Can we talk 'slugs' please?

Went to Blenheim Flower Show and asked the Font of All Knowledge.... the Gold Winning Hosta Grower ... how to deal with slugs.

His advice;

Get a ball of wool. Break off a length and form it into a tiny ball the size of a frozen pea. Repeat.

Put the woolly balls all around the plant ... the slugs will not cross !

It works for me !!

Beer traps for me, and if I find unopened or unfinished cans or bottles in the park on a Saturday or Sunday morning that gives me free beer (or cider, I'm not proud) because you can't leave alcohol in a public park for children to find, can you, and I do recycle the containers. The traps with lids on are more efficient as the rain doesn't dilute the drink. I just tip the bodies out in a quiet part of the garden. I also have a jar of salty water to use for slugs I find while weeding, and I stand on snails. No mercy in this garden.

This year I have found wool pellets called Slug Gone which you put around the bases of plants, and so far it seems to work. It's suitable for organic gardens, according to the Soil Association, and safe for children and pets.

How far away was the park?
You could out plants in that slugs and snails don't like. Try begonias, plants with thick or furry leaves, plants with leaves that smell like geraniums. I have these in my garden and they leave them alone. They love my busy Lizzies, clematis, etc so I put down loads of slug pellets around them

Some slugs carry a disease called lungworm, I think. Dangerous, or fatal, to dogs. Kill the blighters! A nightly search, beer traps, copper tape, all work in their own way. Slug pellets, very effective, there are different types available. I walked to the bottom of the garden one night and heard, crunch, crunch, looked at my cabbages, covered in slugs! Not amused.

Our resident hedgehog loves eating slugs. He/she is in the garden every night & rarely misses any slug. So we are all happy!

Well flaxseed, there is good sound advice in copper tape, egg shells, beer traps etc as mentioned above.

You need to be brave and dispose of them though as there is scientific evidence to say they travel a long way at night so throwing them over the garden wall is no good. I think it was something like 30 metres in a night.

Another thing to note is that a stressed or weak plant/flower is more vulnerable to attack so spruce up your garden or pots and add a bit of nourishment and regular water if in pots. Sprinkle egg shells around as they don't like sharp surfaces.

It is a good idea after it has rained or when it is dark at night going around and catching as many as you can ( a treat for the birds).

Also, keep an eye open under paving stones etc for the little white eggs and dispose of these before they hatch as they can produce profusely if not curtailed.

You can control them but they are a part of the eco system so I doubt you will ever get rid of them.

I haven't tried it but crushed egg shells around the plants is popular around here.

I am a cold-blooded murderer. I use everything going, nematodes are favourite, but I use slug pellets where I can't nematode (where it is too large an area), I use coffee grounds or sharp grit round the base of plants that have space, copper bands round pots. The biggest problem is where the blighters parachute in from shrubs or tall plants nearby, thereby avoiding all my warfare counter-measures. I have completely given up on hostas other than one particularly strong one that they seem to dislike. Molly no wonder some plants are stressed when they are being attacked by monstering slugs!!

Not quite on topic, but I have a great slug story.

Back in the dark ages in my first year of teaching, the boys in my primary school class got fed up with the cute furry classroom pets that the girls all cooed over. When I asked them what pet they would like to see in the class, they answered: "Slugs."

They had a plan ready to share: they would get an old fish tank, fill it with leaves "and stuff" and put a few slugs and snails in there. They said they would be in charge and I wouldn't have to touch any of them. I was extremely dubious about this, but being young and still unaware of the short attention span of 10-year old boys, I gave in.

A day or two after it was all set up (gross!) I had to go on a course, and forgot to prime the poor substitute teacher. The next morning I entered the classroom to find........ yes, slime, slugs, snails EVERYWHERE. When the boys eventually came in, they admitted they'd forgotten to put the lid back on after "giving them some air" - they'd gone out to play football and left them to escape.

If I close my eyes, I can still see the carnage. And the salt. Lots and lots of salt.

My late mil told me to rip out the ivy that was growing over our fences from the rather wild verge next to our house because that's where the slides shelter. We did, and haven't had a problem since!

Slugs not slides!

I had a bad bout of sciatica and crawled out of bed forpain relief, in the midde of the night and bare foot, trod on a slug, he wedged between my little toe and the next one and I could do nothing other than a weird dance trying to get him off.......ended up using a kitchen utensil to flick him away and disposed of him and said utensil next day. That was decades ago and when I think of it, I can still feel the clammy, coldness of that slimy creature and the horrors of it all. Wear knee length slippers if you can!!

Copper tape does work but is expensive. Spray your pots with WD40, surround your plants with Epsom salt but finally I always resort to slug pellets.

The little blighters will not cross over Holly leafs, too spiky and they're safe and free.

Crushed egg shells and beer traps. I have no mercy with slimy slugs and a jar of salty water is sometimes needed as well. I love Hostas as much as the slugs do so have to battle it out with them!

Nematodes are good but expensive and you need to keep applying it about every six weeks.

Best thing is to plant only things they won't eat. Just google slug resistant plants.

I decided long ago that I can't have hostas or delphiniums however much I love them.

So if anyone spots a granny around the park, hunting out cans and bottles of alcohol, early on a Sunday morning no need for concern. Its for her slugs!

Iam64 I had the same experience! A nice garden pub for the slugs. They all came round for a pint and natter, then back off to the garden! I gave up but have heard good things about the copper wire.

My ex mother in law used to go at at dusk with a knitting needle. Slug skewers!

The best organic/biological control I have used is sharp sand. Spread it at least 2" wide round the plant [making sure that there are no overhanging leaves] and problem solved. I have to confess to using slug pellets too!
All the best...

BBQ anyone??

read a little book once, where it was suggested to get small children who are NOT squeamish to eat them... bleugh!

I'm in agreement with Whitewave. Nematodes. I have tried all sorts over the years but Nematodes are the only thing that makes a difference. Not perfect but....

If only we still had hedgehogs- never had a problem with slugs then!
I confess I do use 'safe' pellets in my hostas & in greenhouse but I know they are not really 100% safe. None of them are.

This might have already been answered but would a liberal spreading of salt around the base of susceptible plant hurt the plants. Works a treat around my back step but not sure whether salt is ok near plants?