there was an article on the radio yesterday about the explosion (in the number) of slugs.
The two suggestions I'd not heard mentioned before were
- scatter bran around your plants. apparently they love the stuff and cant stop eating it and it dries them up from the inside out till they croak, and
- coffee grounds - they get a massive caffeine *belt* when crawling over it that they're not keen on
Anyone had any success with these ?
IMHO coffee doesnt work. I got a couple of snails and surrounded them with dry grounds and they went right over it - twice. Maybe works with slugs..
Aeons ago, we used bran and were told off by the chairman as it brings rats in ???
Maybe the rats would eat the slugs! ;D
There must be a downside to attracting rats but I can't think of it ;)
I have been using Slug Gone with great success. I've got loads of lettuce, spinach, newly emerging carrots, beetroot, peas, all surrounded with this stuff - nothing's been touched at all - I love it! ;D
I use bran, its always worked but this year they crawled right over it to my Kale. So I go out with torch and scissors now. I shall put more bran down now the rain has stopped.
I haven't had a problem with rats which is good ;D
I use coffee grounds a lot and find them very successfull.
Need to use plenty and refresh after rain.
Many of those coffee grounds/egg shell/wood ash/Oates type remedies either don't work well or not well enough to rely on them.
I couldn't possibly have ever grown stuff without pellets even then they get washed away and one or two slugs get through and I need to renew them regularly.
They can devastate seedling once plants get big enough the slugs can have their share....those that survive the pellet war anyway ;)
Found a 4 pk of old beer am going to put out some traps tonight and drown them in a nice way :) hehe