Gardeners' Enemy Number 1 - Slugs
Post categories: pests
| 10:48 UK time, Thursday, 4 June 2009
Slugs. I hate them. One day you're admiring your dear little plants as they peek up through the soil, the next it's devastation; leaves eaten away, stems snipped in half and everything covered in horrible snotty slime trails.
It often happensÌýjustÌýwhen rain follows a nice bit of sun.ÌýThe sun brings the plants up, butÌýonce it rains, all theÌýslugs come oozing out in their hordes to scoff that new growth. So, how to stop them? Here's a few tips.
Barriers. Slugs hate crossing anything dry, powdery or gritty,Ìýso surrounding your plants with things like coffee grounds, wood ash, smashed eggshells and the like will put them off - but usually only until it rains heavily. Once your barrier is washed away or soaked, they'll be backÌýmunching through your plants.
Another thing they hate crossing is copper tape, which many people swear by, and I've even seen a Ìýdesigned for anti-slug use. Maybe good for pots, but try doing a whole garden!
Biological.
Or why not encourage someÌý to help deal with the slugs? A small pond with some rocks to hide in will give
somewhere to live. Wild patches and woodpiles make your gardenÌý.Traps. Slugs are right old alkies, and can't resist the lure of beer. Bury a tub full of old ale, and they'll queue up to drown in it. I've actually bought beer for my
, but you could try asking the landlord of a local pub for a bottle of "slops" to save money.Grapefruit halves also attract slugs, and if you leave one out you can return at your leisure to scrape and squash the little blighters gathered inside.
Pellets. There are several different types of pellets on the market - cheapest are based on metaldehyde, which isn't very toxic, but can sometimes poison birds. Less toxic are ferrous phosphate pellets, which are approved for organic use, but far more expensive. Both types are little blue pellets, made mostly of a cereal bait that slugs find yummy. I've also seen bran pellets, which work by expanding inside the slug after being eaten, and popping it to death.Ìý Any bran, or oats,Ìýwill work for this.Oh, and don't be fooled by snails. They may look nicer, but they are just slugs with a coat on! There'sÌýmore onÌýslugs here.
Everyone's got their own tips and tricks for dealing withÌýthe slimy blightersÌý - so let'sÌýhave some of yours in the comments.
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