Garden Centre

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

March tasks – slug control

I don’t know if it’s just me, but when the first green shoots are poking through the ground, I don’t get even a moment to appreciate their beauty, because the slugs are there, munching away like nobody’s business and somehow managing to get a good feast in although there are still sharp frosts that could, with any luck, wipe them out.

So it’s time to fight back – but if you’re like me, you’re never sure how to do it.


• Natural slug and snail control methods are growing in popularity. One simple approach is to sprinkle slugs with salt, which causes them to dry up – is that cruel though? Another approach, used by many a hard-hearted gardener in my area, is the pruning shears system, which involves snipping the blighters in two. I’m afraid I lack the coldly calculating hatred this requires, although I have been known to tread on smaller slugs if they are on a hard surface and I am wearing nice heavy boots, because I assume that must be an instantaneous death, rather like having a building drop on you
• Slugs are attracted to stale beer, so if you leave some in a shallow bowl, the slugs will slide in and drown – you do still have to clean the bowls out though, and the smell of drowned slug in beer is pretty horrible if you’ve forgotten to empty the bowls after a couple of hot days though
• You can gather slugs at night by hand using a torch and some gloves to pick them up with – then you can put them in a bucket and drown them or whatever you choose
• Barrier methods help protect favourite plants; sand, copper bands and ash all keep slugs away tender leaves and stems
• You can use wildlife friendly slug pellets, although some of us worry about even their cumulative effects on pets or birds.

Slug courtesy of photogirl17 at Flickr

Labels: garden slugs, slugs and snails

The All Seasons Gardener at 9:24 AM

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