The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: Roxy on July 07, 2009, 11:34:08 pm

Title: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: Roxy on July 07, 2009, 11:34:08 pm
We have had torrential rain most of the day, and I was worried about slugs getting on my veg plants.  I have just been out for another look, and there were slugs all over my sprouts, broccoli and some of the other veg......I try not to use slug pellets, but I have tonight......I hav nutured those plants all this time, and am not standing by while those horrible slimy things tuck into them!!!

Some of the plants are in a very deep drawer than I rescued from an old sideboard, and they had climbed all the way up the outside and were just heading down the other side. .....well they are heading out in the field now!!!
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: Fluffywelshsheep on July 08, 2009, 08:00:55 am
hiya you could trying petrolium jelly on the outside of the drawers or copper banding (but it need to be quite wide over wize slugs will arch over it

Linz
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: Townie on July 08, 2009, 12:14:44 pm
Slugs are a real pest at the moment...  I have been going out at night with a torch and picking them off my broad beans and marigolds, then feeding them to our night owl of a chicken.

I have noticed that they are really pale/white looking slugs, is this because they are just young ones?

It's been a constant battle with the broad beans, and yesterday they got infested by green and brown bugs... it's become an obsession to keep them beastie free  ;D
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: sabrina on July 08, 2009, 12:20:28 pm
I filled my cat food tins with water and placed them around the veg plot, in the morning they were all full of slugs. Must have been the smell that drew them in.  ;D
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: CarraghsBorderCollies on July 08, 2009, 12:29:11 pm
slugs love beer, put beer in jamjars or tins and you should find them full of dead ones in the morning!
my ducks seem to have aquired a taste for beer-marinated slugs as well! they steal them from the jars if they get there before i do!
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: Tullywood Farm on July 08, 2009, 01:02:07 pm
slugs love beer, put beer in jamjars or tins and you should find them full of dead ones in the morning!
my ducks seem to have aquired a taste for beer-marinated slugs as well! they steal them from the jars if they get there before i do!

Hello Gem

That's the way I get them too, the hens love them.  Congratulations again on the recent Wedding, and thanks for putting up a picture as requested yesterday.

Regarding your query on the Poultry Course on the 30th - you would be the only booking, so, just come over for a chat about things, I am sure you have lots of experience already, and we can do a one-to-one on the day - free of charge to a neighbour!

I am going away for a few days, so will post "Booked Up" on the course date on my website, as I won't be here to take bookings at this late stage and it Guarantees we will have time to chat.

See you on the 30th, all being well.

Julie
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: sandy on July 08, 2009, 01:30:10 pm
I will have to get some beer..for the slug party that is! I was unsure if the Ducks could eat drunken slugs!!!!! I usualy pick them off the bottoms of my many pots and containers and throw them to the ducks, I feel very cruel but they do eat loads of my seddlings etc
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: CarraghsBorderCollies on July 08, 2009, 02:30:17 pm
at least the slugs die happy;-with the beer that is! lol!
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: Eagledance on July 08, 2009, 09:10:55 pm
There are some organic slug pellets: Growing success ones

They are just iron sulphate I think which only kills slugs who die underground! The unused pellets break down into minerals for the plants!


Ed ;D
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: Tullywood Farm on July 10, 2009, 01:13:59 am
The other thing you can use to get rid of Slugs is Ducks they will eat every slug they can find but unlike hens they will not scratch up all your plants.
I have a few friends that keep ducks just for this purpose 2 of them let the ducks live in the poly tunnel.
I know that most slug activity is at night but they don't just vanish through the day and the ducks will find them!.
Kind regards
Joe  :)
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: sandy on July 10, 2009, 07:20:47 am
But do the Ducks eat the plants?
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: CarraghsBorderCollies on July 10, 2009, 09:00:34 am
 :&> no, thats geese and hens that do that! (eat the plants) :D
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: sandy on July 10, 2009, 09:05:32 am
I may let Lilly and Charlie into the flower garden then, not sure how I can get them out without letting the chickens into the flower garden as the Hens are very sharpe and very fast
[move][move] :chook:
[/move][/move]
Title: Re: Slugs - lots of them
Post by: Tullywood Farm on July 10, 2009, 10:54:01 pm
Ducks, Ducks, Ducks.
Nothing else will doooooooooooooo.
all the best
Joe