Homemade slug trap working! Beware, gruesome pic attached!

Here in Germany we are having terrible problems with the large brown spanish slugs. They lay about 400 eggs a year. They are classified as "invasive", having slowly been progressing northward from France or Spain.

I have been laying out spoonfuls of Polenta or coarse maize meal / grits under pots, planks, stones near the plants. The slugs ingest the dry Polenta and it swells up in their innards. The slugs become very lethargic and at least keep away from the plants for a few days. Of course, many will die of "tummy ache". Those that only ingested a little, often remain under the planks or pots and I them snip through the front third of the bodies, as recently being recommended by the local nature conservation.

People who have, with good intentions, collected the slugs and tossed them out in another part of the garden or in a field or forest nearby, are being very irresponsible. The slugs devour the plants that the native insects and fauna need to survive. So, I do the right thing and snip them with my garden clippers.

Another bit to add. I use very very cheap orange squash instead of beer - just tip it undiluted into a plastic cup and half bury it in the ground. In the morning I tip the slugs into the rainwater drain.

Don't be squeamish about these pests. Visit early morning or any time it's dark. Take a secateurs and cut them in half. Their mates will come along and gorge on them. I did this and have had far less problems due to local culling. Don't let the guard down though they will be back! Beer a good idea; you don't have to be a drinker, just buy the cheapest but if you cover some damp soil near a plant then you will find the sleeping beauty there next day. Also, other creatures nibble at plants including birds and beetles. Use netting until the plant is big enough to look after itself. Just about covers it I think?

I don't even bother to "sink" the pots in, I just leave them beside the plants, and they climb in, can't get out being drunk and drown I suppose. Or is it the attractive yeast in the beer that kills them.

The little blighters cannot cross holly leafs nor cat litter. Hope that helps.

Well done. We’ve tried beer but perhaps the wrong one. Theve ruined our runner bean plants

According to the RHS most slugs are good for the garden while some others are not. Most of them prefer to feed on rotting vegetation so the best thing you can do is collect them in a non killing trap and actually put them on your compost heap on top of any vegetation. They will help to break it all down. And to keep them off your precious plants use the organic methods of a gritty mulch such as crushed eggshells all around the plant. I always found a beer trap good for catching them but as that kills them off and you can't then put them on your compost heap it's not such a good idea.

Esmay

I haven't tried a beer trap for a long time .
It looks very successful .
I ran out of slug pellets yesterday whilst replanting .
I tried some eggshells, wood ash and lavender leaves as a substitute .
And it was successful .
Apparently , rosemary and foxglove leaves work as well .

"Birds and hedgehogs are attracted to slug pellets for similar reasons to those of domesticated pets. Because these animals tend to be smaller, even the slightest amount of exposure to the poisonous pellets cause proves fatal."
www.envii.co.uk/garden-blog-post/why-slug-pellets-are-dangerous-for-children-pets-and-wild-life/#:~:text=Birds%20and%20hedgehogs%20are%20attracted,poisonous%20pellets%20cause%20proves%20fatal.

mine worked last year but the stench was terrible, rotten. Nematodes mainly for me this year and a bucket of salt water for the ones that escaped

btw, my 3 hotbins are full of snails, doing a fine job of making compost. The ones that stay in there are safe, for now

Try putting a copper strip around the tree trunk new year.
They don’t like it up ‘em

Well done. I've had to do the same in my allotment. I put the rotting bloated bodies in the compost although maybe a thrush may like them . They stripped my dwarf beans and ate 3 sunflowers. Little buggers.

We get lots of frogs who find slugs a delicious treat, problem solved.

Seakay .
I know - that's why I use the safe ones , but my ash , eggshell , lavender leaf barrier is working .
I'll be adding rosemary and digitalis and using it in future .

We had some 'slug traps' donated to us at our allotments - and we used them on the plot where we support some people with disabilities - they carefully put the traps into the soil, added some old beer and put the tops on - but next morning all the traps had been uprooted. We have badgers on our site and we think they enjoyed the beer! We are now trying 'wool pellets' round their Dahlias and they seem to be working

If my kitchen is in darkness, I often find slugs on the floor or the more energetic ones sometimes make it to the worktops. I wrap then in kitchen paper squeeze and then deposit in the bin. Feel like a murderer but I loathe the beasts and don't know how they're getting in to the kitchen.

I’ve had plague of ants coming inside house and in food cupboard ..have cleared everything and washed thoroughly not still finding them 😡😱has anyone else had this problem 🧐

I do remember reading that if you put out beer traps for slugs (which I have done in the past) you attract all the slugs from your neighbourhood to savour the beer [sad.] I now put copper
strips or mesh everywhere I possibly can.

A hosta fanatic friend recommends Wd40 sprayed around the pots they are in. She swears it works to keep hostas free of holes. Not sure how you would achieve this in the veg plot, unless you spray it on the egg shells?!!

II didlike the thought of a slow dathe for slugs and snails (eg poison, salt dehydration, drowning in beer) I dispatch quickly with a psir of scissors.
Because of their caniblistic nature, I leave the remains where found as that attracts more slugs and snails (who also get dispatched)

Sorry - pressed post before spell checking.
I
dislike
slow death

PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT USE SLUG PELLETS,,, hedgehog population in decline,, use other methods.

Allex50

Don't be squeamish about these pests. Visit early morning or any time it's dark. Take a secateurs and cut them in half. Their mates will come along and gorge on them. I did this and have had far less problems due to local culling. Don't let the guard down though they will be back! Beer a good idea; you don't have to be a drinker, just buy the cheapest but if you cover some damp soil near a plant then you will find the sleeping beauty there next day. Also, other creatures nibble at plants including birds and beetles. Use netting until the plant is big enough to look after itself. Just about covers it I think?

Yuck, I don’t think I could bring myself to do that! I feel bad if I accidentally slice an earthworm while digging - not that I dig very often…

Currently I'm finding that coffee grounds put around the French Marigolds & Cosmos are keeping them from being eaten. We have ground coffee every day; usually the used grounds are added to the compost. At present they're put into a bowl, and I spoon them around vulnerable plants. It's working so far....

Beware of putting slugs down the loo.
If not dead they can CRAWL BACK OUT.....

Eeek...