Kitchen Garden Forum

Having a new garden in the country, I hadn't realised how protected my town garden and allotment was from the slug population. Here it seems to be so rampant, that nothing survives its onslaught. I have now tried Gardening Success - given to me by a v. v. v. organic friend who works at Ryton who was horrified to hear that I still used the unnecessary trad pellets. They worked to a limited extent. But still whole rows of carrots and spinach disappeared overnight. And on the container it says only to use up to 4 times.

Used beer traps. They caught beneficial insects - I found ladybirds in them. But no slugs!

So I too invested in nematodes. Now, 10 days later, I am still coming down in the morning to a scene of slug-devastation, some of which defies belief! These critters must be some sort of trapeze artists to reach some of the plants they have consumed!! But the slime trails are ace evidence.

Today I went to Wyevales and bought a large tub of 'naughty' slug pellets. Didn't want to. But don't see the point of growing lettuces, courgettes, carrots, French beans just to name a few, for the sole benefit of the Cotswold slug population.

Our soil is v. heavy clay. I am sure that there must be some organic growers out there that cope with slugs on clay, if so, HOW? No, really. HOW?????

I could've wept this morning. A whole row of cut and come again lettuce seedlings that were there last night, gone.

I garden on clay and have a minimal slug problem without having to use pellets of the traditional or non-traditional kind. Woodlice are my problem so I think that despite being clay my soil surface must be fairly dry.
My veg beds are raised, just mounds, no edging, with wood chip paths between. I tend not to grow from seed in the beds and instead plant out pots I've sown in the greenhouse. Whenever something vulnerable goes out and the weather's wet, they get a heavy dose of woodash all around the edges. Plants in the greenhouse get the same treatment as I find this protects them from woodlice and ants trying to seed them with aphids too.
The flower garden does get annual seed sown into it but they aren't being attacked either. I think one thing that makes a difference is that there's very little lawn in my garden. There's a small lawn and then long grass in the wild part at the end.
The one casualty to slugs this year has been some spinach I sowed in early May, but that was my fault as I sowed them right next to a path that's become a bit overgrown and then forgot about them. If I'd remembered I would have cleared the path completely and put woodash over the area I'd sown.
I think I don't suffer with slugs because there are few places for them to live (i.e. grass), I tend to water little, I use woodash to protect plants and I have lots of wildlife so lots of slug predators. (Or maybe it's just that I'm kind to the ones I find! )
Hope this gives you some ideas. It's heartbreaking to lose lovingly grown plants overnight.

Hi Jenny

Interesting to hear your methods. Do you have a wood burning stove for your woodash, or do you get it elsewhere? (We don't have any wood burning going on in our house!) Can you get woodash anywhere?

My plants are in raised beds with edges, and gravel paths between them. Put the 'evil' slug pellets round some of my vulnerable plants last night, and was staggered by the slug graveyard I found this morning. I have found they've had a go at the healthiest and largest plants as well as the little tiny frail seedlings. Had a broccoli plant about 15 cm or so high, and one of the B's has eaten right through the stem, cutting it off completely.

I do have lawns tho. We also have a pond with lots of frogs in, but they, despite looking well fed, obviously don't eat them all!! At least I don't have a prob (yet) with woodlice.

Hi Maz

We've got an open fire, which helps, although we hardly lit it this winter. I have an annual burn off of things I can't compost, and when we first cleared the garden we burned a fair amount, some of the ash of which I've still got, I think.
I would be looking for exactly where those slugs and snails are living in the daytime. Maybe on the inside of the edging of your beds?

Guess I will have to have a furtle in the inside of the beds. I have heard they like the warm edges of raised beds..... If I could get some woodash, I could spread it round the edges ... hmmmmmm.

I will have to ask around for woodash. Definitely sounds like it's worth a try. Thanks, Jenny

You're welcome! Good luck.

Hi Mazmezroz,
Try having a bonfire from old pallet wood and woody waste from around the plot and that should supply some ash for starters. Just woody stuff not weeds etc.
JB.

I grow all my most at risk crops under fleece all year round. The edges of the fleece are buried up to a depth of about six inches. Now I do have a slug problem in my garden, but I find because I use the fleece my lettuce has not had one nibble thus far. I also grow my broccoli this way because of caterpillars.
I find I do have to cover almost everything as there does seem to be some critter out there that's got its eye on your crops.
Rich.

Although I have slugs at my lottie I wouldn't say they are too big a problem ( I havent had to use pellets, just tossed any found over the railway fence into the brambles for the wildlife). However having had my greenhouse up for a year now and having just transplanted my first Aubergines into the border, suddenly they appeared and ravaged one!!
A judicious sprinkle about the edges and next day 6 big fat and now dead bodies, all around the one Aubergine.

I have a friend who works at Ryton Organic gardens in Coventry. He's v. v. organic and won't use anything like evil slug pellets. He has said that he's lost most of his produce this year, because it's been so wet round here and not much sun so everything stays wet and soggy, the slugs are thriving. He has used all manner of organic solutions but the slugs have won!!

Me? I've resorted to evil slug pellets just to try and rescue a few feeble little crops. I still sprinkle about the Garden Success ones, but they can't cope with the huge numbers and robust health of the slug population.

I too place the blue pellets round seedlings/ carrot seed rows ... and have a healthy new family of baby hedgehogs ... three babies seen to date ! two tennis ball sized and one duck egg sized.
According to the Epping Forest Hedgehog rescue site the hedgehog's diet is only 5% slugs and snails .. and they only eat those when there is nothing else to eat . mmm... even Hedgehogs don't relish slugs !!
see the link ...
http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/diet.htm
or extract

Slugs & Snails
Traditionally people have had the idea that hedgehogs live almost totally on slugs and snails

The idea of feeding them almost entirely on slugs and snails is very wrong information and a hedgehog that is forced to rely on that diet will very quickly die. In fact a hedgehog will not eat slugs if other food is available.

Slugs and snails are the primary carriers for the lung worm which is one of the biggest killers of hedgehogs except for us and our careless behaviour

When the lungworms breed inside the hedgehog they start to eat away the hedgehogs lung and the hedgehog either dies from drowning due to the build up of fluid in the lungs (Pneumonia) or dies when the lungs bleed because of the lungworms. Hedgehogs with lungworms have terrible breathing problems and cough like an old smoker. The lungworm infested lungs soon turn into a hard solid lump and they can't get any air in and you find the hedgehog gasping for breath.

Gardeners have traditionally liked to have hedgehogs about the garden to help keep the slug and snail population down. However, the main food source for the hedgehog is beetles and caterpillars not slugs and snails, less than 5% naturally will be slugs which they will only go for when they are starving and no other food is available.

[Great site if you like hedgehogs .. the gallery is worth a visit ....

Dear Yummyveggies, that does make for interesting reading, thankyou for posting it.

Just to go back to rarebredchick's original point; it was my understanding that the nematodes worked by killing off the tiny newly hatched slugs found in the soil. I thought they didn't have much effect on the fully grown ones. I'm not sure if they don't work at all on snails, either.
Please don't lose heart too much. Last year we used them on the entire allotment and together with plenty of beer traps (filled with free slops from our local!) they really did seem to work, particularly on the spud crop. This year we didn't use either and have really noticed the difference.
I also think it's been an exceptional year weather wise which has affected things. Anyway, we're certainly going to try nematodes again next year.
I think if you really don't want to use slug pellets of any kind, you have to go for a several pronged attack on them (picking them off at night is also a good one!) and be prepared to live with some losses.
Some crops (like lettuce and french beans) I wouldn't contemplate growing on the allotment and stick to growing them in a raised bed at home where they can be checked daily.
Good luck!
June