bedding plants ,slugs

I planted up an area of marigolds and salvia, they have all been eaten by slugs and snails.

I own up to dislking dont small bedding plants, such as busy lizzy, pansies and small begonias.
I do have a border of London Pride which has small flowers of wonderful frothy tiny pink flowers up to a bit over a
foot. It's indesructible.

Now now! even slugs have their place in the eco system.
What they lack sadly are predators. Where are all the thrushes, hedgehogs and toads?
When I kept hens I never had a problem with slugs but then the hens would eat the veg too!
Slugs and worms are busy on my compost heap devouring everything in sight and leaving a beautiful tilth for us to put back on the garden.
Its a mark of authenticity when an organic lettuce comes with a slug.

Begonias get my vote too.

I now grow Fuchsia as slugs and snails don't touch them, also fibrous rooted begonias seem be ok as well.

I tried the copper bands on pots of dalias, they did not work, however there is a product made with wool which swells with damp and acts well, I also have found mulching with chipped bark makes a good deterrent, it is not easy for them to move across.

They are horrible, aren’t they? They, along with their horrible cousins, snails, decimated the French marigolds that I put in the ground once, but the ones in hanging baskets escaped any marauding slugs and snails. The hosta I have in the ground shows some sign of attack, but so far the ones in pots seem OK, but it is early days.
Ginny, I think I would have reacted in exactly the same way! Yuk!

Lol lol oh dear... worse when ones crawled in your wellies and you don't realise till you take them off...yuk!

I loathe slugs. Cannot stand them. When I saw one on one of my pots I picked it up in a tissue and threw it in the woods. Next there was one crawling up the handle of a basket so got rid of it in the same way.

Finished watering. Locked up. Picked up my handbag from by the front door and reached in for my phone to feel something cold and slimy in my bag! A slug! Bag was flung, everything tipped out. Rubber gloves on and in a military operation removed the blighter. They clearly love pansies and possibly handbags and mobile phones.

Ive put heavy duty weed suppressant underneath, did this round rest of my borders last year and must say if a weed does make its way to the surface it is really easy to pull out, I only have small garden so its not too bad.

(saying that I have just spent hours/days putting new fence up/post etc etc that blew down in the gale).

I have just almost finished putting gravel down in my borders. easier to maintain,

Don't you believe it. Gravel is a perfect seed medium. You'll spend ages weeding it... (unless you go for weedkiller, of course)

I'm afraid I just go for slug pellets. The sort that are supposed to be pet friendly. I've lost too many much wanted plants...

"buy" not but rolls eyes

Deff Begonias...I usually but the big giant ones (not the small bedding ones) Ive never had trouble with slugs eating them.

But they used to "fine dine" on my marigolds and petunias.

I have just almost finished putting gravel down in my borders. easier to maintain, so will just be doing a couple of big tubs with begonias this year.
'

Annodomini

There is my solution.! What can you do for my Hydrangeas.
Mine have looked like lace for three yrs and I gave
mine away on freecycle.
I am ruthless on plants that don't perform.

I have a large Hosta growing among other miscellaneous plants and ferns. I have seldom seen any slug damage on it. Maybe they are intimidated by its size.

Did anyone see the Hosta grower on Gardeners World last night? They said that standing the pot in any metal container keeps away the slugs. They showed some standing in old frying pans!

You can get these-rather expensive- slug fences.
www.slughelp.com/slug-fence/
Has anyone tried them? I'm tempted.

Copper tape didn’t work for me! It eventually was washed off in bits and blew everywhere.

Copper tape around flower pots really works doesn't it petra.
Slugs never touch parsley, thyme, rhubarb, mint but they love basil .
They wait for the strawberries, courgettes and tomatoes to ripen before going in for the kill.
I never use any poisons so have to steer clear of some things I like.

I usually curse the invasive geraniums that spread themselves around my garden, but if they deter slugs perhaps they can stay.

Why don't slugs like weeds?? They only eat bedding plants and vegetables!!?

I don't know about slugs with flowers (except hebe.)
But I do know that they love young greens/lettuce plants. So maybe try planting some lettuce etc seedlings among you flowers.
I read a gardening forum, and it seems that various garden pests are increasing. Perhaps due to changing climate conditions.
We used slug pellets when we had a veg. garden, out of desperation.

I meant to add: the copper tape around the rim of pots stops snails. I've put my Hostas in pots this year.

I know I bang on about them but if you want to get rid of slugs you have to start in early March by spraying nematodes. Early March is when the baby slugs are starting to grow in the soil. You spay every 6 weeks through the summer.
Last year I only had 5 slugs.
Other than that it's Geraniums

Slugs around here love petunias! I've stopped buying any - I've had newly planted ones literally stripped to bare stalks overnight. They've also made their way up a tree to a basket fastened several feet up, to devour my verbenas.

They never touch geraniums, lobelia or Busy Lizzies, though. (Small garden, most of my summer colour is in pots.).