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Old 02-05-2008, 10:14 AM
bazzaboy bazzaboy is offline
Sprouter
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: North Notts
Posts: 122
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THe BBC site recommends WD40 sprayed on pots as a way of protecting hostas from slugs; others I've seen suggest paraffin-based Vaseline smeared on the rim or string soaked in Jeyes Fluid.... I guess the underlying principle is to make your plot as unattractive to slugs and snails as pos (without making it so smelly that it's unattractive to you ) That's the principle adopted by an interesting article on the blog/list at Welcome to the Gardeners Club
which towards the end has a list of tips (including WD40, beer-traps, copper strips etc, def NOT pellets) as part of an overall approach to discouraging 'em. No magic cure, impossible to eradicate, but they can be significantly reduced. One new (to me) tip that I've adopted, for example, is NOT watering at night (end of an age-old tradition?) because there's nothing they like more than dark an' very wet.... I've yet to be tidier, I'm afraid....

bb.

ps on WD40 re-spraying.... just once a season is what I read (somewhere...) but they were probably thinking of earthenware pots. WD40 is pretty tenacious stuff and repels water but maybe glazed/plastic pots would need a couple of applications. But not daily or weekly, just occasionally as part of a general discouragement regime. Good luck, hope it works for you, please don't repel 'em in my direction!

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