My sister is having MAJOR problems with slugs and snails.
She'd often be on the phone to me telling me how there is an infestation in her back garden. There are 10's of them at any given time milling around the patio and grass and no matter what she does, she cant get rid of them.
I saw it for myself over the weekend.......my god, it was impressive. A relative slug and snail farm.
There is no veg or anyting like that in the garden, mainly potted bushes and plants, so I cannot see what is attracting them.
Her poor cats cant have a drink as their bowls are full of the varmints!
Any ideas?
We tried salt but the birds wouldnt go near them after that.
We tried picking them (in their hundreds at this stage) and they still come back.
We tried beer in a big bowl and got a good few at that.
The birds are not afraid of the cats but as a rule they wont touch the slugs and snails.
BUT...............
They are still coming!
What is she to do??
Any help will be greatfully accepted!
Keep on picking and disposing of them for a bit longer. You need to either kill them or take them somewhere where they can't return, ie where they have to cross a road or river or something. Otherwise they will return to their territory.
An expensive but organic option is to use the wildlife friendly ferrous phosphate slug pellets.
Also they need somewhere safe to hid during the day, so get rid of their hiding places - eg keep grass trimmed next to the veg bed, keep veg beds well weeded, remove old planks they're hiding under - whatever.
Do those 3 things and the slug and snail numbers will drop, then you can relax a bit and still control the population.
Thats a great start, thanks! Ill let ye know how it goes.
or dump them in the water butt :)
I think with such huge numbers about the only way is physical removal from the garden, preferably in a manner from which they cannot return. I found this summer that they soon overwhelmed any traps or barriers because of the wet weather, and my usual tactic of squashing them under foot when discovered, barely scratched the surface.
So several 'hunts' within a few weeks produced a massive haul which were swiftly disposed of. OK it did little to save the plants that were eaten but it has reduced the population to managable levels and prevented those caught from breeding and producing a few hundred more of the blighters!
I put bran down, slugs adore bran and chomp away, sometimes bursting if they gorge and the bran is very dry. Unfortunatly rats also love bran, so its wise to know what lives near you. I havent had a problem with rats at all.
Crushed garlic and boiled to make a spray, it can kill slugs, but it does deter them. Its good for aphid too.
Torch and knife.......knife for protecting yourself, hit slug with torch.....assault with a battery ;D
Nematodes are meant to be good, havent used them myself. The soil needs to be warm and moist so only good in the summer.
Find and kidnap a hedgehog.
Similar problem but more an issue of loads of slug eggs everywhere. How should one get rid of them?
I put on my marigolds and SQUISH them. I feels just like popping mini bubble wrap. ;D
Lauren
Often when I go into the dining room in the evening and put the light on there are 2 or 3 small very soft slugs around the inside of the patio door - for a while it was when I put the kitchen light on I would find 2 or 3 near the kitchen door - these 2 rooms both face out the back and are close to each other.
These rooms have 'wooden' floors with beading round the sides (which has been damaged and broken) done by the previous owner.
They are probably coming indoors via the broken and missing bits of beading - I find it very unpleasant finding slugs in the kitchen and diningroom :-X
Wish I knew what to do about them!
I think they were hoping for an invite to dinner ;D
Seriously, you might have to replace the beading, they can squeeze through the smallest of gaps. :(
Lauren
we're nasty, sprinkle a small amount of salt along where they're coming in
I would spread salt as well, as for the eggs...leave them exposed, the birds and possibly newts love them. If the birds miss some they'll dry out and perish.
IF they're coming in, it's probably damp. Is there anything you can do about that?
Ooh - damp! :o
I will mention to hubby - thanks for the suggestion.
Will try the salt - thanks :)