How to deal with slugs?

hello932

Have noticed that slugs are really out in force for the past week or so.

What is the easiest way to deal with them?

bazza1

dont vote for them!

I use beer in a semi buried jar...they fall in, drown but what a way to go!

jigglywoo

I chucked a few slugs in to a bowl of beer and most managed to climb out so I'm not sure how effective it is. I'd say they all have a sip at night and only the really drunk ones stay behind and drown.

Could leave down a few planks of wood for them to hide under during the day then pick the slugs off and fling them in to the neighbours garden.. or kill them.

Put down a little ring of salt around plants you want to keep them off but I guess it would work better for smaller plants and dry weather so it doesn't get washed away.

Whatever you do don't put a pile of them in a plastic bottle, then forget about it for months and then open the bottle

glanman

crushed egg shells and used tea bags seem to be working for me...

Never thought this would be my 1000 post:)

simonj

Depends on what you have, I have raised veg beds -first thing I did was make the pathways from ash and pine needles as a detererrent

Try Nemaslug - Perfectly safe, it uses slugs natural parasites to kill them.

Also, at sunrise/sunset dusk/dawn get a torch, go out and pick them off, and kill them - the more you kill the less offspring, less problems

All details on getting nemaslug and details of it:

http://www.mrmiddleton.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=172&Itemid=34

For other pests like caterpillars, root worms etc. try www.nemo.ie

Keep up the beer traps - some home made ones here

http://connemaracroft.blogspot.com/2010/05/slug-traps.html

Ferramol pellets are a cleaner way to kill slugs, they have them at the irishseedsavers - who seem to be out of stock,

http://store.irishseedsavers.ie/products/family/9/garden-equipment/category/53/misc/item/237/slug-pellets/

Or johnstown garden centre online

http://www.johnstowngardencentre.ie/vitax-slug-death--certified-organic-slug-control/slug_deathpd.aspx

With raised beds there are also variatins - commercial and home made - on low voltage elecric barriers

Kill 'em all

drunk_monk

simonj wrote: »

Also, at sunrise/sunset dusk/dawn get a torch, go out and pick them off, and kill them - the more you kill the less offspring, less problems

I have to say this has worked really well for me, 2 weeks ago I went out midnight 3 nights running and caught loads of them. I went out again last night and only found 2

twenty8

I went on 2 weeks hols recently and was worried about my veg patch and if slugs would tear it apart when I was gone.

So I went online and bought copper tape on ebay. I then put it all around the edges of my raised veg beds. Easy job and only took around 10 min. It is sticky on 1 side.

Came back last week and everything was looking fantastic! Not a nibble out of my lettuces! Defo recommend it. Suggest getting more than you actually need. Some of mine peeled off as I didn't apply it properly.

Definitely recommend it.

killwill

Crushed egg shells are very effective

simonj

This fella, SineWave really went to town - trying to do something similar with a battery version.


http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about100-15.html

Its an electric fence for slugs
There are commercial varients available, but being a surfer I really dont want to splash out money, just a question of stripping some old wire I skipdived.

I figure next season, hit the beds with nemaslug after mounting a fence like this and see what happens

skywalker_208

crushed egg shells
salt
beer traps
slug pellets

thats what I have seen in use anyway

John mac

Ducks and hens. ? (if you have room for them)

Qualitymark

Take one glass jar. Find a slug and put it inside. Screw the top on. Leave it in the sun. Add more slugs. Leave in the sun. The slugs will die. Keep adding slugs. The slugs will turn to slime. After about a week you'll open it and add a slug and it will die as soon as it touches the slime. Your weapon is now ready.

Add a glop of the stuff to a watering-can full of water and leave it overnight. In the morning, water your garden with it.

Usually after the first watering the slugs disappear and do not return for some years; sometimes it takes a couple of waterings.

simonj

:eek: ugh - I dont think I could eat anything after that concoction was sprayed on plants, it might work - but it sounds vile

Qualitymark

I assume it's the slug-native pathogens that kill the slugs. Later rain will wash off the stuff, and washing the veggies in salty water or water with grapefruit seed extract before cooking them will wash off anything else.

jwshooter

walking on them

glanman

Qualitymark wrote: »

Take one glass jar. Find a slug and put it inside. Screw the top on. Leave it in the sun. Add more slugs. Leave in the sun. The slugs will die. Keep adding slugs. The slugs will turn to slime. After about a week you'll open it and add a slug and it will die as soon as it touches the slime. Your weapon is now ready.

Add a glop of the stuff to a watering-can full of water and leave it overnight. In the morning, water your garden with it.

Usually after the first watering the slugs disappear and do not return for some years; sometimes it takes a couple of waterings.

DO you think this will work on worms from carrot flys, carrots have started to get damaged and am fearing its too late...

cazzycaz

Hens are great and you get fresh eggs to!!

What do egg shells do?

Qualitymark

glanman wrote: »

DO you think this will work on worms from carrot flys, carrots have started to get damaged and am fearing its too late...

For carrot flies, the best thing is to sow your carrots in raised beds about a foot high - above the flies' level of flight.

IRCA

Would definitely recommend Nemaslug (as previously mentioned). I have a very large veg garden and the other methods just didn't work for me.

Last year I lost an entire potato crop to slugs, so I bit the bullet with Nemaslug.

Yesterday out weeding I came across a huge pile of DEAD slugs most gratifying!!!

So for me it's Nemaslug from now on!!!