This topic contains 7 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by charles 11 years, 9 months ago.
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This subject is a minefield, everybody has a favourite way of dealing with slugs. They need attention at the moment.
I agree that Slug Gone is expensive but it seems to work. I do not use the "organic" pellets, am not sure how organic they are and apparently their chelating (sticking together) ingredient is bad for soil life. When sowing or planting tender seeds/plants in wet conditions, I keep soil bare for a good week beforehand and prefer there to be no slug habitat too close, such as large leaves and weeds. No weeds! All weed leaves may be hiding slugs.
I may be lynched for writing this but in extremely wet conditions (now!), and only around sensitive plants such as basil and young lettuce, there is a case for minimal, CAREFUL and controlled use of tiny amounts of metaldehyde pellets. One per plant, and perhaps repeated once if eaten. Collect dead slugs before anything else can eat them! Perhaps put a couple of pellets under a cover such as a bit of wood. Or the wood on its own may be enogh to attract slugs for shelter and then you can skewer them.
Recently at an allotment site I saw soil blue with hundreds of pellets and that is so terrible, causing fatalities to goodness knows what. Ironically they were carpeted around parsley which slugs barely eat!! It was a doubly mistaken approach.
I haven’t used any slug pellets yet this year – I have lost a few lettuces though. Yesterday I had a very small black slug on my plate at lunch time – I must wash salad better! At least that was one which wont be eating my lettuces as I washed it down the sink!
We use copper rings round newly planted out lettuces and brassicas and leave them on until the plant is strong enough to cope and then reuse them on the next crop. They are very expensive, thanks to the price of copper, but they will last forever.
Doesn’t fit in a fully organic regimen but I have noticed that growmore deters slugs an will make them shrivel up if applied on a dry day.I have used slug gone pellets in a polytunnel this year in march where we were getting a lot of our organic early salad leaf seedlings attacked with the preverbial molluscs. After planting 8 rows ( drills) 8 ft long and 10inch appart then literally sowing a line of the pellets 2inch wide on the surface between rows,after three weeks of keeping an eye on the plantings it seems they kept well away from any of the crop.
Charles will undoubtedly say the seedlings should be in modules at this time of year before planting out so as not to give the slugs an easy picking! Any way in my opinion these organic pellets , which also contain good soil nutrients when they break down ( approx 6 weeks) after watering and soil displacement are a much more ecological deterrent but you need to weigh up the cost.
For any other info on Slug gone experience speak to Gerald Miles 07879 664703 who has been organic growing for 8 years in Pembrokeshire.I’ve tried the wool pellets this year and they do seem to be working for me. I think only 3 carrots survived from my first sowing, whereas there are no appreciable losses from the later sowings surrounded with wool pellets. I’ve currently got carrot, beetroot, radish and tsoi sim seedlings all looking ok with a barriers of wool all around and no losses to slugs that I can see. Most plants were started off in modules, then planted out with wool pellets round their base. This seems to have worked really well. Only outer leaves of huge lettuces, cabbages and some of the chard has been holed. Damaged leaves are being regularly picked off. Apart from that first row of carrots I’ve had no major losses to slugs yet (touch wood!).
After only a brief experience earlier this year with slug gone pellets in a poly tunnel I decided after my last post on this forum to set up a trial with slug gone pellets around my raised beds of potatoes. The 1.2m x1.2m beds were overhanging and inviting the molluscs to venture up and into the Forrest of rather green potato leaf , so I erected four canes inside each of the two square perimeters and duly tied back the potato stalks – it actually resembled some strange horticultural bed of flowering plants! Any way after this feat I poured a 5 inch perimeter of slug gone pellets on the compost soil and watered in to make the wool expand. After dark came last night I stalked into the bed area and to my astonishment found three slugs two of which had used the same passage as the third one was now using as he ( or she ) was stretched accros the top of the plastic bed wall and approx three inches into the bed was a succulent leaf which I had not tied back enough. I disposed of the culprits and now think that the slug pellets really do work in stopping the slug in its tracks but you may have to look out for the odd gymnastic slug that will outsmart the pellets!
I have a great photo of this which I’m posting on my Facebook page!
All in all I’m pleased with the results so far in my two experiences.I will keep you informed of any further developments.
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