Slugs in cold frame

[Marianne]

Last autumn, I overwintered most of my fuchias and new cuttings in my cold frame.

Yesterday, I opened the frame and moved some pots around, thinking howwell they were all doing but, to my horror, found the bottom of a couple of pots were rampant with slugs !!! 

How did they get in the cold frame ??!!  I put some straw at the bottom of the frame to keep a bit of "heat" in but how these little horrors got in is a mystery ?!  Maybe they were already in the straw ?! 

[Marianne]

[Mrs Ava]

I assume your cold frame isn't airtight, so they will have walked up the side, or maybe come from underneath....is it on the earth or a hard surface?  Then of course the eggs could have been in the compost, plants or maybe as you feared, in the straw.  Whenever I move plants around in my greenhouse I am always at the ready with my knife as there are always slugs in there, and they were the biggest culprit for my total cucumber failure last year as they were in my greenhouse and scoffed the lot!  :o

[Numian]

I don't do much gardening indoors or in a conservatory but even in my outside patch I will place shalllow saucers of beer offset in the soil so they can get in it.  They love beer and once they get in they drown because they get drunk and can't get out!  The beer really attracts them. Maybe a thin trail of salt around your conservatory will act as a barrier.  Especially if it's dry outside and damp inside .

[Marianne]

Thanks Emma Jane and Numian for your responses.

It's a great construction built by my son in law but unfortunately, no base.  So that is where the slugs have come from !  I served them for dinner to the birds yesterday but am sure there are more in there !

I can feel a drink coming on and will serve them beer.  Hopefully that will get rid of them!  I will also do the salt thingy to keep them well out !
;)

[wardy]

and the coffee ground thingy. :)

[Marianne]

Oh ! AND the coffee ground thingy .. LOL
:D