Slugs!!

[Florence Fennel]

Strange as it may seem, I have only seen baby slugs (worse than the big ones, I'm sure they eat more). The problem I have had is with acrobatic snails with the ability not only to scale heights, but devour the toughest vegitation as well as the tender

[Jay22]

Found one on my hanging basket! Hadn't even noticed that part of the basket was a lot less greener than the rest of it!

[Nannysally99]

Found a snail climbing up our green recycling bag, told my husband to pop him in the bag. At least he had a chance of a feast before his journey with the dust men lol

[Jeanied]

I was out with a torch last night, checking that the dog wasn't catching snails - she knows where they lurk! She pointed out several on the trunk of my crab apple, and lo and behold there were the slugs, all making a trek upwards! Needless to say the dog's poo bag was deployed to catch them.

[brownfingers]

They also say snails don't like going over rough, sharp surfaces. I've had them climbing up gravael boards, so I think we can lay that one to rest.

[Penellype]

I've seen snails crawling across upstairs windows of a brick house, and those bricks are pretty rough. I agree they can be seriously acrobatic too. With pot plants, it only takes one spindly leaf or stem to touch a wall or floor and the slugs and snails use it as a corridor to avoid the copper tape. I have 3 hostas in pots - 2 are untouched, but the 3rd pot contains some self sown fritillaries, which I allowed to grow, and one leaf touched the garage wall. The hosta in that pot has shredded leaves

[ButternutSquash]

I just throw down slug pellets. The organic ones work but they dissolve in rain, so they do not last long. As far as I can tell the standard ones are not toxic near food plants unless eaten directly. They work, and sometimes it is the only way to get crops. Apparently frogs and hedgehogs will eat them, but the problem with frogs is when cutting the lawn, you get bits of frog everywhere.

Despite the general trend I have less slugs this year than last. In fact I got cocky and pinched a strawberry, popped it in my mouth, only to discover it had a slug on the back of it. I am still heaving now.

Best heave well and good. Slugs can carry some seriously nasty diseases.

[marchogaeth]

As far as I can tell the standard ones are not toxic near food plants unless eaten directly.

I've always understood that if anything eats the slugs that have had the pellets they get sick. Also, the birds in our patch will eat any blue pellet I put down despite them supposing not to like blue coloured things so I only put slug pellets (organic) down under mesh.

I've been conscientiously been trying to encourage ground beetles around the graden for the last three years and their numbers are increasing. I dig the sides of my beds down steeply and pile the soil in the middle to create a bit of a beetle trap early in spring but I do let the sides round off through the season.

[BUFFS]

we have had a good year as the thrushes have raised 2 broods and the pile of empty snail shells and lack of slugs seems to mean they are getting rid of most of them for me, so the lack of slug pellets seems to be paying off, we get a little bit of damage but nothing to worry about and none at all in the raised(24ins) beds and they are really working well, full of carrots(2) and parsnips, do jackdaws eat slugs? I don't know but they spend some time overturning the spread bark...

[w33blegurl]

There is almost nothing that the slugs have not had a go at this year. Carrots, parsnips and swedes were decimated. Several sowings worth until I gave up. Fruit has all been slugged to some extent or another. Even my potatoes were stripped of leaves! But only the mayan gold oddly, the other varieties must not have tested quite as nice...!!

[Dorothy rouse]

I think slugs are just disgusting,they seem to be HUGE this year, and bright orange, lots seem to be dead, but they're just as disgusting. And snails! Yuk!

[Jimmy]

I think slugs are just disgusting,they seem to be HUGE this year, and bright orange, lots seem to be dead, but they're just as disgusting. And snails! Yuk!

Slugs must like slugs from what I saw them doing.
Not having that sort of thing on my patch.
A clump from my boot put a stop to it !
Jimmy

[NatalieCooke]

Just found a little one in my melon plant. Put it on the side ready to take out once I'd finished. The little bugger disappeared! I did find him in the end, he's got to live a happy life in someone else's garden.

[Nannysally99]

Slugs must like slugs from what I saw them doing.
Not having that sort of thing on my patch.
A clump from my boot put a stop to it !
Jimmy

There was a bit of that going on in my spud bed yesterday, they were sent elsewhere I can assure you. Big fat and orange yuk

[Dorothy rouse]

I suppose it's only a matter of time,until someone (chef) ? Comes with a way of using these 'disgusting things',they'll be a 'delicacy' bet ya!

Not for me tho,thank you.