Total beginner's question about slugs/snails

[Caitni]

Hi ladies,

I've embarked on my first ever gardening adventures (having been confined to indoor planting up to this point). I've sewn a range of veg/salad/herbs (most from seed, some from the garden centre). Tis most exciting and satisfying so far!

But everyone keeps saying to me "oooh watch out for slugs". So I will be .

So my embarassingly beginner question is: what do I do with the slugs/snails that I catch? Can I put them in my compost bin (I like to think that all beasties have their place) or do I need to do something more drastic (chuck in rubbish)?

I'd also appreciate any tips on slug control that more experienced gardeners have!

Thanks in advance

watching closely, my spinich has suspicious holes in it today, but we have hedgehogs in the garden and everyone says they are fab for bug control

I have heard using crushed up egg shells is an alternative to slug pellets.

Not sure about the compost, I think you just move them to another part of the garden

Best bet is to kill them.
if you move them they will come back and munch your lettuces in milliseconds.
squash them or drwon them in beer traps.
You can try organic pellets (that kill them) or copper rings that just discourage them (they won't crawl on copper..apart from the ones that do!!)
Believe me, the bloodlust (or rather, goo-lust) will descend more easily once your best crops have been decimated and that great, red pepper you were saving for maximum ripeness has a whacking great slug in the middle of it when you pick it!!

Sorry I sound rather bitter and twisted!!
Ground coffee grains are supposed by good deterrent too.

Tigana I was at your post. I've just started but I can already tell I'll have a tin hat and be out fighting war against the slugs! I'm protective of my little plants and most haven't even germinated yet .

I've got copper tape on my sink planters and am planning on the beer traps. I'm trying to do organic, so will start investigating things like coffee grounds too...

we tried the coffe grounds idea as a an experiemnt last year. Put a cirlce of coffee grounds with a load of snails in the middle. It took the snails all of 5 mins to escape by rolling a dead one to use as a bridge don't trust snails!

at your experiment Nymphadora - though it also made me laugh (and my DH) - you couldn't make it up! Ruddy snails...Sounds like them drowning in beer is probably a safer bet...

I got some Slugstoppa from Aldi yesterday. It looks suspiciously like catlitter. Anyway I put it down to see if the b&&* would be deterred from anihilating my tender plants. Hard to tell after one night. Should I be embarrassed that I paid £3 for a small box of catlitter?

if it works no, if it doesn'ty then YES

What you need is nemaslug. You get it from www.greengardener.co.uk. It contains nematodes that are slug parasites but are completely harmless to children/pets/wildlife.
You mix it with water, water it onto the garden and 3 days later no more slugs. It lasts for six weeks and it's brilliant. (I think I should be on commission!)