War on slugs

Welcome to our very own battle against the garden's oldest enemies, the slug and snail. To guide you through this battle we have published the works of one of our very own members, Jo Palmer. Read through her tips and hints and see if you can use her findings to banish slugs and snails from your garden.

"Not in my garden"...... a determined gardeners guide to slug and snail free plants

I became interested in gardening in my late 40's when I moved into a cottage in Cornwall. A few house moves later I ended up in Woolfardisworthy (Woolsery), North Devon. I found myself in an idyllic setting - peace and quiet, the village church over the hawthorn hedge, a garden drenched in sun (or rain!), and where wildlife abounded.

The first thing we did that February/March was to start urgently digging out a garden pond - I had left behind 46 fish and numerous frogs which the new owners of our previous house did not want. Suffice to say that the pond was dug as quickly as possible - albeit with a pick axe into frozen, stony ground - and livestock and plants duly transferred (I think they're getting used to being moved around in dustbins!).

My garden varies from 21' - 40' wide, is 90' long, and of irregular shape! I soon discovered that the soil was clay (ideal for slugs and snails!) - I sloshed across the grass when it had rained, and avoided the large cracks which appeared in the Summer! Apart from one small border under the kitchen window, and a weeping willow, the 'garden' had hardly been touched by human hands for 20 years! (I'm still clearing 'field' grass years later!).

My interest in gardening grew as I attempted various planting schemes - all haphazard and most supplying nouveau cuisine for the slug/snail population! As I gradually filled the garden with flowers, shrubs, vegetables, and more pond plants (and learned about bindweed and couch grass!) I noticed an increase in the wildlife population! But I soon learned that all the frogs, toads, slow worms, and hedgehogs in the area were not a match for the ever-increasing population of slugs and snails!!

Slug pellets were out of the question ( by now I was becoming more ecologically aware) and I have a Westie (who eats anything!), and 2 cats. I turned to alternative methods to rid myself of my slimy, uninvited guests: collecting them by torchlight in the dead of night (into a bucket of salty water!), cutting them in half (yuk!) and leaving them for the birds, beer traps (do they die happy?), and disposing of them ½ a mile away (they come back!). But I just knew they were living in the safety of the churchyard by day - and romping through the hedge into my garden by night - with devastating results!

So I started to grow Fuchsias (they did not touch them I noticed!), and instead of trying to protect the plants I liked (and so did they!) I began to fill my garden with plants they did not eat.

Slugs and snails

Know yourself; Be warned - if you are trying to eradicate slugs and snails from your garden forever you will never do it! Accept that, like a bad penny, they will keep turning up - but eventually some of them may get the message that your garden is not the best dinner table, and will move on to 'greener' pastures!

Help yourself - not them; Keep your garden clear of rubbish. Water your garden (soil rather than plants) as early in the day as possible as watering in the evening encourages slugs and snails to overnight grazing! Check cold frames and greenhouses regularly. Slugs and snails love 'young', 'tender' growth, so grow plants larger and harden off well before transplanting. Mulches (and bark chippings!) attract them by providing food and shelter!!

The battle against slugs

Where slugs and snails live and hide

• Slugs and snails live in damp, shady places, among plants, and plant debris (like compost heaps!). They spend the daytime and dry times under sheds, stones, pots, plastic, etc. To reduce slug and snail numbers keep your garden tidy - don't leave pots and trays lying around the garden.
• Reduce garden shade if possible.
• Put compost heaps away from growing areas.
• Regularly inspect the underside of benches, pots, trays, plastic, water hoses, and in cold frames and greenhouses.

Barriers to protect plants

• Bare soil in dry weather (water plants early morning only).
• Fresh dry soot, soot/cinder and dry ashes (renew after rain).
• Sharp sand or grit.
• Sharp leaves like holly and thistles.
• Crushed egg shells (baked hard in an oven).
• Chopped hair.
• Cotton wool tied around individual stems.
• Large clear lemonade/water bottles without top or bottom (i.e. an mini-individual cloche).
• Wind a piece of copper wire around the pot (slugs/snails are repelled by a small electric shock).
• Spray the outside of the pot with WD40.
• Stand pots on a sharp gravel bed.
• Companion plant garlic, lavender, wormwood, all thymes, common sage, hyssop, stinging nettles and borage to repel slugs and snails.

Traps

• As well as buying commercial plastic traps, you can make your own.
• Shallow dishes/containers full of beer, or a weak sugar solution.
• Hollow out half an orange or grapefruit skin, potato or turnip and place on the ground hollow side down, or use large cabbage, lettuce or rhubarb leaves (then dispose of the live slugs/snails!!).
• Encourage natural predators of the slug and snail, these include frogs, song thrushes, ground beetles, centipedes, common shrew, slow worms and the common newt.

Collecting and hand-picking

This is not a job for the faint-hearted - I know, I've done it! Get a torch (a fishing torch that straps around your head is ideal!), a bucket of water, a pair of tongs or gardening gloves, and go hunting! Drop slugs/snails in bucket of water and leave overnight. Empty resulting mixture onto a compost heap, but beware - it can smell awful!