[Blinkers]

I have never seen so many slugs around as there are this year - they are absolutely everywhere and all through the day as well as night.  Devasted loads of my lovingly grown veg..      A friend of mine said he goes out after dark and picks them off and pops them in a container of salted water. He reckons doing this for 3 nights gives him a respite for about 2 weeks.    So, the night before last I commenced my night time slug hunt.   Got 30 of the litte B*****s the first night and 36 last night    ALL of them hanging around the runner beans.  So, will be out again tonight and then see what happens.     

[Fluffywelshsheep]

have you tried garlic water?
it has helpped a bit for me aslong as it doesn't rain to much

[rustyme]

lol... rain ...RAIN .... two days of monsoons here so far .....and this is meant to be showers with the heavy rain on Friday ? Don't think I will even try to get outside ....as for slugs .....didn't know he was still around....I've been driving in my car ......baggy trousers...... madness madness...... you would think he had better things to do than eat peoples veggies......   leave planks of wood near your veggie and every morning turn them over and you will find loads of slugs hiding on the underside...scrape direct into a bucket of water with some salt in . One year when I was totally over run with them (like this year ) I disolved some salt in hot water , mixed that with a bucket of cold water and watered the area with that ......,avoiding the plants themselves, that did make a huge difference, but I am not sure what it did to the level of salts in the soil . It made no difference to any plants I grew on the area afterwards. I was just at my wits ends , but the salt water as well as an evening torch patrol and the planks seemed to do the trick after a time ...As Linz says garlic water is meant to be good , there is even a new preparation being sold as a slug killer/remover that is in fact basically  dried garlic. A good one that works is 'Nemaslug' , it is a bit pricey , but lasts for about 8 weeks I think . Chase organics is one place that sells it. Gotta go get soaked again now....third time today ......Russ

[Blinkers]

....as for slugs .....didn't know he was still around....I've been driving in my car ......baggy trousers...... madness madness...... you would think he had better things to do than eat peoples veggies......  



Took me a while - but I got it in the end  

Will try the plank trick next.............then move on to the garlic water.............then maybe a few glasses of red wine....hic, hic....oh no, that's for the gardener    

[Blinkers]

27 of the little devils this evening 

[doganjo]

Does tubs of lager not work?  I hadn't heard of garlic water - do you just crush the garlic and add water and if so how much of each?

[mccardey]

This is something I'm trying... Coffeegrounds, mixed with lots of water and swilled into a watering can for easy pouring around whichever vegies I'm feeling kindly towards. My theory is that the grounds will be too scratchy for the snails/slugs to crawl over. I'll let you know if it works.   

[hexhammeasure]

If you have ducks feed the slugs to them. I have found hens are a bit fussy and won't eat them as much... but ducks go as mad for slugs as hens do for mealworms

[greenfingers]

Try natural bran that you can buy from Holland & Barrett and shops like like that.
Place it around you plants but not to touch them, the slugs like it, but it blows them up and dries them out from the inside, they can't resist bran.  I used coffee grinds around my beds and that seemed to work, but I must be the exception at the moment, I do not have a problem but I'll keep quiet about it just in case.
There was an article about slugs in the magazine Grow Your Own a couple of months ago and it was in that mag that I read about bran.
Elaine

[Blinkers]

oooooo that's a new one - Bran  .  Will definately give that a go.    Have tried the coffee grinds with limited success and also broken up egg shells which apparently they don't like slithering across.
Elaine - if you don't have any slugs at the mo.....I can willingly send you a couple of tonne from here 

[greenfingers]

Thanks for the offer of the slugs, but may I please decline the offer my garden is doing quite well without them, but may I offer you plenty of caterpillers instead, these can be sent free of charge.
Elaine

ps, it was the August issue of the mag, I've just hunted it out.  The bran got 9 out of 10 for effectiveness, coffee got 1 out of 10, garlic granules 8 out of 10

[Blinkers]

Thanks Greenfingers..........but I too will decline your kind offer  .........have a very active "demolish the brasicas" cabbage white society.....so, we're OK for the time being 

[Francis Bacon]

lol... rain ...RAIN .... two days of monsoons here so far .....and this is meant to be showers with the heavy rain on Friday ? Don't think I will even try to get outside ....as for slugs .....didn't know he was still around....I've been driving in my car ......baggy trousers...... madness madness...... you would think he had better things to do than eat peoples veggies......  

 

Brilliant Russ made me laugh on a very very wet & windy day in France 

[rustyme]

How the mighty have fallen ....'Slugs' is even appearing on a tv ad now, nicking the kids peas and broccoli ......

[doganjo]

At the risk of appearing totally 'unkool'  who or what is 'Slugs'
Annie