Re: Slug repellants - eggshells

Nematodes are good. Beer traps? They work but leave the lip a bit above the ground or beetles and other beneficial insects may also get trapped.

Re: Slug repellants - eggshells

Ducks are the answer.

They will clear your garden of snails in no time. When I bought this house it had a lot of miniature bamboo along the fence line (took years to get rid of the damn stuff), at night walking down the lawn you were accompanied by the crunch of crushed snails as you stepped on them.

Within weeks the snails were all gone and I used to look out for them on my walks with my dog to bring some home for the ducks.

The antics of ducks will endlessly amuse you and the eggs are far tastier than chickens.

Re: Slug repellants - eggshells

Bruce I would love ducks,and their eggs. But so would my dog and cats and the local foxes. Even in an enclosure they would have no peace.

Re: Slug repellants - eggshells

I had a Border Collie and geese at the time and they all got on fine but later I noticed that the birds were all getting a bit thin. I kept an eye on what was happening and discovered that when it thought I was away the dog was herding the geese and ducks into a corner and kept them there, after a while he would move them all to a different corner and so on. The poor birds got little time to eat. I had to tell the dog off very severely but he got the message.

Thereafter the ducks used to wait until he was lying down on the grass then they would come and sit on him. They always seemed to get on quite well.

Re: Slug repellants - eggshells

wood ash around the plant may discourage slugs

Re: Slug repellants - eggshells

I have also heard that coffee grounds deter them but personally I think they are the devil's disciples and nothing will stop them.

Unless you can get a family of hedgehogs to move into the garden. But then you would need to put out dog food for them and the garden would be full of stray dogs. Much noisier than slugs.

BTW......... do you know they have a homing instinct? Slugs, not dogs. I proved this some years back when I took them from the garden and watched the bloody things turn and head right back. So, even if you are lifting them at night, you will need to kill them.

I also saw a neighbours cat in my garden eat one last year. I have no idea why as the poor thing retched as it kept trying to swallow it. I am pretty sure that was not good for it but I was not stopping it. It was one less slug for me.