where have all these slugs come from?

[ipiratethief]

last few nights they are evrywhere, when i put the back light on, it's disgusting. It's like something out of a horror movie!!

How do I get rid, do I have to kill them (feels guilty at thought)?

[Slubberdegullion]

I'm on a mission atm. I go out every night with a torch and pick the fuckers up in a bag (wearing gloves). I reckon I collected about 30-40 every night last week. They have dropped off the last few nights, suprise suprise) but I bet they'll be back in force tonight because of the rain.

little bastards.

die die die

[Slubberdegullion]

I made some beer traps too, but tbh emptying out the revolting death beer with bloated slug corpses was just too much, and I'm quite hard.

I prefer the bag and bin kill technique. v satisfying.

[nevergoogledragonbutter]

there always loads here in devon in the winter.

the wet brings them out i think.

yuck.

[rosie17]

We're growing veg for the first time this year so I have my kids on seek and destroy missions after it rains. My best buy was a 1/2 price slug catcher plus torch which the kids love using. Tried drowning them but his takes days and then they smell - ugh..know just pop into a bag tie it up and put them in the big bin. We also use slug tape around pots which seems to work

[Slubberdegullion]

i have tried the organicy grey grunuley things = shite

egg shells = shite

hair = shite and blows away

The copper tape around my pots seems to be working.

Will not use pellets as I love birds.

Read somewhere about iron pellets that are non harmful to birds but the kiss off death to the slugs, have not bought them yet as the nightly slug hunts are strangely satisfying.

I think that is all I have to say on the matter now

[ipiratethief]

slubber, wow, you have put alot into this!!

copper round pots? sounds interesting.

the little feckers even go up the back door and stick to the glass arghhhhhhhhh!!

horrid.

dragon, it must be the rain in devon this week then, and what a day it's been today.

[Slubberdegullion]

yup lakeland sell copper tape that you just stick round the pots. So far basil and the other salady thing are un-touched.

I have become a slug nemesis after the bastards munched through 3 brand new lovely plants in about 2 nights.

[bramblebooks]

Slubber - you just need a couple of my hens for the afternoon. They'll sort the little fekkers out for you and you will pysl looking at them fighting over the little bstards.

[Slubberdegullion]

really? Do they really do that?

Oh I would love to borrow your hens.

[bramblebooks]

It would be a good service to offer, but unfortunately they'd be more likely to escape through the hedge and off into the yonder having pooed all over the place. Will have to do a risk assessment over cake.

[southeastastra]

i wonder where they go in the hot weather, it bothers me

[bramblebooks]

Have I mentioned the digging a pit and dustbathing in the middle of your lawn?

Obviously the hens, not us. Although that would be interesting if we could get the planning permission through in time.

[Slubberdegullion]

Bramble could you attach the hens to a bit of rope and tie them to a stake in the middle of my lawn? They would feast well here.

cat, beer traps. Oh they love the beer. Lakeland do them, or you can fashion your own with a margarine tub with a hole in the top.

[faraday]

Where do they come from you ask? MY garden. I sling them over the fence! Look mummy! Flying slugs!

No, actually I have never seen so many slimeys in a garden as I have here. I DO have frogs and toads too but they aren't as effective as I'd like! I've also declared war as they destroyed my basil BUT my hostas are all safe in copper banded pots! Ha! My husband waves the slimey over the hostas on its way to the bin and oblivion saying 'Ha HA!' to it.

My mother's solution is swimming lessons. She slings hers into the river at the bottom of her garden.

[gardeningmum05]

i chuck mine in the pond, they are after my caulis, but so far i have managed to stop the little buggers!
if i can be bothered a go round the garden in the evening and collect them then thrown them on the graa on the front of my road, or better still get one of the kids to do it

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

I want to try sprinkling bran around as I've read that can work. Have also found egg shells & hair don't work, little tiny gravel pieces doesn't seem to be doing much. A barrier with pennies and 2ps sort of works on some things but not others.

DH has been doing beer traps and deals with the carnage but there still seem to be loads at the moment, they have eaten all my beans and I am very very cross.

[gardeningmum05]

let us know if the bran works. egg shells seem to work here in nottingham, maybe our slugs are abit soft

[Slubberdegullion]

cat, I reckon so. The filthy bastards are greatly allured by beer (stout apparently is the ultimate elixir) they crawl in and then go for a boozy swim and DROWN mwahahhhhahahahahahahaha. My mother in law told me a yarn that even if they do clamber out the percentage of alcohol causes some osmotic crisis and they swell (or shrivel... can't remember) and die a little death elsewhere.

As I have said the fetid death beer the morning after is a lesson indeed in remaining calm and composed and not doing a little dance of splayed toed wretchingness as you carry the pot to a site of corpse disposal.

God they are FOUL.

Picked up 37 night before last after the rain.

[Slubberdegullion]

retchingness

I am retching, they are wretched.

[bramblebooks]

Interesting concept re osmotic crisis - does the same apply to rugby players post-match?

I have visions of many hens attached to string, a la seagulls in james and the giant peach.

[Slubberdegullion]

I'm trying to work out if they swell or shrivel, after all they are mostly water...

water moves from area of high density to low density...so water should move out of the slugs and into the beer = shrivelled slugs.

Why then are the beer trap slug corpses so revoltingly swelled and [bleurk] frothy?

Shit there should be a warning on this thread now for those eating or of a sensitive disposition.

Why haven't you trained your hens bramble? Can't you get them to slug hunt with two peeps of a military whistle?

[Slubberdegullion]

There must be more water in the beer than in the slugs. Maybe it's the girlie italian beer I am using. I should be using some stong British Ale [pelvic thrust] and that will give me pin thin dead slugs.

[Uriel]

I was in my garden yesterday and a snail fell out of nowhere into the potatoes.

I'm wondering about the neighbours; they're very keen gardeners...

Are yours?