut the eaten looking bits off with scissors so it looks presentable on the plate,then you forget about them because it all looks nice.