cheap slug pellets

radiat

hi,
where's the best place to get cheap slug pellets in bulk?

Degsy

radiat wrote: »

hi,
where's the best place to get cheap slug pellets in bulk?

Dunno how many you want to buy but most of the 2 euro shops have large-ish containers of pellets.

redser7

+1 on the 2 euro shops.

Qualitymark

What works best is to put dead slugs in a jar in the sun and leave it to ripen horribly for a few days, then put a glug into a watering can and water it around. Slugs will die and flee.

muckyhands

Qualitymark wrote: »

What works best is to put dead slugs in a jar in the sun and leave it to ripen horribly for a few days, then put a glug into a watering can and water it around. Slugs will die and flee.

How do you get the dead slugs to start with, and how does this work then?

Dont like the sound of it at all I have to say, too gruesome for me. :eek:

Why do they flee and why do they die, is there something left in the dead ones that kills some more??

Dont like the sound of that either. :eek:

Xantia

Apart from breeding cats who might fancy eating slugs I have no idea on how to get rid of these things.
They come out at night mostly but only when its raining or has been raining.

Can you clear your garden of these things?

muckyhands

Xantia wrote: »

Apart from breeding cats who might fancy eating slugs I have no idea on how to get rid of these things.
They come out at night mostly but only when its raining or has been raining.

Can you clear your garden of these things?

I am more inclined to protect vulnerabe plants from slugs/ snails rather than try to anialate them completely, after all they are an important part to 'garden life in general' and they are an important food source to many.

I prefer to use deterrents, like copper tape, around plants that are likely to suffer badly from damage.

Xantia

Yes I suppose you are right!
Its just they get everywhere on the paths at night.

muckyhands

Xantia wrote: »

Yes I suppose you are right!
Its just they get everywhere on the paths at night.

They can have the paths at night. Im not using them, rather tooked up in bed/ or on boards as the case may be! :pac::pac:

So long as they aint on my sunflowers or pumpkins, or whatever I dont want em touchin, Im a happy gardener.

Qualitymark

muckyhands wrote: »

How do you get the dead slugs to start with, and how does this work then?

Dont like the sound of it at all I have to say, too gruesome for me. :eek:

Why do they flee and why do they die, is there something left in the dead ones that kills some more??

Dont like the sound of that either. :eek:

Go out at night and kill the slugs, then put them in the jar.

I assume it's a kind of slug-sized biological warfare.

Slug pellets are fatal to birds. If you must use them, use them under a slate tipped up a bit on a stone, low enough for slugs to get in but not birds; however, slugs will still escape and be eaten by birds.

They're also dangerous for cats and dogs.

You could also try this http://www.organiccatalogue.com/p1821/ADVANCED-SLUG-KILLER-575g/product_info.html though I haven't tried it myself.

redser7

muckyhands wrote: »

How do you get the dead slugs to start with, and how does this work then?

Dont like the sound of it at all I have to say, too gruesome for me. :eek:

Why do they flee and why do they die, is there something left in the dead ones that kills some more??

Dont like the sound of that either. :eek:

You are basically making your own nemaslug. These nematodes occur naturally in slugs (like bacteria does in us) but are kept in balanace. But when the concentration is too high they wipe out the slugs (like a bacterial infection in us). It's very dear to buy and only lasts a few weeks. As the slugs weaken in the jar the nematode population explodes. Then mix with water and water your beds with it.

muckyhands

You learn something new everyday, thanks.

Re the pellets, I had some like that alright. Its based on ferric phosphate too and for organic use. Used some for the carrots I sowed early in the year and it seemed to work.

Stained Class

To prevent Slugs eating your plants, you could spread sand around your beds. They hate sand.

You can kill Slugs with Beer.
Use a trowel to dig a small hole in the ground. Place a disposable cup or jamjar in it. Fill it about 3 quarter full with any type of Beer.

They're drawn to the smell of it. They climb in and drown.

I tried this last weekend.

Killed loads!:D

Degsy

There's no evidence that slug pellets are fatal to birds.

if you want to go the non-chemical route the best thing to do is get yourself a torch and a big packet of salt.

Wait til after dark on a wet night and drop a sprinkle of salt on every slug and snail that you see...on a good night you can get dozens.

The thing is that slugs will gather to feed on thier dead friends so if you wait a few days you can repeat the process as they cluster round tehones you killed earlier.

Rinse and repeat.


Or...a duck will eat hundreds of slugs but may also have a pop at your plants too.

redser7

It's well known that slug pellets kill birds and other wildlife like frogs and hedgehogs. They eat the poisoned slugs. That's why there is usually a note onthe bottle about it.

sirpsycho

Speaking of dead slugs and frogs. I've found that tadpoles absolutely love a crushed up slug. Drop one in your pond and watch the feeding frenzy. (They also love packet corned beef...)

Zuiderzee

Dealing with slugs

1) Trapping
You can but slug traps - but far cheaper to make your own, easy to bait with beer.
This is also how you collect slugs for Qualitymarks solution

2) Lamping
Go out at dusk with a torch, and kill them. For every slug you kill there are hundreds more that wont be born so it is worth it

3) Qualitymarks solution
Leave to rot in a jar in direct sunlight, then water down and spread around e garden. The pathogens that have developed in the rotting carcass give the living slugs disease

4) Nematodes
Mr Middletons in Dublin sell a product called Nemaslug. This is a targeted parasite that kills slugs, coverage lasts for about 6 weeks

5) Slug Pellets
If you are going to use these, try a bird, frog and hedgehog friendly type.
Using pellets that kill or sicken frogs, birds or hedgehogs is short sighted and foolish as having these creatures in your garden helps slug control - a hedgehog or frog are active predators for slugs, they are your allies - dont hurt them.

Use a ferramol based slug pellet like those available from seedsavers if you really need to.

6) Salt and chilli
Make up a solution of chili powder and salt, say 20 gms salt and 2 tsp hot chilli powder per litre and spray onto footpaths, lasts as a deterrent for about two weeks subject to heavy rains

Ophiopogon

Could you use dead slugs from beer traps for the homemade nematodes or would the bear affect it?

I don't think I'd have the heart to trap even a slug and wait for a few days to die and I really hate the squishyness of killing them.

And how far would one slug go in quantities re footage per liter?

Jellybaby1

I was too busy this year to do much gardening so recently I ran out and purchased a dozen or so lettuce plants and popped them in. The next morning slugs were chewing away on two of the plants so I whipped them off (with a trowel I hasten to add) and then I ran indoors to find an anti-slug remedy. All I had was a bottle of slug gel I got in one of the supermarkets, ran out to my plants poured a circle of gel around each plant and breathed a sigh of relief, 'just in time', I thought. Next day, I had no lettuce plants left! :mad:

I've heard the beer trap advice for years but not one gardener, website, article or book etc., tells you what to do with the dead drunken little beggars. Do you just dig 'em into the soil?

I've done the salt thing and watched them fizz up, and it ain't nice, but I also read that salt is toxic for the soil or grass. Why do we put it on food then?

It's got to be pellets then.

rubadub

Ophiopogon wrote: »

Could you use dead slugs from beer traps for the homemade nematodes or would the bear affect it?

I don't know, but they go for the smell of beer like crazy. So if you have the dregs of a can then fill an old 2L plastic bottle, now lie it on its side and poke holes in it to let the smell out but keep the beer in and slugs out. You will have loads of slugs all over the bottle in a few days.

Cardinal Richelieu

If using pellets don't put them out so close to your plants in wet weather, if not ate by the slugs you get a grayish mould on the pellets that can rot the plants.

redser7

And use them sparingly. Too many can act as a deterrent to the slugs as they will smell the poison rather than the grain coating.

Thunderbird2

How long do the slugs stay poisonous for after eating the pellets? how long till the garden would be safe again for pets? (how long do the pellets last)
Spread a few pellets around today . Don't like using them as we have chickens that are being kept locked up for the week