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I'm thinking of getting some 'nemaslug' - they're nematodes that kill the slugs but nothing else, and it's safe for other beasties to eat said dead slugs. Has anyone tried it?

From what I've read, once you get rid of the first enthusiastic wave of slugs it's easy enough to keep on top of them. I think the nemaslug works for about 6 weeks- long enough to give seedlings a good head start at least.

But- IT! DOESN'T! WORK! ON! SNAILS!

BAH!

Hey folks
So does the copper have to be shiny for it to work? And does anyone who has used it think that the reason it didnt work was because the slimy bstrds sneaked underneath it? Or were already in the soil? I was just about to order some but Im a bit wary now....

Hi daisydaisy

I seem to have all the slugs in the UK here in my little veggie plot in sunny [well, not to day] Lincs, they used to eat everything and didn't even have the good grace to do it at night but in the day as well. I had good results with an idea; I cut large or small pastic drinks bottles in to 4in high rings, coated the outside of the ring with a good thick layer of vaseline and pushed them into the soil so that they had the seedling in the middle. I did't lose any of the seedlings which had tha vaseline coller around it Stopped buying tha vaseline from the chemist though , get it from the supermarket now as I was buying so much. Minskey

People are quite right - they can burrow under barriers if they are really keen to get at your plants. I have had some success with crushed oyster shell round the plants. They sell it in farm stores to give to chickens who eat it and keep it in their gullets for crushing their food - thought you'd like to know that...

Given that both tin foil circles and copper circles work, is what happens is the moon light is bright enought and shine the slug so much it thinks its sun rise or something?

I am trying the free used coffee from a coffee shop in the garden - seems to be working so far (lettuces safe since I started and have removed a couple of stuck slugs too).

Will porbably be using the blue pellets on the plot, as don't get their often enough to keep coffee topped up.

I tried bran and it was rubbish, the whole of my newly planted veg went in one night!
Grapefruit, kept them away cos they like it and hide under it and even though i didnt harvest the slugs, they left alone my plants. i did sprinkle coffee grinds too and worked brilliantly!! will definately do it again this year.
I dont understand why people use pellets because plants take up what is in the ground and if i wanna eat pesticide i can go to the supermarket, also, i dont wanna kill the good guys.

Pellets are a complete con, don't waste your money!

They take a long time to poison the slugs and in the meantime while the slugs are dying they are an easy target for all the natural predators like birds, hedgehogs and beetles.

A single hedgehog can eat its own bodyweight in slugs every night. So for every hedgehog you kill by using pellets you can literally get thousands more slugs.

The only time slugs get out of hand is when the natural balance is upset - often for example when someone is using pellets. Use an organic alterntive like nematodes and you'll save time and money.

I'm always saying this on various threads on here (cos i think it works!) but I go for the double pronged attack!

I surround my beds with copper (I used piping last year but for this year I've just bought 50 foot strips about an inch thick) and then use Nematodes. The copper stops them climbing in/out and the nematodes kill the slugs already in the soil.

I got one lot of nematodes last year but this year I've ordered 3 lots that are delivered at 6 week intervals. The copper is going to be screwed to the concrete slabs that surround my 2 beds. It was expensive but I think it's worth it if you can afford it - and I'm hoping it'll last a long time.

I don't sow much (if anything) directly into my plot 'cos I find I get many more survivors if I put in and cover seedlings. I'm already planning how to cover my brassicas - we have loads of wood pigeons stalking our garden

is it true that slugs do not like citrus,like orange peel or lemon as i would like to find an alternative to pellets this year.

I've used Snailaway at my previous house, and will rig it up again here in my new one. Its basically an electrified fence, but it does stop the slugs from crossing the barrier. Check out the site:
The Great Little Electric Fencing Co. - Home of SnailAway and have a look at the little video

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Frank
....never buy a dwarf with learning difficulties - it's not big and its not clever!

I read about this the other day what a good idea Just a shame most people use 50+ pots at one time and the cost would be massive .I found that unless you protect eveything its usless for veg growing ,(im talking about all slug protection) As the slugs only end up compleatly striping the ones that arnt instead of just taking a bite here and there

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http://davefromthechipie.blogspot.com

Slugs have 27,000 teeth - no wonder they can destroy a lettuce bed overnight.
Gardening tips: ten things you need to know about slugs - Times Online

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

We have just come in from our garden after covering more than 100 slugs with salt... they were all on the OH's flower bed (it was covered in them) rather than my veg patch which annoys him no end. However I suspect that we will have to repeat this procedure pretty much every night rather than this being a solution to get rid of them permanently.

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pjh75

We sow the seed, nature grows the seed, we eat the seed.

Is this the right link? Can't find nematodes on here at all - was interested to see if they'd come down in price since last time I bought them, they seem to work OK but are very expensive.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

i think the nematodes are expensive depends on how much money you have got to shell out,they are not as many snails and slugs as last year in my area.beer traps,sas spray mightly witch hunts lol

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joanne culyer

I have found that the slugs have completely left alone my raised beds. I'm really surprised as I've got loads of tasty salad leaves in there, but not a thing has been nibbled.

They are about 18 inches high and made from rough timber, with a timber edging on top and it seems that the slugs can't get into them (yet!).

It's definitely the beds keeping them away because I put out some tomato and cauli seedlings in pots a couple of days ago and they've been eaten.

One year I tried the adhesive copper tape round pots until I sat and watched a slug slime over it without a moment's pause.

frogs are prolific on golf courses, thats where we get them from, we have 20 plus now, and a regular supply of babies too

I planted out a courgette plant the other day and used the idea from here of a plastic collar thickly coated in vaseline and salt. So far the courgette is untouched and this morning there's a trail through the vaseline that gets half-way up the collar, then wiggles down again - looks like it worked pretty well!

I tried nemaslug for the first time about two weeks ago and I can't see any slugs around now well it's not that I could see them before but there is no trails, and much less snails as well...
IT DOESN'T WORK ON SNAILS????

ok I cannot confirm or not, maybe the constant hunting of the past weeks proved to be effective, but still

Not to tempted luck, I plant lettuce and other salad leaves in large boxes, very high ( about 30-40 cm high), and settled on stones, off the grounds...no slimmy trails yet...
HAHAHAHA VICTOIRE!!!

WOA !! you are going to kill your plant with the amount of salt it will represent in a couple of weeks!!
I would suggest to stop it now if you don't want to have a soil transformed into a "beach", salt is more harmful than the slug on this point as it will make the ground saline so not suitable for most plants!

Use the scissors method ( cut them in half ), or half ring of oranges or grapefruit close to your plants.... it does work as they love it and usually prefers it to plants so you just have to collect the ring with all the slug stuck on it...
If there is really too many, nemaslug is a good investment, I recommend it and I am on a student budget....

I can report that Nemaslug seems to have worked in my garden, too, as I'm hardly getting any slugs, now. However, something else is eating my dwarf beans, now. Any ideas what it could be? There are some holes and also some arc-like 'bites' into the leaf, like a leaf-cutter ant would make. I do have a LOT of ants.

Hmmmm, a separate post, maybe.

Found this site for copper tape, a lot cheaper than the marketed slug tape at anywhere from £5-£9 for 4m, I would say that the 1" roll at 33m meters would be the best as the 1/2" may not be wide enough. £26 for the roll. Will be getting some myself when I get home for my raised bed and stapling it on.
Kemtron UK - Online shopping - Conductive Foil Tapes