Slugs

Four years ago my back garden consisted of a lawn and patio. Every so often you would see slug trails. Not many, there was nothing for them to eat.

The first year we decided to grow veg, my partner built me a raised bed. The one we call the main veg bed.
We ordered top soil to fill the beds & then i smeared vasaline around the beds to help ward off the slugs & off i went to sow & plant.
That first year we had minimal damage. The slugs have found us now & wont leave.

I refuse to use slug pellets outside. We have fields to the back of us full of wildlife. We have a lot of birds visiting the garden & have also seen hedgehogs.

When i have the wildlife pond put in i hope to attract some frogs. I would hate to kill any of the wildlife that comes into my garden. Apart from the slugs of course. We have a thrush who takes care of the snails, some of them anyway. We find piles of broken shells.

Back to the slugs, i have read that a slug can produce upto 500 eggs a year. I have also read that some slugs can live upto 5 years.

Armed with a bucket of salty water, we go on a slug hunt at night. If my partner happens to be on nights, he can be found at 2-3am with a headlamp, searching.

Over the last ten days we have found & drowned about 600 slugs. And i have small garden. Thankfully, imagine searching 1/2 an acre.

Now the sums, 600 slugs drowned x 500 possible eggs produced by each live slug. I have saved my plants from a possible 300000 slugs.

Doesn't bear thinking about does it.

Tags: Wildlife

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Comment by Flighty on July 12, 2012 at 8:03: It's been a bad year for slugs, and snails, which is not surprising as the weather has been ideal for them.

You're lucky to have seen hedgehogs, and to have thrushes around as both are most welcome. Get a small pond to encourage frogs and/or toads into your garden and they will make a considerable difference.

Wellywoman's post The Usual Suspects about interesting reading, as do the comments.

Comment by Paul Hearne on July 12, 2012 at 12:25: I've been fortunate (so far) and it's only really my pea that has been attacked so i'm hoping it statys that way with what little I am growing.

Comment by Colin Robinson on July 12, 2012 at 22:07: I have plenty of frogs and a few hedgehogs in the garden plus an abundance of birds but this year they simply haven't been able to keep pace with the sheer numbers of slugs. Pellets are always a last resort for me but when it's a choice between crops and no crops I use them sparingly to try and even up the odds.

Comment by Joanne on July 13, 2012 at 6:40: Its raining here today, so no doubt the slugs will be out in force later. I do scatter the odd pellet on pots in the greenhouse if i notice the pepper/melon or cucumber leaves have been nibbled.