I thought I had a bad slug problem and then found out its a lot worse!
My compost bin had load of white baby slugs and I'm talking of thousands.
A lot of them were on the inside of the lid so I washed them down the drain.
I have already watered in nematodes to the plot and just ordered some more for the compost bin.
Anyone else have a major problem like this?
Should I get rid of the compost bin? I dont want too.
Slugs and snails are the number one enemy of many gardeners and some people believe the compost bin is a hothouse for slug and snail reproductive activity, creating massive populations that will invade the garden and devour the precious plants. Slugs and snails are decomposer organisms that help break down the organic matter in the compost bin so the bin acts as a great feeding ground for them. There is no guarantee that the slugs and snails will not be tempted to other areas of your garden, but the compost heap provides them with an ideal habitat they have no reason to leave as they have a constant food source and are protected from predators - they keep moving up the bin to get to the fresh material, and eventually die of old age. Some slugs live only on rotting organic matter and so will have no desire to leave the compost bin in search of living greens. Some people worry that when they spread the finished compost, they will spread around slug eggs; however, it is likely these will be predated on in the compost bin or will decompose as they become compressed within the heap.
If you do have slug problems, the most effective way to control them is to encourage natural predators such as hedgehogs that love to hibernate under compost heaps or piles of woody prunings left to decompose, so do encourage people not to have too tidy a garden and certainly not to get rid of their compost container!
Finally, on no account should slug pellets or other molluscides/insecticides be used in compost, as they will kill the benefical organisms that carry out the composting process.
I would be tempted to use some of your nematodes in the bin
Slugs are doing a great job there... :-\
It would be a waste of perfectly good nematodes putting them on the compost bin. And it's a waste of perfectly good time trying to remove slugs from the compost. Let them do their job!
90% of what slugs eat is decaying matter. If you remove them, everything rots that bit slower. The one good thing on GW the other day (I found it excruciatingly boring) was the woman with the national collection of Hostas. She said she blanches two garlic bulbs in two pints of water, puts a spoonful in a gallon of water, waters it onto them, and lets it dry on the leaves. Apparently that's what maintains them in pristine condition. Anyone tried it?