slugs

[no ideas man]

Hi Members
                 In a  previous post I mentioned my intention to go organic,well I have had a rethink and decided I will use slug pellets to help control the little devils this also applies to snails. I really hate the things and I don't see the point of sowing seed bringing them along planting out and letting slugs and snails have a free meal. Opinions from others members please, is there a tried and tested method out there.

Happy gardening

No ideas man

[ideasguy]

Just back from a barbeque, and a keen gardening friend mentioned that she has used a layer of ashes to protect precious plants from slugs.
Have you ever heard of that Harry? Has anyone ever heard of, or tried that?

I have resorted to slug pellets myself, on plants such as Dahlias and Busy Lizzies. They dont stand a chance without protection.

[The Gardener]

I was sent a free pack of organic slug control (nematodes) to try a few years ago.  You have to mix the supplied powder containing the nematodes with a certain amount of water (can't remember the proportion now) in a watering can, and water it around your plants.  It was supposed to give protection for six weeks.  I mixed it up and watered it around my hostas.  Lo and behold - no slug damage for six weeks!  Beginning of the seventh week, small holes began to appear in the hostas.  This was a very effective organic control which really worked.  The drawbacks were a) it was very expensive - you only get a small amount for your money, which in anything but a postage stamp sized garden doesn't go very far, and b) rather fiddly to mix up, and you can't keep the powder or solution till later, you have to use it straight away as soon as it's delivered.  I think this control is cheaper nowadays, but still a lot more expensive than a £1.99 large tub of blue pellets from B & Q!

[no ideas man]

Hi George
                Never heard of using ash as a deterrent to slugs although I was once told the latest craze was to lay turf on a bed of ash, myself I will carry on using the pellets. Thanks to The Gardener for the info on nematodes.

Happy Gardening

No Ideas Man

[Trevor Ellis]

Hello folks

it seems that there's no economical, safe and 'green' way of control in the garden other than the time consuming use of salt when they come out at night. The spreading of rough ashes is a very old method but I suppose that few people have coal fires these days. For plants such as Hostas in pots, spraying the sufrace of the pot with WD40 is said to work.

Cheers

Trevor E

[no ideas man]

Hi
    Plants in containers and pots, 2 methods I have tried with success are firstly, Double sided tape about 3" from the base of the pot, the other thing to try is vaseline around the base of the container/pot. It's worth a try.

Happy Gardening

No Ideas Man

[greenfinger]

Do you know the product Escar-Go? It's descripted as being 100% natural. Is it really so or  is that description a marketing strategy?

[greenfinger]

Is using salt in the garden not harmful for the plants?

[no ideas man]

hi greenfinger
                       never heard of the product you are asking about and i definitely would not use salt anywhere near my plants, in my garden such as it is i would not use salt at all as it can get on your footwear and moved around the garden

[Trevor Ellis]

Hi

Re. using salt for slug control maybe I should have stated that the salt is put directly onto the slugs and not generally spread - though there is an interesting history of the use of salt on gardens. It will, if too much is applied, kill plants. The Romans used to spread it thickly on the fields of defeated enemies for that purpose. Otherwise it has been used in many civilisations as a fertiliser particularly in the vegetable garden but also in the flower garden. It seems however that the general rule is not to use it as a fertiliser on poor land since it will make the soil the poorer. On well manured land it improves things so it's action seems to be in conjunction with the manure and not direct. Apparently the old gardeners used to use a cubic inch (about a heaped teaspoonful) of salt to the square yard. There is an ineresting chapter in Fred Loads' 'Gardening Tips of a Lifetime' (ISBN 0 600 20727 7) for further reading on the matter. Freds book is a good read anyway.

Cheers
Trevor E

[greenfinger]

This is one of the things I like about gardening: even if we speak or write about a rather simple matter as salt we can make connections with history, civilisation, warfare, you name it. It's a never ending story, just like a garden itself.

[Kew]

Slugs are the number one bone of contention to gardeners. To pellet or not to pellet...that is the question. While pellets do kill slugs it's important not to use pellets that will also kill birds and other wildlife that eat them. A second point about pellets; consider why slugs eat them rather than your tasty veg or flowers....the reason of course is that they love 'em! Now, here's the dilemma...scattering slug pellets will attract slugs to them, that we know, but guess what...it's not only 'your' slugs you see arriving. It's slugs from next door and beyond! So if you want to please your neighbour and have lots of slugs visit you, scatter away!
 There is a product called 'Nemaslug' which kills only slugs. It contains millions of microscopic nematodes. You have to make a solution of it and water it around your plants. It's very effective and doesn't harm other creatures even if they eat the dead slug, but keep it away from your fish pond! It cost around £10 for enough to treat 40 sq metres.
   Other cheaper alternatives are successful to a point; sinking a tin with a couple of inches of beer in will certainly catch a few, ( the tin should be at least 1" above ground level or you risk the chance of drowning all those fast moving friends, the night-time preditors) spreading lots of prickly holly leaves around is a small deterent. You could try ringing your plants with Bran. The slugs love the stuff to the point of eating themselves to death,
but the best means of defence is to become a detective....get hold of an old pair of kitchen tongs or even a long handled fork, and go night-time walk-about. You'll catch lots of 'em. During the early hours, walk round your garden and find the slime trail...follow it...it will lead you to their day-time hide-away. Get rid of the occupants and make that place slug proof.
  Please don't use salt, either on your garden or on the slugs....on your garden it's poison for your plants and kills beneficial bugs too. If you contemplate salting the slug itself, think on this, a slug is a nuisance but torturing it to death with salt is hardly a humane act. If you're close enough to put salt on a slug, then you're close enough to dispatch it quickly and painlessly.
Pic one is a small slug, but look at the damage it can cause.
Pic two are slug eggs. Look for them alongside borders, especially wood or brick edging.

[JeanV]

I do use slug pellets VERY rarely in the greenhouse (the last time I then PANICKED as my friendly frog took refuge in my greenhouse "warm" pond and so I frantically got rid of them again!

Where we lived before in Bolton slugs were big,  here it is  snails. To me wildlife is more important so I generally use trapping methods. I have variuous plastic pots and I find those do worl wth beer or yeast mix in them. The best are some round green ones which have an inside sort of sieve you lift up with the slugs in OR some larger rectangilar ones that really work in the greenhouse. For lettuces etc I use pop bottles cut in half and inverted.

I plant hostas and other slug attractive plants by my pond : it worked where we lived before but I suppose it takes a bit for frog population to build up. I have even resorted to the torch at night lark which is quite fun !  If you have pots check the rims as they hide there <g>

[Palustris]

Just one thing to mention is that slugs and snails are useful in the garden in the right place. They are primary movers in the breaking down of plant material in to compost/humus. The majority of slugs do not eat your garden plants, they live on already decayed material or each other! It is true, a lot of slugs are carniverous and cannibalistic.
Snails are a bit different, many of them, especially the one the Romans brought in, do eat green plants.
Know your enemy!.
By the way slug pelllets are lethal to many other creature, even second hand. Any cat or dog which picks up some kinds of slug pellets can ingest them and be poisoned. Birds and hegehogs can be killed even by eating molluscs thus poisoned.

[3fren]

yai..yai ..yaiii,  pulling my hair..yai i i....finished my reply..and pop..came the reply." login times expires..cannot sent..."

ok..here goes...suggestions:

1. gathered them and sell them to the French..et voila.. baked escargot..yummy..with cheese topping..   
2. sell to the Chinese, we love to pickle them with winegar, salt, garlic, chillies and a sprinkler of sugar..ha ! pls
    don't try..just a joke
3.Trevor mentioned about coal ashes...would unburnt coal chips any good ?  I 've been to coal mines in Kalimantan (Borneo)
   no growth and no slugs, well there are creepers but these guys draw water somewhere between cracks in the coal seam.
   raw coal seem good for orchids..these fussy ladies hate to have their feet wet..

[ideasguy]

Tres bien!!

I've heard that there are slug farmers - they actually breed the things.
Obviously, theres a market out there.
mmm - probably more profitable than software (methinks), ans Ive got a good population of the creatures on my plot to start that project going 

RE: Timeout
Click "forever" when you log-in, to avoid such a happening again - its happened to me on other forums, and always after you are about to submit a masterpiece posting - GRRRRR!
Somehow, it doesnt come out the same second time around- if you do actually have the patience to do it all again!
Mercifully you did!!

[3fren]

Hi all,

Just been to North China, what did they feed me snails by the kilos... fried with chillies and garlic...
taste good and  am still ok ...

next dish was fried cicadas - deep fried !  they got plenty there that slit trunks of their pear trees for
mating.. imagine that ..close my eyes, down it with cool beers 

This part of China are all the fruits orchards .. many  species of pears, peaches, dates..maizes, wheat,
so there are plenty of insects too. .. you can't beat them, you eat them ! Chinese way

In Beijing, frens fed me with fried scorpions !