Grow Your Own Magazine

Okay, I'm going out into the back garden to close my growhouse after a lot of rain and what do I see making its merry way up my garden path? Yep you guessed it, a slug! So I nukes it with salt after being called cruel by the mother (does she know what these things do to plants?!) but I wondered, what if more come in the night? I may have nightmares about it, yucky!

So I was wondering, is there anyway to prevent slugs getting to my potted plants? Is it okay to put slug pellets on the soil near the bases of the plants?

Any tips?

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"You never really understand a person until you look at things from their point of view, until you step into their skin and walk around in it" - Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird

My dog eats them YUK.
You could try putting cat/dog food out as that would encourage hedgehogs.
We use to feed our cat in the porch and a hedgehog use to come and eat the leftovers.

Beer.

A couple of cups set into the soil, filled with beer and checked daily to empty all the drowned "victims". I haven't found a slug pellet yet that actually works.

Oh right do hedgehogs eat slugs or something? And I dont know if that would work because I live in a town therefore I don't know how common hedgehogs are.

Sounds like a fun tip but I garden in pots so there isnt really enough room so put glasses of beer in the soil. Maybe Ill sprike salt on the top on the soil or something?

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"You never really understand a person until you look at things from their point of view, until you step into their skin and walk around in it" - Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird

put the salt round the base of the pots they won't cross the salt line ..... it will wash away with the rain though, so you might want to look at something more permanent

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New Bud, there's loads of threads about this on here if you look in the search box, and the latest Mag looks at a trial on various methods.
You might not like the conclusions.
Before you go sprinkling salt around remember the slugs won't like it - but neither will your plants.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Your plants will be 'relatively' safe in pots. Check them over regularly (daily if poss) for slugs ... they'll be hiding in the drainage holes underneath. Snails like to snuggle down just inside the rim.
Drop the critters into a bowl of salty water.

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Copper adhesive tape (from Wilko / Wilkinsons) round the pots works great! My hostas are at last surviving since I used it, also got some strawberries in tubs protected

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View my blog - http://chooksandveggies.blogspot.com/ updated November 1st 2008

As the cost of copper rings was so much, I cut pieces off a length of down pipe and put copper tape around them. Used them on my cabbages etc and they seem to be working.

Might invest in some more to try on some more plants next year

When you say around the pot do you mean around the base on the ground? or wound around the pot itself at the base?

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"You never really understand a person until you look at things from their point of view, until you step into their skin and walk around in it" - Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird

Hedgehogs love to eat the slugs in my garden, I should think you get them in town`s if there are hedges around.

I find toads are pretty good at the moment with eating the slugs. There seems to be a toad stationed at different parts of my veg areas, they get used to you too. There's also advanced growing success pellets-organic.

Go out in the dark and catch them at it. Drop them in a pot of beer. I had a horrible experience with saltwater - didn't kill them, they just swam up through it... *shudder*. Beer works though - they don't try and get out

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Warning: I have a dangerous tendency to act like I know what I'm talking about.

I tried beer traps and either there's something impotent about Polish beer or my slugs are taking the mick. There are silvery trails into and back out of the traps, a chewed through butternut squash plant and no slugs to be seen in daylight.
The cat sits and watches snails, sometimes lets me know they're there but doesn't eat them.
My garden is about 14 foot square and completely enclosed so hedgehogs aren't an option.
I may have to build a tiny pond and import some frogs from somewhere.
No doubt that the cat will then eat the frogs and continue to stare at the snails.
I still refuse to use pellets!!!!!

While it can be very satisfying to dissolve slugs with salt, it's not a very nice way to die and is unpleasant to clear up. Using salt as a barrier around plants should be avoided, as it is bad for the soil.