snail attacks

Travelsafar That should do it if there any looking for a home. Their favourite place in our garden is a huge pile of leaves under the camellia and rhododendron bushes.

thank you Synonymous I have left fallen logs under a tree and some dry twigs and leaves in the hopes that they will set up home if they do come to my garden.

Travelsafar Look out for the small droppings of dark and fairly solid poo that hedgehogs leave behind them.

Strulch is a mulch made out of straw. It suppresses the weeds and slugs and snails don't like it. I am nothing to do with the company. It's pleasant to put on and seems to work.

Snail Attacks - PS to my previous thread.

Have found a remedy that seems to work on pot plants: chop 2 or 3 large garlic cloves and put in one litre water. Add 1 tbsp veg oil and 1 tsp dish detergent. Leave 24 hours. Filter and decant to spray bottle.

Important to spray not only onto the plants but under the plants, to the stems rising out of the soil.

It doesn't kill snails but it seems to discourage them effectively

Have used it for French marigolds, verbena and tradescantia.

We have cut a hedgehog hole in the fence at the top of our garden in the hopes that we may encourage any local hedgehogs into the garden, what should i look out for to tell me they are visiting please.

Nice to know frogs eat slugs. We do have a lot of frogs. I only know we have the occasional hedgehog visit because it leaves a calling card. Rarely see one.

I am surprised that slugs and snails form only 5% of the diet of a hedgehog. Years ago our then garden was filled with snails which a resident hedgehog family would steadily munch each evening. We originally discovered them because of the very loud crunching coming from some shrubs at the base of our garage wall where they all gathered. (Snails first hedgehogs later! )
Our garden really suffered from the wretched things so DH gathered loads in a large bucket and knowing that they do return if you merely throw them away but not what to do with so many he then had one of his bright ideas. He emptied the bucket in front of the car and drove over them very thoroughly! I have to admit that it did make a difference to the plants although the rest of us were disgusted.
I made it up to the hedgehogs by providing them with a saucer of cat meat which they clearly enjoyed because they turned up at 9 pm every night for their feed. That year there were 5 very cute babies scuttling along behind mum and they were very healthy. They continued to eat snails when they found them because we still heard 'le crunch'!
At our last garden we had all kinds of pests but fortunately we were next to water and had loads of frogs which ate the slugs. We had hedgehogs again fortunately but also the snail's were a much smaller kind than those at the previous garden and seemed easier to deal with somehow.
Our current garden was full of large overgrown trees so we had to clear those - what one of our neighbours described as 'extreme gardening'! We do not intend to move again! I am pleased that there are hedgehogs here too and pests seem to be well controlled so far but no hedgehog babies as yet. I watched the hedgehog actually climb over our wall to get into the garden, I was amazed!

We had a definite rise in slug/snails last year after our neighbour put that fence up, but the cold winter and dry spring has sent the little b****rs underground. But the weather has brought more birds in and they seem to be our best defence.

Oh, and DH found hedgehog poo in the garden this morning! No idea how it’s getting in.

Do frogs eat small slugs? We’ve got loads of frogs.

PECS
It's a waste of time and money spraying nematodes at this time of year. You have to start in March when the little buggers are starting to grow underground. Once they have grown nematodes won't do anything
This year has been practically slug free but I have a feeling that it could be the very cold winter we had as the cold is supposed to kill them.

Note about pellets - the usual kind are poisonous to cats, my daughter's cat was blinded. Get the safe kind!

I've found beer is best and was 25p a can....

We have dunnocks, starlings and blackbirds as well as thrush and I wonder if they eat slug and snail eggs. Certainly having a small waterfall and pond and feeding the birds to encourage them in has had a big effect on the slug, snail and aphid population.

The downside is the pigeon poo all over the lawn as they finish up what drops from the feeders.

Quick update; the marigolds and nemesia which are surrounded by pistachio shells are still alive and well, and we have bought a large bag of salted pistachios, which we are doggedly eating our way through. (It's a tough job, but there you go )

The thrush has been joined by another one and we have broken snail shells all over the paths. I love thrushes!!

I tried vaseline but it got very unpleasant looking.

The copper tape and gravel has worked up to now for me.

Has anyone tried smearing Vaseline round the bottom of the pots?

Grrr! I've just had the b*ggers attack some plants I'd only just used to fill some spaces in my pots - calceolaria (sp?) or something - haven't tried them before.

I do wish garden centres would put a warning on labels that such and such plants are considered gourmet dinners for slugs and snails! I've had the ravening wretches absolutely strip petunias and verbena overnight before, so I knew about those.

I'm afraid I'm just going to use slug pellets now - I've tried so many eco friendly things in the past, including beer, and none of them have really worked.

Oopsadaisy - That's interesting!! I will try it today. Thanks.

I saw a chap yesterday who boils garlic cloves in water and pours the cooled water onto the plants, plants thrive and don’t get eaten by slugs and snails.

Not tried it myself though

I've tried every method there is except pellets but this year I gave in. Last year it was such a wet summer in Scotland I tried everything from crushed egg shells to the woollen pellets trying to get rid of the large snails and Spanish slugs that had invaded us. The Spanish slugs in particular really sickened me and I had to get rid of them before they got a grip again. They devour everything in site - have been known to eat dead birds! I have seen where they have been eating snails which you would think would be a good thing but they just left a nasty mess on the paths of crushed slime and shell. The pellets have been a big success - easy to apply as there is an applicator on the top of the container - and then it is just a case of picking up the dead bodies in the morning! It's definitely better than being out with a torch in the damp and wet picking them up and disposing of them in a bag of salt!!!

I have had the same copper slug tape around my hosta pots for a few years now and it certainly seems to be doing the job, though it will have to be replaced soon. We watered our garden earlier this evening and were appalled by the amount of snails we found. Strangely, they even follow the aerial wire up the house wall - you can see the meandering silvery trail at the side of the wire. I have absolutely no idea why they do that! I can only hope they are all going up onto the roof to commit suicide!

Sounds like a cue for Nick Park and Aardman animation, N&G!

loopyloo - what is STRULCH?

I can’t help but had to say when I saw the thread title an ominous voice in my head echoed ......WHEN SNAILS GO BAD ....... a la Nat Geo !!

Sorry ???

Yes I kill them in jam jars of salty water. It's war. Also Strulch is very good. Love the stuff.

PECS What are nematodes?

Am about to sprinkle coursely ground chilli peppers on the earth in my pots, around my French marigolds. My attempts with coffee grounds didn't seem to bother the snails at all. Am even thinking of dribbling Tabasco on the rims of the pots - but that could be costly.