Allotments 4 All

We used to be surrounded by empty plots, 3 on one side, 5 on the other. Great for the kids, and bugs slugs and caterpillars that used to get thrown a considerable distance (thats the caterpillars etc, not the kids....hmmm......the catapult would have to be at least 4 feet..........nah)

anyway, now no more empty plots! oh no! what do i do with all the bugs??

I hate swashed caterpillars, yuck and snugs, yuck yuck, so even if there was a slug heaven, i do'nt want to send them there.

What do you do to yours?
sorry, what do you do WITH yours?
hmmmm... the 1st questions sound more interesting!

Depends squish catapillar,salt bath for slugs and a size 11s on snails.
Last resort slug pellets!!!

Squish caterpillars, (Unless they are "pretty ones, and I rehome them!), Cut slugs in half, (Evil laughter inserted here!), and  the same as chrispea, enjoy the nice crunching sound of my size 7's on snails!

It is war out there suhayb, either them or your veg! ;D  ;D  ;D

Mine go to heaven,  in a bath of beer!

Then they go on the compost heap.

Unless Mrs Cs toads and hedgehogs get them first.

I am very kind to animals of all kinds that's why my plot is a haven for them..   No plants just lots of animals  ;D   I could no more tread on a snail than swat a fly.  I use beer traps for slugs and slug boxes with a bit of bait in as that way there's no hands-on murder involved.  I prefer to leave snails for the thrushes that come to the plot  :)

I have got the remains of a fermented bag of real ale in my shed - and slug pubs on the plot.  You can make a simple pub with a lidded cream carton or marg tub.  Cut inch-wide, half inch deep slots in the top, just under the rim, leaving half inch struts to keep the rim supported. half-bury, so the bottom of the slots is level with the soil, fill with beer (the smellier the better - apparently stout is best) and replace the lid to stop it being diluted with rainwater and prevent too much evaporation.

Check weekly for slugs, straining the contents into another pub and catching any dead ones.  Put them out on the soil somewhere and something will recycle them!

Perhaps ought to pop this in tips... 

moonbells

I can't kill 'em, no matter how furious I feel when they've munched their way through all my hard work.  I don't maind sharing, but they often don't leave anything to share!  Still, I feel guilty if I kill them so...

I put something tasty like a few lettuce leaves on a tile or piece of slate and leave it out in the evening.  In the morning, the lettuce has gone and slugs and snails are huddling cosily under the slate.  I then take them to my compost heap and introduce them to the banquet there.  I usually find that most then choose to stay on or around the heap, contributing gastropod poo to the compost.

I can't say it completely solves the problem, but it definitely reduces the attack.  I also seldom sow directly, planting out seedlings that are big and strong enough to cope with a little nibbling.

Clare.

Me, no qualms about squishing flies, squatting catterpillas, slicing slugs and stomping snails, but only on the allotment. In the garden, the ladybirds are in charge of the aphids, my thrushes are in charge of the snails, the toads make quick work of the slugs and the catterpillars are watched by the children!  ;D

I go on slug & snail hunts when I get home from work in the summer at about 11pm.
I get my latex gloves, a bucket & a torch & hunt the buggers down.
They all go in the bucket & when  I can't find any more I walk out into the road & bang them out in the middle & let the cars squish 'em!  ;D

My Mum lobs her snails over the fence and on to the road, keep telling her one day some poor person will be walking past and get hit by a flying snail! ;D

You could really upset her and tell her that they come back home again. Someone did some experiments with snails and discovered that albeit slowly they tended to reutrn to their home territory.

Oh no Eric !  Any figures for the approx mph ??  ;)    ;D

I toss all beasties into the field ! Maybe I should chuck a can of beer over too, then again, if they're anything like the human male species they'd still roll back home eventually !!    ::)    ;D

I remember that Eric.  Someone put a dot of paint on all the snails they found in their garden, then depostited them in the field/land beyond.  Then recorded then speed with which they all started returning!  I think they went and marked the returnees with a different colour and low and behold, they all slowly but surely came home!!!

My dad, big tough fella, couldn't bare to stand on them, not because he loved them, just couldn't stand the squelch.  Me, nowt as satisfying!  ;D

I will tell her Eric, and perhaps give her some small pots of acrylic paint!! She is madly jealous of the fact I have 2 thrushes regularly visiting my garden ;D Unfortunately I don't seem to get them on the plot   :(

This may sound strange but I didn't get any slug problems on my plot last year.

At all.

Everyone around and about got the usual slug assault despite using slug pellets etc. I didn't use any deterrent chemical or otherwise.

I'd be really smug (and rich) if I knew why...

If everyone around you Terrance, used slug pellets and other traps, then the sluggies were all attracted to their plots and not yours.  Slug pellets attract the slimey little bleeders, that is why I don't use tham and positively encourage all the other plot holders to sprinkle them generously!  ;D ;D ;D

I hate killing slugs, have to do it with my eyes closed if I do.

But I rely on hubby, he goes around at night and spears them all, trouble is he doesn't get rid, and I have to look at kababed slugs the next day. Yuck.

I am one of those evil ruthless killers who have no shame.  Just as twilight falls I get my broad based bit of wood (specially honed for the purpose) and go around the garden  bonking them. I show no remorse.  Strangely enough the population is quite small now probably thanks to the frogs and birds as well as me.  I just hope when I go to heaven St Peter doesn't meet me at the gate with a list of all those I have massacred.

Really fascinated to hear about them returning home, that could almost give me a soft spot for them, (Not)  ;D busy_lizzie

Kind thought - slugs can only go to heaven if you squash them, drown them, cut them in half, or otherwise kill them.   Please don't consider anything else.  Do you think it's really fair to stop them going to heaven?  Go on - give them their chance of immortality and blessedness.

All best - Gavin








AND ONLY THEN will whoever's up there DO something about the little b......s!!!!!!! 


PPS  Ooops - is s/he a slug? ???

I chuck my snails and slugs over the fence onto the railway embankment in the hope that they will like the green delights provided.  However, come the first shower, you can see them all traipsing back over the path towards my garden.

Don't know what I will do up at the lottie yet.