Slug Despair

[PenCreed]

Just as the title says really, this year has been a nightmare for slugs and snails! I've watered in nematodes, we have a slug trap, I have strulched every seedling. Despite that, the slimy fuckers have eaten: all but one of my beans (I planted about 15), all but one of the peas (also 15), two squashes when they were still potted, two more squash plants that had been planted out, a courgette plant, half my strawberries, two tomato plants, and a phlox.

Every time I think something is doing ok, it seems like I come back the next day and it's gone. Join me in my wail of despair - what plants have you lost to them? I'm also very much here for any more suggestions of what might stop them in their slimy tracks!

Share your despair and now just concentrating in trying to grow things they don’t like! I think we are going to eat a lot of leek until I find other slug resistant veg, at least there is more of a variety of resistant ornamentals…

All my strawberry fruits have gone, so have all my pea seedlings and bean seedlings, and they’ve treated my lupins like a fucking salad bar.

Yep, they’ve had all my beans too, I’ve put some more in but as there’s no sun I doubt they will catch up (I’m on my 4th go). They’ve eaten my potato leaves and lots of strawberries.

They’ve left my sweetcorn, tomatoes and leeks alone though so that’s something. Now I’ve started growing veg it’s amazed me how we can buy a cabbage for 90p, it’s such hard work with slugs and everything else out to get them.

I know someone who used to go out after dark to hunt them and would cut them in two with kitchen scissors.
They don't seem to like grit or sharp sand. I've tried nematodes and beer traps (smelly but effective) but the best thing is the horrible toxic blue pellets that I think are now banned 🤔

Try sluggo

This really made me laugh, sorry for everyone's loss though! My problem is they crawl through the cat flap and feast on the bloody Sheba! I don't know how to keep them out without obstructing the cat. Scissors sound grim but maybe effective...

You need a hedgehog in your garden.

Failing that, beer traps.

You need toads!

It’s so disheartening isn’t it - all that effort and hope😫We don’t use chemicals in the garden and have really worked on encouraging slug predators like PPs suggest. We have some great birds here like songthrush blackbird mallard plus frogs so think it would be even worse without them.

I discovered about thirty snails on a wall when I cleared some plants so my tip is to lift up plants that are hiding possible snail shelters and blitz them.

I covered the greenhouse peppers with some old giant plastic water bottles to keep them out but they still got in. Iwill try the night time patrol.

I've bought so many lupins and delphiniums that have just been slug and snail bait.

@Cinnabarmotheaten

I've grown some peppers from seed just for fun this year. Do you keep yours in the green house? Have you got peppers from them before?

They come in our house and climb up the walls! As if eating all the seedlings wasn't enough for them.

I’ve got a pampas grass (which I much regret planting). In Spring we pull off all the dead outer leaves, they are stiff and the edges are sharp and jaggedy. We chopped them up,with the shears and spread them all around my Brussels, which were quite small and being got at, making sure they were no gaps. They obviously don't like the sharp leaves and my sprouts are flourishing. The pampas leaves are also very slow to rot, in fact we've got some from last year that are still good.
everyone is finding massive slug troubles this year.

www.siennahosta.co.uk/pages/garlic-wash-recipe

Garlic spray!

Egg shells help but the only thing that works for me is:

Head torch and bucket (and scissors if you're serious)

The bastards had six courgettes and three chillies off me this year and that's when I got really dedicated in my hunts!

Ew! Do you have a magnetic cat flap?

And the weather is NOT helping... Ugh.

I bought two Astrantia plants on the basis of claimed resistance to slugs. The one in the most sluggy corner they had every leaf off. I’ve moved it and the leaves are growing back now though. Even one of the foxglove plants had holes nibbled in it. I mean those things are super toxic!

I’ve used nematodes, egg shells, coffee grounds, garlic spray, beer traps and collecting them/cutting them up (depending on how furious I am at them) after dark this year. I think the beer traps, garlic spray and night time patrols have been most effective. I’ve lost so many plants this year though it’s been heartbreaking.

I have lost 90% of the plants on one flower bed. Also 3 sets of aubergines, 7 courgettes, all the peas, a bazillion sets of lettuce, 6 pepper plants, all my flower seedlings, about 7 basil plants and probably a whole lot more that I can't even remember any more.

We are growing our courgettes on pots on the terrace now. And we have acres and acres and two veg patches!

Sadly not!

This!! We haven’t lost anything to slugs. We’re completely no spray, hot on biodiversity and the slug predators are out in force

I have lost sunflowers, courgettes and carrots but surprisingly my rows of lettuce have remained intact. I have a row of spring onions and beetroot and they seem to be a good buffer.

I have frogs, toads, hens, ducks, and as much wildlife as you can shake a stick at.

We still lost everything to the slugs.

I have lost: several echinacea, astrantia, salvia, chives, all my Kniphofia....the list goes on. Even my Ivy has huge holes in it and my foxglove leaves are stripped. It has cost me a fortune. We are fighting back with nematodes and nightly 'slug patrol'. Tonight's tally was about 60 big brown ones. There have been days when we have reached over a hundred. DH kills them with a brick 🧱....I just stamp on them.