Slimy Solutions

[TomIvey]

Hi everyone!

This is my first year growing my own veg so I decided to start small with tomatoes and peppers. My granddad said I should be keeping an eye out for slugs and snails and recently I have been spying the little guys out and about on my patio. I want to protect my plants and there seem to be a lot of options out there. My granddad said I should use slug pellets but on the net I found stories about them being dangerous for pets – is that true? Also are all slug pellets the same or is there a best brand?

Thanks for your advice!

Tom Ivey – Micro-Farmer

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tom, yes slug pellets are dangerous to both pets and wildlife. You can buy so called wildlife friendly slug pellets that are coloured blue which is supposed to deter the birds from eating them and they taste bitter which is supposed to stop pets from eating them. But there are still reports of pets dying after eating the pellets.

There are lots of other ways to stop slugs and snails including a beer trap, hand collecting then throwing them in a bucket of salted water, secateurs (one snip!) but I really do like Mark's great idea for stopping them - read post no7 on this link:-

Do I Need To Protect My Lettuces From Slugs, Etc?

[jeny]

I tried coffee round my seedlings and the slimers have stayed clear *touch wood*

Been to Cafe Nero this morning and got a bagful of used grounds - free, they told me to go back at 5pm and they'll have LOADS I've only got a small yard so I think my bagful will do for the moment, however, the lady also said its good for a bodyscrub!

One for the garden, one for me, one for the garden, one for me.

[Pipsqeak]

Originally Posted by TomIvey

Hi everyone!

This is my first year growing my own veg so I decided to start small with tomatoes and peppers. My granddad said I should be keeping an eye out for slugs and snails and recently I have been spying the little guys out and about on my patio. I want to protect my plants and there seem to be a lot of options out there. My granddad said I should use slug pellets but on the net I found stories about them being dangerous for pets – is that true? Also are all slug pellets the same or is there a best brand?

Thanks for your advice!

Tom Ivey – Micro-Farmer

Hi Tom,

There are two types of slug pellets out there - ones based on Metaldehyde and Methiocarb which are potentially lethal to pets, wildlife, children etc. - and Ferramol's "Advanced Slug Killer" (that's the brand name) Organic slug pellets which are based on Ferrous Phosphate - which is a form of iron.

These last ones are considered to be "organic" because they are based on a naturally and widely occurring substance (iron) which is not supposed to be harmful to anything aside from slugs and snails. Having said that iron can cause acute liver damage and death in mammals in even moderate doses, so there must still be a risk attached to these too.

This is what the Hedgehog Preservation Society says:

"Although hedgehogs may not necessarily eat the pellets, they are very likely to eat the poisoned slugs and snails and, although these may not be lethal to hedgehogs, they may cause serious internal damage. If you must use slug pellets, put them inside pieces of pipe or under stone slabs where hedgehogs can't get at them. We believe, however, that a "beer-trap" (i.e. a pot of stale beer sunk in the ground) is an equally effective way of killing slugs. In any case, as an extra precaution, all dead slugs should be regularly removed."

Oh, and both types of pellet are blue - it must by the universally agreed colour of slug pellets!!

If you don't want to use pellets there are all sorts of other options depending on how large an area you need to protect. Like Mark & Jeny mention, barriers can be extremely effective and are much more permanent than pellets. Jeny has obviously done well with her coffee grounds, and spiky things like crushed eggshells, Mark's scourers and sharp gravel are good. "Ecocharlie" recycled ceramic shards very work well too since they absorb the mucous and stop the slugs getting across at all, as well as being spiky

You can also use copper bands which give them a tiny electric shock, and placing traps - beer traps, as above, or just pieces of wood, stone, card or carpet that act as shelters - outside the barriers will allow you to collect them in the day time.

Another option are "Nemaslug" nematodes - parasites of slugs and snails that live in the soil & that you water into the ground. As I mentioned in another post I'd be interested in whether other people have had success with these?

Good luck on the micro-farm, whichever method(s) you go for.

[Hollie the Wollie]

Hiya Tom,

I have been relatively lucky over slugs and snails apart from when it came to my Pumpkins.

They munched away at those leaves something chronic! I happened to have however some copper sheeting (for crafts, like card making). I made it into little collars as I heard that the copper, perhaps similarly to the steel in Matts suggestion, reacts with their slime and gives them an electric shock! What has eaten my Pumpkin?! this is the link to the thread and you can see some pics there of them.

I was very surprised to see that for the most part, these copper collars have worked well. This is the type I'm using but you may get it cheaper on Ebay perhaps...Pack of 3 sheets copper embossing relief foil for craft - FoilPlay

I also have some tubs with Strawberries in. I have covered it with green garden netting to prevent birds eating them. Each day I find a handful on the netting but not on the plants - so this may be suitable in some scenarios.

I would also say, when you find them either take them far far away from your garden or kill them. I made what I called the "bucket of death" which was an old bucket with an inch of water in it and a loads and loads of salt! Cheap and ... erm, well not so cheerful for the slimies!