A plague of slugs is coming!

NextSteps

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6958259.stm

According to the BBC, there are record numbers of slugs in the UK due to the wet weather, an increase of 50% on previous years. Presumably it's the same here. If that carries over into next year (and what do slugs do in winter, anyway?), it's going to be a grim gardening season.

Mr Magnolia

Old coffee grinds are a good deterrent and a great source of nutrients for your plants. I'm told the likes of Costa and Starbucks are fairly accommodating with requests for grinds if you don't grind your own coffee.

Stoner

my garden is full of snails, worse then ever

heyjude

Stoner wrote:

my garden is full of snails, worse then ever

Agreed, the mild wet weather seems to have multiplied their numbers and washed away the slug pellets. :mad: Now its a pity this wasn't France.

magicbastarder

slug pellets should be avoided anyway. they're not great for killing slugs, but much better at killing snails.
and birds, too, which eat the dead slugs.

CJhaughey

The best way to kill them is with a combination of methods.
Rotovate in early spring this exposes the eggs and slugs to predators and they are still vulnerable to cold.
Use coffee grounds and eggshells plus copper strips if you have them to stop them moving.
I leave some foot wide strips of black plastic around for them to shelter under, in the morning turn over the plastic and it's breakfast time for the birds.
Handpick in the night by torchlight[for the hardcore] and if you do use pellets try and get the methiocarb based ones.
Using all these methods in tandem will greatly reduce the slug population.

magicbastarder

i've left out beer traps, to find them full within a few days.

Strokesfan

CJhaughey wrote:

The best way to kill them is with a combination of methods.
Rotovate in early spring this exposes the eggs and slugs to predators and they are still vulnerable to cold.
Use coffee grounds and eggshells plus copper strips if you have them to stop them moving.
I leave some foot wide strips of black plastic around for them to shelter under, in the morning turn over the plastic and it's breakfast time for the birds.
Handpick in the night by torchlight[for the hardcore] and if you do use pellets try and get the methiocarb based ones.
Using all these methods in tandem will greatly reduce the slug population.

If I was a slug - I would be very afraid of this man haha.... but seriously excellent tips

CJhaughey

Yep slugs fear me! Seriously there is nothing more soul destroying than seeing a potential crop destroyed in a night by hungry molluscs. ehh hang on a second there is.
Seeing your entire crop of sweetcorn destroyed in a night by hungry rats.