Slippery Slugs
Although growth isn’t in full swing yet in the garden; don’t be tricked into forgetting about the slugs that are lurking in corners waiting for your prize veg to be planted out before they attack! Get ahead by starting your slug campaign now before it is too late, there are a variety of methods and killing slugs is a duty – so don’t delay!
My perennial and favourite slug terminator is the beer trap – a plastic tub of beer sunk into the ground. This year I have added a cover to keep out the rain which dilutes the beer and makes it less potent, it’s just a roof tile propped up on one side with a stone. I have the beer traps dotted around the veg plot; you can put in as many as you like. If you’re worried about the cost of the beer (or the tragic waste of diverting good beer away from your stomach), try asking at your local pub if they can keep the waste beer they get when they change a barrel – they may think you’re mad, but at least it’s free!
Hand picking is also very effective – go out at dusk, especially if it has recently rained, and you will see slugs all over the place. Simply pick them up and throw them straight away into a bucket of salty water. I now kept a bucket of salty water permanently in the garden for drowning slugs (with a lid on to keep out the rain). DON’T put the slugs into a container hoping to transfer them later to the bucket – by the time you get there they will have all escaped, the slippery buggers!
It’s also a good idea to set up slug nightclubs. Lay down planks of wood, used halves of grapefruits, etc on the ground overnight and the following morning you will find the underside covered in slugs which you can pick/scrape off straight into the salty bucket. You’ll catch hundreds this way!
For localised defence against slug-munching, don’t forget that crushed eggshells, wood shavings, sharp gravel/grit, etc. around a cherished plant are an effective barrier, as is wood ash. Wood ash/potash also happens to be good for your soil - sprinkle liberally everywhere!
Remember, slugs are everywhere. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a couple of days’ slug control will see you right for the season. Slug eggs are nestling in cosy corners waiting to hatch out at a moment’s notice and eat your tomato seedlings. Not only that, but slugs are hermaphrodite, so every single slug you let live will be producing yet more plant-munchers!
StewartP said,
April 9, 2008 @ 11:15 am
Slugs!
Those bastards completely destroyed a quite large kiwi fruit we’d planted.
This year it’s no mercy.
I’m VERY tempted to hava a go at snail farming tho.
The lehners in France said,
April 10, 2008 @ 11:53 am
Wow, thanks for the warning. The invasion of the killer slugs. My mum used to use cider, they like that too.. I’m just about to plant out some caulis so I shall be out there tonight “The Return of the Phantom Slug Slayer.” I’m not picking them up though, I’ll have to use a trowel. Yuch!
The lehners in France said,
April 12, 2008 @ 9:46 am
Hi, I’ve awarded you a “you cheer me up” award. Just right click on the award on my blog, copy and put it in you side bar. Then pass it on to 6 blogs that cheer you up. Happy blogging Debs
Cee said,
April 12, 2008 @ 11:27 am
Hi - I have enjoyed your lovely blog. What an adventure!
had forgotten about slugs! It’s heart rending to wake up and see just how much damage they can do overnight. How can such a small creature EAT so much? I have forgotten how much I hated them.
But there aren’t any here … honest, I don’t think they exist. We also have at least two flowering and fruiting seasons a year, actually the flowering trees never seem to take a month off. We harvested all our chillies a couple of weeks ago, only to notice that they were already flowering again, and now there is another huge crop on the way. I am not suggesting it is paradise, but there are no slugs and snails!
x
Scarlet said,
April 16, 2008 @ 10:18 am
Welcome Cee,
My god, what kind of utopia are you living in… no slugs??! I’ll be on the next flight over, get the spare room ready!
dibnah said,
April 19, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
I try and make sure I don’t make an ideal environment for them. Water the garden in the morning not the evening. Another thing I have learned is that sometimes it’s just easyer to grow what they don’t like, this works best with herbs, borage basil and sage may take a bit of a beating but many of the others have no problems. Also perrenial veg patches suffer less as many of the plants are established enough to take a beating.
Scarlet said,
April 20, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
Welcome back Dibnah, hope you’re well.