Mystery solved

[Primrose]

When our window cleaner came the other day, he was complaining about some encrusted marks on our patio windows that he just couldn't remove. They were so deeply "set" on the glass that in the end he had to use a strong lavatory cleaner spray and a plastic scraper to remove them, and as we hadn't been using a power wash on the patio slabs, we couldn't figure out what all had caused them.

This evening we think we suddenly discovered how they were caused - HUGE BROWN SLUGS climbing up the glass. Of course we've seen their slimey trails around the garden, but it never occurred to us that if they slithered on glass, the trails would set like rock hard crystals.

Bl**dy things get everywhere! Has anybody had this happen with the glass on their greenhouses?

[Nature's Babe]

No but they got to some of my ripening tomatoes before I did, they had excavated a nest and were still at home, they were big tomatoes ! The chickens enjoyed those tomatoes, they love veg and fruit. and the ducks enjoyed the slugs I am going to try Mike's cucumber tip next year.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few cucumber slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

[Primrose]

That's an interesting slug deterrent tip. I have got SO MANY cucumbers that I can afford to sacrifice a couple in this noble cause but locating an aluminium pie dish might be a little more difficult. I do however have some aluminium saucepans but they're in regular use. (Alzeimers theory - perhaps that's why I'm getting forgetful ) Might do some scouting around a car boot fair to try and find a couple to test it out. I wonder if just slicing up the cucumbers and scattering them around the beds would act as a diversion feeding source? These slugs have decimated some lovely new crimson lettices I've been growing for the first time this year.

[Nature's Babe]

Yes, they are a pain Primrose, lol, another tip I am going to try involves cutting up rings of plastic bottle with a serrated edge, apparently they dislike climbing over the serration.

[Primrose]

The other tip I read somewhere recently if you want to stop slugs getting into your containers, you don't want to buy copper strips -(don't know how expensive it is) - is to get some wide see-through Duct tape, fold it lengwise around your containers and stick copper coins on the folded area that is exposed. Don't know whether it works, or whether the cost of putting copper coins around the circumference of a big container would outweigh the cost of a copper strip! Sticking some very rough sandpaper round the edge might also make life a little uncomfortable for them.

[Elaine]

Primrose..yes we have had the same problem with slugs and snails... on our patio doors. Revolting creatures.
I always though the slime brigade didn't like rough surfaces but they don't appear to have any problems moving over our pebble-dashed walls. I opened the bedroom curtains one morning to find a snail on the window pane. (we don't live in a bungalow either)
Cheers.

[glallotments]

We have problems with snails homing in on our cold frame. Recently we had some brassicas waiting to be planted and had the idea of constructing a sort of moat. We filled the big shallow type trays that we use in the greenhouse with water, placed upturned pots in the water and popped another tray on top to house the plants. The slugs and snails could only get across to the young plants by swimming and it seemed to work really well. No good in the garden situation though.

Back to window problems - my sister has a snail making its way across her bedroom window soon after she had cleaned it - she wasn't happy.

[Mike Vogel]

Just make sure the pie containers are metal ones, NB, [I think aluminium is the best] and not plastic!

[Nature's Babe]

LOL Already outside in metal trays Mike, thank you. Have just been planting some plugs of chard and the jheavens opened, funny but they don't seem to go for that.