Topic: Dreaded Slugs

[caseylee]

I have noticed at my allotment last year that there were tons of slugs, can anyone recommend how to get rid of them or at least to protect my plants.  I can't use chemicals casue of my pets eating the food so any ideas welcomed.

[Hyacinth]

From my files - Hugh used to post here and on the Beeb boards.

This WORKS!! and I've used the method since 2004 - I use cheapo Instant stuff from Aldi.....

Carrots, Slugs and Coffee Hugh Jones - 897th post - 21 Aug 2003 09:45
Way back in the mists of time (April I think) I promised to publish the
results of my experiment this summer using Instant Coffee as a slug
deterrent, and in case there are any contributors from those days still
around (and still interested), here they are.
The experiments were carried out over 4 sections. Section 1 was the control
bed, and received no treatment whatever. The other 3 sections were all
watered with the coffee at normal (for me) drinking strength, which equated
to 50 grams per 2 gallons of water, a month before sowing - the idea being
to clear all slugs out of the soil before sowing. Germination in all 4
sections was excellent to the point of embarassment.

Following germination, the soil around all of sections 2 & 3 and the
surrounding soil were again treated. Section 4 was Not treated, but the soil
surrounding it was. All the seedlings grew equally well in all 4 sections,
but after a few weeks it was apparent that those in Section1 were being
cropped by slugs while those in the other 3 sections were not.

A month after germination Section 2 was given a further treatment, Sections
3 & 4 were not, but the soil surrounding all 3 sections was again treated.
Following this second treatment the plants in Section 2 began to show clear
signs of chlorosis and took several weeks to recover. Those in Sections 3 &
4 and Section 1 all continued to grow normally, but those in Section
1continued to show further slug damage (several roots were badly damaged)
while those in the other 3 sections showed few signs of slug activity. A
further treatment of the soil surrounding the beds, but not of the Sections
themselves, was carried out at the end of July.

Roots lifted from all four sections show that Section 1 have quite a lot of
damage, Section 2 are undamaged but are very much smaller, Sections 3 and 4
are comparable in size with Section 1 but show very little slug damage.

The conclusion is that the best effects will result from treating the bed
several weeks before sowing to clear slugs, and then using the treatment on
the soil surrounding the bed at periodical intervals to prevent further
incursion, with (perhaps) just one treatment of the bed post germination. As
I always leave my carrots in the ground over winter I shall treat the plants
themselves in late September, when I have already found that the plants are
not affected by the treatment

[star]

Excellent Lish.........thank you very much for posting ;D ;D ;D

[Hyacinth]

My pleasure - and thanks to Hugh for taking the trouble all those years ago. It's so effective I think it should be made a 'sticky'  8)

[manicscousers]

just printed this for the shed wall, wonder if it works on snails ?  ;D

[saddad]

Probably not... but I'll have to try that... printing the page for further reference

[PurpleHeather]

I do hope this is not a wind up about coffee and slugs because we have a terrible problem with them in the potatoes

[goodlife]

Or you could get Slugsure slug control from www.defender.co.uk...
It is biological control based on nematodes which eat the slugs from inside...
I have used it couple of times when my allotment was "new" and full of slugs.
I did help to get situation under the control and now my well looked after wild birds are keeping the slug numbers down. ... ;D ;D

[Thegoodlife]

i will try the coffee method too.

but i also find a good pint of bitter in a can with the rim at ground level works as well ;D

[steveuk]

For Slugs in me spuds, i was given a tip, to cut roughly 2" ruhbarb bits and place them next to the spuds.

I tried 2 rows earlys last year with this, and one row without, , and it seemed to have worked, as i had two plants with snail damage out of 60 in the two rows,
and 60% damage on untreated row,

[Hyacinth]

Purple Heather, Hugh's trial wasn't a wind-up. Try it. 8)

[GrannieAnnie]

I read that distributing copper pennies on the ground deters snails. Is this true?

[goodlife]

I read that distributing copper pennies on the ground deters snails. Is this true?

:o :o :o,,well they use copper tape around pots to do that...but I still find better use for my pennies... :o :o ;)

[Crystalmoon]

Thanks for posting about the coffee i will try this on some of my beds this year.

Im having my own experiments with anti slug techniques.
On one bed I have used the blue organic not harmful to anything except slugs type of pellets underneath black membrane.
Im also trying out the nematodes on 3 beds with 2 applications 6 weeks apart.
I have also invested in some copper anti slug tape for my pots.
I am also going to try 'Slug Gone' from the Organic Gardening online store. It works as a mulch for plants but is made of wool fibres that aggravate the underneath of slugs. It is supposed to retain moisture in the soil, suppress weeds & also be a rich source of nitrogen! Sounded like the Superman of slug defences to me  ;D 

[Georgie]

I use a variety of non-chemical slug controls including 'picking them off' at dusk if I have tender young plants around.  Now I used to chuck 'em in brine but I read yesterday that this means a long slow death whereas pouring boiling water on them brings instant death.  Does anyone know if this is true?  And if I kill them this way it if worth leaving them somewhere for the birds/frogs to eat or will they turn their breaks/noses up at cooked slugs? 

G x

[Crystalmoon]

P.S Im also going to try out broken eggshells around plants - my lottie neighbour reckons slugs/snails wont go over sharp stuff.

And Im planning on making some beer traps too for round by my shed where slugs can hide out  ;)

[star]

I use a variety of non-chemical slug controls including 'picking them off' at dusk if I have tender young plants around.  Now I used to chuck 'em in brine but I read yesterday that this means a long slow death whereas pouring boiling water on them brings instant death.  Does anyone know if this is true?  And if I kill them this way it if worth leaving them somewhere for the birds/frogs to eat or will they turn their breaks/noses up at cooked slugs? 

G x

The birds may take them, you would have to try and see. I doubt the frogs will, I think they are tuned in to movement.

If you can bear to cut the slugs in half or stab them, the other slugs prefer to cannibalize than eat your young tender plants. Also bran is good, they gorge and pop.........trouble is rats are supposed to love bran too. I use it and havent had a problem  ;)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Boiling water will certainly kill faster than slow drowning. Whether slugs feel pain i don't know, but I wonder whether their nervous system is up to consciousness.

[bupster]

Just found this link from a post in 2004:

http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staffinfo/wocs2.html

It doesn't mention coffee, but does pretty much everything else, and includes the hysterical excerpt below:

The Black Slug (Arion ater)

black slug

The black slug can he very big: a length of up to 20 cm has been recorded. Its colour is very variable - white, red, orange or grey are all common although black is most usual, often with an orange fringe. There is no keel, and the skin is coarse and granular. The sole is pale, sometimes orange, and the mucus is white. The black slug may rock from side to side when disturbed!

Familiar to all gardeners because of its spectacular size, the black slug is rarely as destructive as the three smaller species described above but can cause damage in spring to seedlings of many kinds. Later, when its preferred diet of rotting vegetation, fungi, manure and even dead animals is more readily available, it causes little damage in the garden - other than promoting heart failure if you step on one when feeding the cat at night.

[Gazfoz]

Having read all these posts and agreeing in principle with all of them I wonder if I could suggest the judicious use of pellets as a one off hit when conditions are perfect for slug activity. I can promise you that if you put them down in the right place at the right time the results have to be seen to be believed and then the slug problems really do go away for a good length of time and can be controlled by other methods successfully.
My slugs used to laugh at eggshells and copper coins beer traps etc.
But not any more.