Slugs

[keef]

I'm thinking of experimenting, has anyone tried Nemaslug to control slugs on an allotment.

I'm thinking about using it this year to reduce the damage to my spuds, especially Cara's. It is expensive, so i'm think obout applying to the spud row only, and when the tubers have started to grow a bit, maybe July/ August. What do people reckon.

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/slugbu.htm

[keef]

[grawrc]

I've never used Nemaslug although I intend to try it this year once the weather is warmer. I did however use nematodes to get rid of vine weevils. They were brilliant and 3 years on there's still no sign of vine weevil so I think probably it's worth it.

[Doris_Pinks]

I tried it one year, sorry to say on my clayey soil there was not a noticeable difference. :'(  (twas a risk knowing they are not keen on heavy soil.

had to go back to the shotgun, eggshells and copper piping! ;D

[katynewbie]

???

DP..do the eggshells really work? Have had conflicting info on this, I guess I should just do a proper trial for myself.

If they work tho I can see me eating lots of scrambled egg this year!!

;D

[plot51A]

I tried one treatment last year thinking I would shell out for a seasons worth if it was any good - but like DP didn't think there was much difference. A bit - but not enough to justify the cost. Perhaps repeated applications would be better as they recommend.  Also I think slugs are more of a problem at the start of the season when plants are really small and they get totally devoured - but think that the soil may not be quite warm enough for the nemaslug to work properly.

[John_H]

Never tried Nemaslug, I just put down bits of carpet with decomposing plants underneath, then pull back the carpet once or twice a week and kill the lot with a pair of scissors.

I read somewhere, maybe on a noticeboard here?, that the slugs you can kill in early spring make the biggest impact on overall numbers around your plot, because these are the ones which go on to lay eggs throughout the season. Killing slugs in late summer and autumn will reduce numbers but has less overall impact. I donj't know if this is right by the way, but it seems to sort of make sence.

[KevB]

Flippant but if someone invented a recipe which included slugs then i think our troubles would be over, you'd have paople begging to have a lok over your plot!! instead of mushy peas you could have mushy s---s, sorry i couldn't bring myself to type it!!
Cheers Kevb
p.s. just going to retch!!!

[Chantenay]

I used nematodes last year - two lots as prescribed. I didn't think there was much difference.
However, I only used the nematodes because I forgot to treat the ground with coffee as I had done the previous two years with noticeable success and cheapness.
The chap who knows about this is Hiugh Jones and the details are in a thread 21.05.04 called "Carrots, Slugs and Coffee".
I know there is some worry about the chemicals in coffee, but my carrots and potatoes were better in the previous two years with coffee in the ground than last years with just nematodes.
Incidentally - a famous chain of starry bucked shops is giving away their used coffee grounds to gardeners. I am going to experiment on one bed by digging this in and the other with coffee as prescribed by Hugh - that would be even cheaper than the cheapest coffee.

[Doris_Pinks]

katy I wouldn't say eggshells are a 100% deterrant, but they certainly help, the little beasties hate the feel of crawling over them, I bake mine in the bottom of the oven (keep and old dish there and keep chucking them in) then crumble them to make it more spikey!

Have tried the coffee too, a few years back when Hugh suggested it, I cannot remember the results and in true DP style didn't write it down. :-[ But am going to give a bed a go if I remember!

Kev I have often thought hte same, the French have managed to get rid of their snails! ;D Maybe a little garlic butter is what's need, but who is going to taste test :P :P  (Green smiley needed here!)

And like John, I find a pair of scissors VERY handy! ;)

[jennym]

I think anything that makes the soil a bit more 'scratchy' helps, where I have dug some sand in parts of the heavy clay on my allotment there is a noticeable difference. Afraid that scissor/secateurs are my weapon of choice too, birds can clear up the remains then.
Do like eating seafood, snails in restaurants too - often fancied having a go at seeing if you could get a crop of edible snails going to supplement the veg  ;D can't quite summon up the courage to start.

[GREENWIZARD]

???

DP..do the eggshells really work? Have had conflicting info on this, I guess I should just do a proper trial for myself.


;D

they don't work for me >:(
they just glide across them  >:(
i put out porridge ( which they love) & they munch away at it & leave the plants alone (mostly)
they also love bran

[John_H]

At risk of sounding a bit psyco, I sometimes stick the eye end of a needle in a twig and then just spear the slugs on the pointy end of the needle.

I line an old jam jar with a plastic bag and then just flick the slugs into the bag. I go past a pond on my way home, so I just take the contents down and feed the ducks!

[grawrc]

John I am amazed at my own inconsistency. My stomach turns at the thought of what you describe which is let's be honest, a sensible way of disposing of slugs: at the same time I will happily sit down to a plate of escargots à l'ail. Silly me! :-[