Here is the thing
We have had pretty much nothing off the allotment this year. This is entirely the work of slugs.
I have really tried everything that is not slug pellets. If you go to the HDRA and CAT sites and scroll down the suggestions-have done pretty much all of them. Short list of what we've done: slug pubs, bran, salt, marigolds, sacrificial crops, "non-toxic" pellets, copper. Probably more stuff.
I haven't done a pond-we seem to need planning permission , plus we have young kids and another on the way and there is nowhere to site the pond in plain view. Am not allowed livestock so ducks etc are out
This has been a really bad year in that they even ate the tomatoes and most of the potatoes. But we NEVER have anything except tomatoes, potatoes, and berries. Am getting fed up tbh. We do grow a small number of courgettes, lettuce etc in the back garden where slugs aren't so bad, we are reasonably good at actually growing stuff, but the slugs on this plot are very bad.
The soil is poor, though we've improved it a lot in the last few years. In particular it is so clayey that there is no point using nematodes. Also, there don't seem to be many natural predators-birds, frogs etc-about, possibly because everyone ELSE is using slug pellets.
Thoughts? How bad ARE slug pellets? My kids won't touch them, they are pretty good, but am worried about effect on wildlife.