bastard slugs are eating EVERYTHING this year! what won't they eat?

[cormsilkye]

bastard slugs and I suspect the snails are having a go as well
what plants do slugs not like to eat? I like cottage garden flowery types if that helps

ive found that the slugs ignore the mimulus plants I have. they are currently the only thing in my garden flowering beautifully, unecumbered by vile slugs.

Just emptied my beer traps, there was at least 13 in one and 8 in another (big enough to lie there all bloated and yeurgh). Mwah ha ha!

Oddly one was all slugs and t'other was snails.

Will the dry porridge attract rodents- rats and mice? Have a real phobia

The two most effective things I've used are the Growing Success Slug Pellets and also nematodes. Nematodes are pricey but they really get to the heart of the problem!

Slug Clear cost about £5 -7. You water it on the soil and it kills the little bleeders by messing up their ability to produce slime.

OR
Pick up in the morning and dispose of in a tub of bleach or Jeye's Fluid. [vom]!

Slugs have even eaten my beans four feet up the beanpole. Bastards!

Lady's Mantle, Marigolds, Sage and lavender are the only flowers I have that are unaffected.

Am I the only one to only just realise where strawberries get their name from? Duh...

Using slug pellets this year, but have had great success in the past with the nematodes (neighbour and I got together and did it, which I think helped, as new slugs then had further to travel). We were just a bit disorganised about getting nematodes this year.

I have been collecting them every night for a week and they are much fewer now.

I've been collecting them too and I think it's helping. They don't seem to eat my red hot poker plant, although they do like to live in it- quite handy because it is unnibbled, but I know where to go to find the little bleeders!

I'm really pleased; I have just been looking online at wormeries and found this slug buggers. It looks brilliant; I will be getting some soon. Totally eco-friendly, not harmful to animals and it sounds like it really works.

In the meantime I've been putting porridge around my dahlias and they seem to have stopped being attacked.

My ginger mint and morrocan mint have both been eaten down to twigs but my chocolate mint is untouched How weird.

I heard a woman swear by porridge oats on he radio so I bought some today. I will keep you informed.

Apparently mint plants don't get eaten, but mine have!!

I have putted crushed egg shells around the mint and am waiting to see!

They are flipping Olympic slugs this year. They've made massive inroads into my garden.

I don my marigolds (rubber as opposed to wearing a plant) and collect up as many of the slimey bastards as I can, plop them in a box & then run up the road to a bit of scrubby grass by the side of the road & deposit them there. Picking them up makes me want to gag, even with the gloves on, but I'm annoyed enough to wretch silently to myself!

I've also sprinkled dishwasher salt around all my pots & this has really helped. They have stopped climbing up the pots.

I tried crushed egg shells - the garden looked like some kind of chickens' graveyard - but it made no difference. Coffee didn't work for me either, but maybe it was still too wet when I tried that.

I've put copper tape around my veg box today and I'm going to put a couple of courgette plants in, along with some porridge oats and coffee grounds. I will report back.

Nothing so far. Will check again tomorrow.

Well, for the first time ever the beer traps didn't wipe out the slugs. They kept on coming and the veg patch is a write off this year.

Full slug traps are the most foul thing ever. I put them in the compost bin but have to leave the lid off for a day or two to let the smell out .

I've given up this year. I want to sow grass on all my beds and just use pots. Though they get to anything in pots too.

I'll try oats, though pretty well everything is gone now. Does it work for snails too? We've got tons of those buggers too.

What about that bark stuff? Does that work?

slug pellets still work.

You can scatter them under bushes or shrubs if you are worried someone will eat a pile of them.

Normal slug pellets kill birds and other wildlife. Please, no! Keep your birds healthy, they'll help control your slugs and snails

"The RSPB encourages all gardeners to use non-chemical forms of slug control as much as possible. However, in the event of all non-chemical solutions being unsuitable or impractical, the RSPB welcomes and endorses the 'The Slug Pellet Code'. The code is as follows:

1.Use slug pellets wisely, and before use, always read the instructions on the pack.
2.It is essential that slug pellets are sprinkled thinly on the soil and around the plants being protected ? not all plants are favoured by slugs and snails.
3.Individual pellets should be placed 10 ? 15cm apart around the plant. Never pile them. "

www.rspb.org.uk/advice/gardening/unwantedvisitors/chemical_free/slugs/further_information.aspx

I have used nematodes but they don't seem to be working as well this year as in previous years... I have heard that watering with coffee works as the caffeine is toxic to slugs. Strong coffee works best though so probably very expensive .

Maiden pinks never get eaten

I'd imagine the poor nematodes got washed away and drowned!

I think so too, poor little dears [sobs]