Slugs!!!!

[parsnipandtoffee]

I have a bit of a slug problem?

We have a small (ish) garden (by US standards anyway!) and are trying to attract lots of wildlife to it. So far we have, frogs, bumble bees, butterflys, bats, robins, sparrows, blackbirds with babies,lots of different tits, a woodpecker, an owl that visits sometimesand some rabbits!!! (The last one is cheating a little I think) Unfortunately we also have slugs, eeugh I can't stand them, they make me feel physically sick, my boyfriend will pick them up and remove them if I annoy him for long enough, but they are eating our plants and are generally spoiling the garden!

My problem is that I have tried leaving the slugs because I know the frogs and birds will eat them but they aren't really eating enough and the slugs are munching on my plants (one night they ate a full plant and It looked like a stick the next morning) I avoided putting slug pellets down because I don't want them to get into the food chain but I hoped that the abundance of tasty sluggy things would attract more animals (ie hedgehogs) Last weekend I had to put some pellets down but wondered if anyone has any tips on either getting rid of slugs without using chemicals or attracting more slug munching friends to my house!

Thanks I'd really appreciate any ideas you have!

Robyn

 

[Greta]

Try beer. slugs seem to be party animals! Take an empty can (a tuna can works well), bury it in the ground until it is level with the soil, fill it with beer (any kind), and leave it there. Just dump out the dead slugs when it gets full, or just throw the whole thing in the trash. It's that simple! As an added plus, beer is safe for all animals, so you won't have to worry about anything getting into it.

 

[edwinf8936]

Just put the beer in a paper bowl and they will drink and drown.

Ed

 

[LuvaBun]

A landscape gardener told me to put bran down. Apparantley, their digestive systems can't deal with it, so when they eat it it kills them.

Jan

 

[JimD]

Greta wrote:

Try beer. slugs seem to be party animals! Take an empty can (a tuna can works well), bury it in the ground until it is level with the soil, fill it with beer (any kind), and leave it there. Just dump out the dead slugs when it gets full, or just throw the whole thing in the trash. It's that simple! As an added plus, beer is safe for all animals, so you won't have to worry about anything getting into it.

:yeahthat:toastingbuns

 

[MyBoyHarper]

TABLE SALT!!

I *assure* you. It kills them instantly. How? It melts them... kinda disgusting, but cool, to watch. Try it! We do it constantly for big icky slugs here.

 

[cheryl]

MyBoyHarper wrote:

TABLE SALT!!

I *assure* you. It kills them instantly. How? It melts them... kinda disgusting, but cool, to watch. Try it! We do it constantly for big icky slugs here.

Ohh for sure,that does work,my son Anthony was at the back yard and he calls me out and says "hey mum,watch this"he then put salt on this slug,as i'm very sensitive i told him not to be cruel,and he says "it's only a slug":rollseyes:lol

But it truley works



cheryl

 

[parsnipandtoffee]

Thanks guys, I've tried the salt this itis quite grim, although I agree in a macabre way it is quite fascinating, melting slugs eugh, the only problem is I have to go out and find them and I was worried that the frog might eat them and get salt overload!!!!!!!

I did try beer but I used budweiser, much to my boyfriends annoyance!!! I think I'll go and get some pungent cheepo nasty beer tomorrow and try that.

I'm also going to put some bran around the pond to see if they will eat it!!

The slugs will be no more!!!!!! :elephant: