Do i have to use slug pellets?

[Lalunya85]

I really don't want to.

We got our allotment plot last year and it was pretty overgrown. We cleared it a bit but the weeds kept coming hard and fast all throughout spring and I couldn't really keep on top of them! I partly blame this for the fact that the slugs ate all (!) my produce.

This year:
It's much clearer (though weeds will keep coming again I'm sure but I have every intention to do better with Weeding)
I am using broken egg shells around my peas (and other plants to come)
I might put some "slug pubs" next to courgettes and pumpkins and the like.

My mean neighbour walked up to me and asked whether I would be growing any actually veg this year. When I told him I would try, and mentioned the slugs last year, he laughed and said I had no chance of growing anything without pellets.

Is he right??

What are your slug repellents of choice?

P. S. We did get lovely tomatoes, some Beetroot, radish an plums as the slugs did t like those.

One made of natural wool pellets. Worked well and environmentally friendly.

I've got some gritty stuff they don't crawl over, I have to top it up every few days but it seems to keep them at bay. And beer slug traps, slug armageddon .

My dad's just bought some nematodes (sp?) as his allotment sounds similar to yours. I think it's worms that eat slugs, maybe worth a look?

pasta I've never heard of wool pellets, interesting!

meglet what is this "gritty stuff" of which you speak? I suppose my broken egg shells are doing a similar thing but Dh is getting fed up with the whole house being filled with drying egg shells...

We are setting up a pending and hoping for frogs, I think they eat slugs?

Ducks eat slugs but our pond isn't quite big enough

The wool pellets worked for me last year. Copper tape was a waste of time, as was a repellent gel.

Go out on a moist evening with a tub of table salt. Sprinkle a little on the back of each slug you find. Death galore. (We used to have huge problems with slugs. My record was killing 100 in a night...

goout I wish I could go out every evening and catch them when they come out. But I have two kids under 3 to sort out after work and my Dh works all evenings so bed time is always on me...

I can only go down to the allotment once or twice during the week (in the mornings before work) and on the weekends.

I tried Nemakill last year (the parasitic worms that kill slugs). I didn't notice a huge difference but I think you need to reapply every few weeks, so perhaps that's where I went wrong.

The most effective (and satisfying) method in my opinion, is to go out on mild, damp days or evenings, armed with a bottle of water or beer and some rubber gloves (the slime is difficult to wash off). Simply pick up all the slugs you see and pop them into your bottle where they will quickly drown. Look under leaves, in shady corners and on the ground. You will quickly find their favourite areas and you will get hundreds! If you repeat this exercise regularly, you should find you have far fewer slugs.

Hedgehogs eat slugs - maybe put a hedgehog house on your allotment and hope one takes up residence.

I've found the wool pellets to be totally useless. Beer traps work well but it definitely helps to go out on patrol and help the slugs get into them. I used disposable plastic glassses sunk into the ground with a few inches of Sainsburys Basics bitter. Nematodes work well but are expensive. Keeping your plot clear of hiding places helps too.

Nemaslug seems to be helping in my garden.

There are organic slug pellets that don't kill wildlife.

TBH I have tried everything, and the best option for me was slug pellets covered with bark chippings. All the more environmentally friendly methods just didn't work for me. We have more of a snail than slug problem here, but they both cause the same amount of damage.

You can get one past the slugs by growing things on to a reasonable size in pots before planting out. The larger plants seem more able to resist and withstand slug attacks.

Nematodes are great!

I very occasionally use the organic non-metaldehyde pellets (which are way better for the water) on very vulnerable plants in beds that are totally netted so they can't be picked out by birds or hedgehogs. But I find that with larger plants it's not so necessary.

I had good sucess with Nemaslug last year and I saw a review that claims the slugs recognise the nematodes are there and head off to neighbour's gardens instead, that would serve your mean allotment neighbour right

lalu this is the gritty stuff.

Nemaslug, wool pellets and the gritty stuff will all be ordered tomorrow!

Thank you a for your advise.

I have just removed about 10 snail from my tiny back garden, and it's the middle of the night! Safe to say, slug season has arrived...

Thanks very much for everyone's advise and good luck with your little plants!

shove I agree with growing the plants in pots first and have put a few seeds in this year. Will Sow some beans soon I think it give them a chance against the slugs.

Space is a but of an issue and my kids tend to pull all my pots off the windowsill if I don't watch them around the clock, but I will find a way...

Nemaslug here too but my garden is tiny so it doesn't cost much...I only treat it once a year (when I've planted small bedding plants), don't know much about veg but I imagine you would need to do it more often...

Does anyone get any results from the copper bands for raises bed? I also want to protect my new dahlias ( dahlia virgin so learning!)

I also have used the 'organic' pellets occasionally, but I'm lucky that my veg patch is in my garden so I tend to use the 'pick them off at dusk' tactic.

I'm going to try pistachio shells around some key plants this year as apparently they work well as a barrier (in similar way to egg shells). Bonus is you get to eat tasty pistachios!

My hostas slug food do better when the I have a good covering of coffee grounds on top of the soil ... The coffee'd area is spreading to incorporate the herb garden

Not sure what it does to them but there is a def reduction in bitten leaves

I feel guilty killing them, and tend to choose plants that they don't like eating (anything prickly/velvety/perfumed) but I'm not sure how this will translate to vegetables. I can't see them going for gooseberrys though. I have been known to create a circle made of uncooked oats around vulnerable plants. Apparently they love it but it makes their stomachs explode.

I'd avoid slug traps - yes they kill lots of slugs but they also attract more!

I can't decide what to do this year.

I have today taken delivery of 100 plants from J Parkers. I grew everything twice last year due to slugs and haven't had much time or energy this year to grow things.

The perennial plug plants are really healthy and fairly big (for plug plants). I am not sure whether to pot them on for a bit or stick them in the ground, I should probably do the former but am going away at easter (didn't expect the plants until the end of April).

I have tried everything over the years. I am not sure how well nemaslug works if you don't treat the whole garden and mine is over an acre (lot of grass). I wonder if that is why I didn't see a lot of difference with it last year.

I hate slugs.

They don't like eating parsnips either, if you like those!

I don't think the organic pellets are that bad- I think it's the same stuff that is in iron pills you can take for anaemia so not bad for vertebrates! I did find they made a difference when regularly applied.