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  • Slug eating plants - revenge?

    The plant kingdom is rebelling and and is planning to get its own back for all the poor seedlings that have been annihalated by slug attack.

    On a more serious note, I visited Wisley yesterday and at the garden centre display of carnivourous plants there was a sign to say that the pitcher plants not only trap flies, but also slugs, vine weevils and several other garden pests. I decided to buy a Sarracenia purpurea, which has short, wide pitchers with more open tops. The plant details say it is hardy down to -20C and is a bog plant requiring rainwater. It needs to get cold enough in winter to stop growth.
    Northern Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
    The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: Sarracenia purpurea

    I don't know how effective this plant is at luring slugs into its pitchers, but I thought I'd buy one for my greenhouse where the slugs are climbing up my tomatoes and attacking the ripe fruit. I have stood it in a shallow bowl of rainwater to provide the boggy conditions. I decided on this variety as it looked as if the pitchers would be more accessible to slugs than some of the other, taller ones (although as my slugs seem to be very happy to go a long way up for a meal, perhaps it didn't matter).
    It would be poetic justice if the solution to the slug problem could be provided by a plant!
    I'll keep you posted on how successful the experiment is.
    I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!
    Now a little Shrinking Violet.

    http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/

  • #2
    3 slugs have drowned in the pitchers so far, not a lot I grant, but that's 3 less to find and kill myself. Hopefully the plant won't get indigestion.
    Last edited by BarleySugar; 31-08-2008, 03:56 AM.
    I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!
    Now a little Shrinking Violet.

    http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/

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    • #3
      that's 3 slugs dead, plus all the babies they would have ever had
      All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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      • #4
        Last night at 9.15 my OH called me outside into the garden to look at the slugs on the grass. I have never seen so many slugs in one place. There were brown ones, black ones and hundreds of small white ones.
        In a square foot size piece of grass I counted 15 of them, and it was like that all over the grass. I haven`t got a clue where they`ve come from as they weren`t there the night before.
        I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.

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        • #5
          Slugs are often hiding underground, then come out when it is wet. This time of year, even if it isn't raining, it tends to be damp at night. Typically, I'd bought some nemaslug and as rain was forecast yesterday I applied it as soon as there were a few raindrops, so the rain stopped and the sun came out I had to use the hosepipe to water the garden. The nematodes need the soil to be damp for at least 2 weeks , so they can hunt down and infect the slugs. We will probably get a heatwave now.

          Update - 6 slugs captured in greenhouse by plant. (Gravel floor so can't treat with nematodes, although I did water some into the tomato pots.)
          Last edited by BarleySugar; 01-09-2008, 09:00 PM.
          I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!
          Now a little Shrinking Violet.

          http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/

          Comment


          • #6
            Great suggestion for helping with the slug problem Barley Sugar. With the size of some of the slugs on my lawn the plant should have plenty to feed on. Many thanks for the info. Johnny

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            • #7
              What a fabulous idea!! I think I'll buy some (a hundred??) of those!

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              • #8
                is it ever possible to completely get rid of slugs and snails?
                http://MeAndMyVeggies.blogspot.com

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