Gruesome Slug Experiment

[muckdiva]

In a book I've been reading, Lasagna Gardening it's called, a remedy for slugs is to put down wooden planks or somesuch so that the slugs congregate underneath and collect them each morning. Then, spray the slugs with a mix of ammonia and water or salt water which kills them, and then sweep the slug 'carcases' (is that what you'd term them....?) under a thin layer of mulch, I assume to deter other slugs. Apparently this will, I loosely quote from the book, 'dramatically reduce slug damage'.

OK, I was at my wits end, so had to try it. But, I didn't have any ammonia and wasn't sure how safe it was, so just poured boiling water on a load of collected slugs (felt suitably awful for doing this), then dumped the little blighters on my raised beds - around prime gastropod targets. Interestingly, so far less slug damage. Do you think slugs are put off by the smell of dead slugs????

If anyone is hard hearted enough to join me on this experiment, I'd be interested to know how you get on. Be warned though, boiled slugs scattered around your prize veggies look just yeeuuuck. Luckily the birds descend to eat them fairly quickly.

[Percy T]

Good job you didnt add salt to the water to kill the slugs, it is very messy as they seem to disovle into a greenish gue

[Paulottie]

I wouldn't be pouring salt water on the veg patch either

[rustylady]

Boiled slugs sounds good to me! I salt them when I find them on the patio, but then the birds can't eat them, can they? At least if you boil them the birdies have their own take-away - Fresh cooked slug, anyone?

[jenjems]

Last night I did a slug inspection after being suitably horrified with the amount of damage they are doing to my small raised bed and have salted around the edges of my bed to try to deter them from climbing in. Hope that this works as I'm getting close to just going and getting slug pellets as they've completely desecrated my bean and lettuce crops. I tried nematodes and they didn't work either. Where do they all come from? You think you couldn't kill anymore and then another 200 appear... slight exaggeration but you know what I mean.

Your right about the sludgy mess you can be left with. UGGHH

[Headfry]

mmmmmm my fave,
Boiled slug, sprinkling of salt and chips!

[muckdiva]

mmmmmm my fave,
Boiled slug, sprinkling of salt and chips!

A speciality of Oxfordshire?

[tiby]

I will definitely try this tonight, and report the results tomorrow, they are everywhere in my garden munching away all my echinacea plants which I grew with great difficulty last year.

[cms]

I am trying a tip passed onto me by a work colleague last year when we admired his slug free strawberries at the allotment - there was not a piece of straw in sight, his strawberry plants were bedded down on used ground coffee.

The slugs and snails don't like the texture and it dehydrates them so they avoid it. It looks much more natural round plants than some of the commercial solutions too and does no harm to the plants (if I didn't put it on the garden direct it would be going in the compost bin anyway).

I only started my veggie beds this year, having just moved to the property and so far we are adding waste coffee grounds to strawberries and dwarf french beans with promising results so far. Probably helped by the small frog and the small toad we have encountered in the garden so we have added a mini wildlife pond and a toad house for good measure (and then folks wonder why the inside of the house is only slowly coming together!)

If you don't drink coffee or drink instant try asking local restaurants and coffee shops for their coffee grounds waste - many will let you have as much as you can cart away.

It's less messy than the boiled slug method, avoids coffee shops adding their coffee waste to landfill and is quick to apply - scatter thoroughly around the plants as deep as they will stand it and as far away from them as necessary to avoid slugs 'bridging' to overhanging leaves.

[Rowan]

The slug-hunter works by night, armed only with a torch. Carefully gather all slugs and snails, forming them into a ball (they're self-adhesive, you know.) Then give them flying lessons.
Okay, I back onto an industrial estate, otherwise I wouldn't do the last bit!

[Vegmonkey]

I use my dutch hoe to slice slugs and squish snails. I think leaving the carcasses around does deter other slugs but does attract the flies!

[dexterdoglancashire]

I wondered what had been nibbling my leaves in the greenhouse - this morning I found out! This BIGGEST EVER slug I've seen, tucked just inside a pot with one of my tomato plants in it! I reckon I must've got the Lancashire World Record for the furthest flung slug at 630 in a morning! Beats wellie throwing! Bernie

[SueA]

Bernie & Rowan, I'd watch out if I were you two, haven't you heard the slug/Arnie mantra 'I'll be back!'. They tend to crawl back to where they came from no matter how far you fling them & snails too, someone did an experiment by marking the shells & chucking them & they returned!

[Sue]

Ah
This is why you need hens, they never come back after disappearing down a hens gullet!
Sue

[dexterdoglancashire]

It landed right where I feed all my wild birds and the ducks - hope they appreciated the extra protein! Bernie