Am so excited.....................

[anniebear]

or is that sad?!!!

I went into the garden before and collected 71 snails!!!

Maybe I have saved one of my plants or two this summer!!! lol lol

You are so brave!! I hate slugs and snails but adore gardening!! Am really trying to be organic so will have to follow your example but have shivers running up my spine at the very thought of touching a slug even with rubber gloves and gardening gloves!! Can some brainy MN person tell me WHY there are snails, what evolutionary purpose do they serve? Off to read 50 ways to kill a slug that some SA thought was a lovely Christmas gift!!!

It's addictive, isn't it .

er..what are you doing with them?
I have an organic garden and just let them eat things...my mum goes round with a hoe and smashed and squashes them :(

Yeah what do you do with them anniebear. I am somewhat squeamish about squashing them although I realise this is the way to go really. Is it cruel putting them in with my bag of weeds in the wheelie bin?

if you want to give slugs a relatively painless oraganic death, leave saucers of beer around your garden, they're attracted to the smell and drown in the beer.

sorry but my DH put them in a bag in the wheely bin

I can't use proper slug pellets, only child friendly ones and I'm sure the slugs enjoy them !!

I spend £'s on plants each summer and the horrible things eat away at them, so I am gonna catch them early this year

If I am to be kind and leave them well I may as well not plant a thing!!

Just wish I could put the squirral in a bag in the wheely bin

hahaha if I leave saucers of beer, I might end up with two tipsy 4 year olds

That's what I have been doing anniebear. Putting them in a bag with the weeds in the wheelie bin but wondered if it would be kinder just to squash them with the trowel?

Salt. quick and probably really painful but less cruel than drowning the poor yokes surely??

charliecat, how do any survive if you let them eat things??

I'm afraid i just use the leathal slug pellets or dd is quite good at collecting then in her sand buckets.

I have loads of vegetable seedlings to plant out, but i'm too scared that they'll get eaten!

Yep stick em all in a plastic bag, tie the knot really tight and chuck em in the bin - nasty things, wish you could get rid of greenfly as easily!

We do this as well.
Best time is at night get a torch and go hunting at night i was amazed in half an hour me and DH collected a quarter of a bin bag full. - They come out at night, we then go to the local park oppoiste and tip them there in the rough grass - not all togethr though in little piles. sad i now but it does save your plants so i'm happy

How long does it take em to come back? like homing pigeons!

homing pigeons - can you imagine?

or you can feed them oatmeal for a day or two to clean out their guts and them saute them in garlic butter.

i prefer to give slugs an inorganic death. I salt 'em. snails, I throw as far away as I can - onto the tarmac road. surely their shells will break.

I did read somewhere they find there way back!!!!

lol, just hope becasue they are so slow, t will be Autum before they get back!!!!!

My plants do get eaten, but not to the point where theres nothing left. I dead head and leave the bits there for them to eat as well...maybe thats it.
Im a softy vegetarian and I dont feel I can murder things just because it doesnt suit me.

Copper strips surrounding the plants works.

No good for plants up against fences or walls though. They get attacked by the kamakazi variety that crawl up and then throw themselves over the copper barrier from a height.

So you still get plenty of veg charlieat? Even if you let them eat the leaves?

Oh no!!!!

I have never thought of myself as a murderer

If I accidently chop a worm in half whilst digging it niggles me for a few days

I wish I could time travel back to roman times and stop the bastards importing snails just so they could have a nice snack. GGGGrrrrr

Maybe you could increase the facilities for wild birds at your residence (ground feeders, raised bird table, stuff dangling from seed cages on trees etc.) and then allow all the thrushes etc. to indulge in their Snail Control Strategies...

encourage hedgehogs and frogs to control slugs and snails

We have an abundance of birds and frogs / toads in our garden still tons of snails. I have a vigilant nightfall prowl now to catch the buggers before they try to munch my pumpkin seedlings and the sunflowers - they seen obsessed with sunflowers!