Slugs!

Zapperzy

Any help appreciated on how to get rid of them or keep them away from my plants, preferably as environmentally friendly as possible.

I'm out every morning/night picking them off plants, beds and lawn, I move pots and remove them from under them and dump them all into the brown bin. Last year I tried beer traps with little success, caught a few but my plants still got eaten. In desperation I got slug pellets to sprinkle around the worst affected plants (my sunflowers usually) but I hate using them for fear of poisoning wildlife or visiting cats. I'm collecting eggshells to create barriers but at 1 to 2 eggs a day I'll be waiting a while before I've enough and I've no doubt the rain will just wash them into the ground. Is there anything else I can use?

loco-colo

Haven't really seen them yet myself - but no doubt they are lurking.

Beer worked very well for me in other years - You can get organic pellets that will not harm other wildlife.

Tabby McTat

loco-colo wrote: »

Haven't really seen them yet myself - but no doubt they are lurking.

Beer worked very well for me in other years - You can get organic pellets that will not harm other wildlife.

+1 on the beer. Pour it into shallow bowls dotted around your beds. I caught 50+ overnight when I did it last year.

macraignil

Tried this method a few years back and it might have given some protection when I had a lot of slug damage susceptible young plants in the garden. As mentioned in the article in the link you can also buy the slug eating nematodes. The slugs are also prayed on by some common types of birds like thrushes and encouraging these in your garden along with hedge hogs and frogs can also help control the number of slugs. Build a pond for the frogs to breed in and keep some thick thorny shrubs or a natural mixed hedge area to provide habitat for birds nests. Also being more careful about only putting plants out on the garden when they are big enough to survive a slug attack helps.

nigeldaniel

They [Slugs] make a dinner out of my Hydrangea every year. I have experimented with a lot of ideas. I have not yet tried the beer one and might give it a go. Eggs shells and coffee beans seem nicer than the old school salt.

Zapperzy

I tried coffee grounds last year, didn't work at all. I'll give the beer traps another go and keep collecting eggshells. Not sure about cultivating slugs :eek: but I'll see if I can buy nematodes anywhere, found a UK supplier but they don't ship to Ireland. They seem to be hard to get here

macraignil

Zapperzy wrote: »

I tried coffee grounds last year, didn't work at all. I'll give the beer traps another go and keep collecting eggshells. Not sure about cultivating slugs :eek: but I'll see if I can buy nematodes anywhere, found a UK supplier but they don't ship to Ireland. They seem to be hard to get here

The article I provided a link to was not advising to cultivate slugs but to keep them confined in a bucket for a time to help concentrate the nematodes that feed on them. It does not advise producing extra slugs but describes how to produce the slug eating nematodes yourself at home from ones you collect in the garden.

New Home

Copper bands are quite effective on flowerpots, not sure how you'd apply them on the ground, though.

I saw a youtube video the other day of a guy (Welsh, I think) who was suggesting cutting brambles vines (minus the leaves) in lenghts of about 40 cm, then to place them horizontally in bunches of 2 and 3 or more to form a "fence" around the beds - think barbed wire and trenches. He found them to be very effective. I'd like to add, just make sure they don't take root.

Nutty Nutritionist

I have used bits of copper pipe around the inside of my raised beds. So far, no slugs. May be just coincidence though.

New Home

I could be wrong, but I think the idea is that they get a mini electric shock when they crawl over it because of their slime.

If you can do it, pond for frogs is the best

wayoutwest

I've been using bits of copper pipe for years and they work brilliantly.The reaction of the copper with the slugs slime creates a small electric shock that is a bit like touching a battery with your tongue (so i'm told). For the Runner Beans i made a set of rings by hammering flat a short length of 3/4" pipe and bending it into a circle, which as well as protecting the young plant - also makes spot watering easy and effective20200505_072342.jpg

wayoutwest

Runner bean protector20200505_072650.jpg

Field east

nigeldaniel wrote: »

They [Slugs] make a dinner out of my Hydrangea every year. I have experimented with a lot of ideas. I have not yet tried the beer one and might give it a go. Eggs shells and coffee beans seem nicer than the old school salt.

I have been using beer traps on my raised strawberries for over 10 yrs and find it quiet effective . I cut out two flaps , about two inches from bottom of a plastic milk container and bury up to one inch in beds. I use about two containers per sq yd. the more the merrier . The flap helps keep the rain out and I leave the screw on to in place. I would change the beer every wk or two - decomposing slugs in beer do not smell attractive - you need to keep the beer smell up.remember the there are very tiny as well as very big slugs . I suspect that the tiny ones are ferocious eaters.
Some people suggest about leaving a timber board /s or other covering around the attacked area and look under it every morning for slugs. Never tried it so don’t know it’s effectiveness

Steve_hooo

wayoutwest wrote: »

I've been using bits of copper pipe for years and they work brilliantly.The reaction of the copper with the slugs slime creates a small electric shock that is a bit like touching a battery with your tongue (so i'm told). For the Runner Beans i made a set of rings by hammering flat a short length of 3/4" pipe and bending it into a circle, which as well as protecting the young plant - also makes spot watering easy and effective20200505_072342.jpg

That's a great solution.
Pardon my ignorance but I thought that copper was a kind of bronze in colour but your pipes looks silver.

New Home

I wonder would any metal work, in that case. Is that aluminium or tin or galvanised iron? Unless it's chromed copper?

wayoutwest

Steve_hooo wrote: »

That's a great solution.
Pardon my ignorance but I thought that copper was a kind of bronze in colour but your pipes looks silver.

They are copper but they have oxidized over the years and become discoloured - i must give them a rub down with some coarse wire wool at the end of the season - i'm sure that would probably improve the electrolytic action.
3/4"(18mm) pipes are best because the 1/2"(12mm) ones get a bit lost when they're pressed into the soil and have more exposed surface area.
If you know any plumber's they often have a pile of scrap taken out of old houses when doing refits - they sell it to the scrapyard so probably be happy to sell it to you for the scrap price or a few pints.

wayoutwest

New Home wrote: »

I wonder would any metal work, in that case. Is that aluminium or tin or galvanised iron? Unless it's chromed copper?

Only copper works

Zapperzy

macraignil wrote: »

The article I provided a link to was not advising to cultivate slugs but to keep them confined in a bucket for a time to help concentrate the nematodes that feed on them. It does not advise producing extra slugs but describes how to produce the slug eating nematodes yourself at home from ones you collect in the garden.

Apologies poor wording on my behalf. I didn't mean producing extra slugs, I meant I wasn't sure how I feel about creating a slug soup/cultivating nematodes! But I might give it a go, I lost a pea plant yesterday to what I think is slugs because the other plants look quite nibbled and the roots were untouched.