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Saturday, April 18, 2009

Slugs

It's mild and drizzly out there and a post on Somerset Seasons made me think I should share something about that most dreaded garden companion, OK - pest: slugs.

As a member of Garden Organic (used to be HDRA) I really do try, in all ways, to follow good organic practice, and so was an avid experimenter with each and every method of slug control to avoid using slug pellets. None worked very well, but a combination of torch-light slug patrols and beer traps (don't they get smelly if you forget them!?!) created a sort of stalemate.

Then one year I was looking through my Organic Catalogue (online too) and saw Advanced Slug Killer. I have to admit to being sceptical. Would they harm other life on the plot, what about slimy slug remains lying around, chemical residues and all the rest. So I looked into them and found that they are certified for Organic use and are not harmful to wildlife, pets, children, or me.

I have been using them ever since and would have to say that they work pretty well, I do still get some occasional slug damage, most noticeably on some potato varieties (yes I have tried Nemaslug) but I now feel we've moved from stalemate to an acceptable balance.

3 comments:

Willow said...

Hi there! I'm enjoying your gardening posts very much - all very timely, as we're just starting off a couple of raised beds and I've recently got a greenhouse! I like your 'topical tips' section on the right too, and will definitely be popping back to read more. I'm going to try beer traps for the slugs, but I will also look into the Organic pellets you mentioned. Bye for now!

Willow

Compostwoman said...

Hello!

I can, hand on heart, say I have never had to resport to any slug measures....

I have lots of friendly birds, toads etc who eat them for me also I plant extra and accept that slugs and snails will eat a few..

and I grow plants in modules and plant them outside when they are bigger and less tender, so the damage is usually less....

and I use LOTS of pure wood ash, as they do not like to cross it.

I chuck my slugs and snails into my compost area..as in THERE, they are a benefit!

I like your blog, its good to see a blog written by another HDRA/dedicated organic gardener :-))

Anonymous said...

Thank you to Compostwoman and Tea with Willow for commenting, it's good to get feedback, not just to know someone's out there, but also to learn together hopefully.

Fortunately using the Organic Catalogue pellets doesn't seem to have led to any of my garden friends being harmed or deserting me. I regularly see toads on the plot and some birds do more digging than me, so as long as things are in that balance I can live with it.

Yes, in the compost area I just let them get on with it - I have 5 Dalek bins (I couldn't resist some council Bogof offers a while back).