[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[Zeberdi]

A torch, a pair of gloves/tongs for the faint hearted

As I said above.

a bucket with a couple of inches of salty water

I don’t advocate cruelty- killing them with salt is inhumane. They may eat ones’ plants but they don’t deserve a nasty slow death just for eating. They also play an essential role in the ecosystem - both in the food chain and as decomposers of vegetable matter which enriches your soil.

The salt treatment draws water from their bodies, is a slow drawn out process where they secrete mucus to try and counteract the poison - it very possibly causes sensations akin to pain.

Copper or grit around the plant stems are effective solutions and far more humane and ecofriendly.

Think Twice About Using This Age-Old Trick To Deter Slugs From Your Home - House Digest

You may have heard that sprinkling salt on slugs can stop them in their tracks. However, there are a few reasons why you shouldn't use this slug deterrent.

www.housedigest.com

 

[Coldeanseagull]

As I said above.


I don’t advocate cruelty- killing them with salt is inhumane. They may eat ones’ plants but they don’t deserve a nasty slow death just for eating. They also play an essential role in the ecosystem - both in the food chain and as decomposers of vegetable matter which enriches your soil.

The salt treatment draws water from their bodies, is a slow drawn out process where they secrete mucus to try and counteract the poison - it very possibly causes sensations akin to pain.

Copper or grit around the plant stems are effective solutions and far more humane and ecofriendly.

Think Twice About Using This Age-Old Trick To Deter Slugs From Your Home - House Digest

You may have heard that sprinkling salt on slugs can stop them in their tracks. However, there are a few reasons why you shouldn't use this slug deterrent.

www.housedigest.com

I'm sorry, that's a load of bollocks. If you want to come round to my garden and have harsh words with my mollusc population you're welcome. Copper tape only works if you have isolated plants, not near walls or other plants...(and not on spanish slugs) but when they are grown in a normal town garden, no amount of copper or grit or egg shells or beer/orange rind/catapult will work. I have a healthy population of hedgehogs and slow worms but they can't keep up with the way they breed. I don't use salt BTW, as it can have an adverse effect on some of the plants I grow. I've had limited success with epsom salt, but give me good old fashioned metaldehyde any day....or a pair of scissors now the blue pellets are frowned upon

 

[Zeberdi]

I'm sorry, that's a load of bollocks. If you want to come round to my garden and have harsh words with my mollusc population you're welcome. Copper tape only works if you have isolated plants, not near walls or other plants...(and not on spanish slugs) but when they are grown in a normal town garden, no amount of copper or grit or egg shells or beer/orange rind/catapult will work. I have a healthy population of hedgehogs and slow worms but they can't keep up with the way they breed. I don't use salt BTW, as it can have an adverse effect on some of the plants I grow. I've had limited success with epsom salt, but give me good old fashioned metaldehyde any day....or a pair of scissors now the blue pellets are frowned upon

I’ll post some picks of my copper slug deterrents when I get the chance along with my healthy lupins, Delphiniums and Hostas.

It’s not bollix when it works - which it does for me 80% of the time.

Really it needs a combination of deterrents - once established the larger plants are much less vulnerable to be decimated - I tolerate a few slugs. But I do pick off slugs at night if it gets too much.

I use this too as part of an overall control strategy

The wet weather will have bought them out this weekend so I have to get all my copper and grit guards down!


If anyone is using any pesticides or chemical pellets on slugs when they have a hedgehog population, it’s probably best to stop -

Are slug pellets harmful to hedgehogs?

We look at some wildlife-friendly methods of slimy pest control

www.greenservicesdirect.co.uk

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I'm using the wool.pellets this year on my new dahlias and they seem to be working. I've used all the alternatives over the years and none have really worked.