Evil slugs

[jean]

Can anyone suggest a method to stop slugs and snails from destroying my clematis? I have tried slug pellets, but the clematis is growing on a slatted wooden fence, and they seem to be coming through the slats in order to reach the plant at a higher level.

 

[AnonymousImport]

Try using grit or sand around the base so they cannot climb up easily. You could put a glass of beer nearby - so that it is more attractive to them, than climbing to get at the clematis. If they drink up - they wont have the energy to climb!

 

[Graeme]

why im so lucky having families of frogs in my garden

 

[Sam Gangee]

I've found those little blue slug pellets very effective. Sprinkle them around the base of the plant and put a few on the top edges of the slats if possible.

We have cats and the pellets haven't tempted them so I think they are relatively safe, provided that you keep children away.

In future try "no dig" gardening. If you leave a tempting patch of bare soil, these pests will slide straight across it to the nearest "food".

There's a no dig book here for download.

 

[clairew]

I once poured salt over a slug i found in my downstairs bathroom, it sort of melted the slug!

Maybe you could try sprinkling salt around your plants, it might work??!!!

 

[breezer]

dont do that! salt will kill the plants.

 

[Ant]

You can buy nematoads - not sure of spelling - that you water onto the soil. These it appears are microscopic parisites that get into the slug and kill them. I seem to recall a company called Defenders selling them - there must be articles on them on organic gardening web sites.
Or, get a bucket, a torch and a pair of gloves and wander around the garden looking for the critters - around midnight is best!
I read an article that reckoned that killing slugs encouraged more "new" slugs as there was some chemical released by them (when alive) that helped prevent reproduction. When they are killed the chemical is not there and the process begins again. Or was this a Stephen King book?

 

[breezer]

following on from Stepen King, it would seem that the nematodes have mutated into NEMASLUGS (I suppose its only a "brand name" really) and all they do is kill slugs see this

 

[saiomi]

I once poured salt over a slug i found in my downstairs bathroom, it sort of melted the slug!

Maybe you could try sprinkling salt around your plants, it might work??!!!

I have slugs in my bathroom and I would like to know if anyone knows of a way to get rid of them. I don't know exactly where they are coming from but right about now i will try any solution to rid of these nasty looking things

 

[breezer]

that's very unfortunate (slugs in bathroom) Killing the visible slugs you can see will only mean more slugs will come (to the funeral of the ones you killed) why not wait untill it is dark and see where they are coming from as this way you can cure the cause not just the problem.

Have you any damp patches? or is there condensation around a particularly cold pipe? (i understand slugs like damp?)

 

[Notreallyinterested]

I go round my garden at night and collect all the slugs and then put them in a omlette

 

[tebreak]

Can you get hedgehog friendly pellets? So they're not harmed if they eat the snails etc

 

[JohnD]

the pellets do work, but slugs are quite nomadic, and new ones will gallop in to fill the gap left by the ones you've killed. However if you keep on replenishing the scattered (not piled) pellets, eventually you will kill all the ones near enough to visit your clematis. It takes a while, which is why some people have the idea that pellets don't work. Scatter under nearby hedges and bushes, and along walls where they may be hiding during the day. I put them round the edges of flowerbeds to kill new slugs venturing in.

 

[Arthur2shedsJackson]

Haven't we just had this thread ??

//www.diynot.com/forums/garden/slugs-and-snails.308405/