Sallygarden Smallholding - The Forum For Sustainable Living

What do others do to deter slugs?

I'm about to lay a few beer traps in the polytunnel and the outdoor raised beds. Does anybody use the organic slug pellets? If so, do you find them effective?

Can you encourage frogs to the garden? We have masses of frogs (the house is surrounded by water) and very few slugs. I just throw them into the field next door - although maybe now I should keep them in a pot and give them to the chooks?

Hi Jean

Our ground is very damp (great for slugs) so yes I could dig a small area out and line it to form a little pond to encourage frogs. Thanks for that, the idea had crossed my mind last year but I'd totally forgotten again! I shall put it at the rear entrance to the polytunnel.

Has anybody tried the copper wire around the veg bed methods to deter slugs? How does that work?

And oh, I tried feeding slugs to our hens and they hated it! I think ducks like slugs though so we may look into getting a couple of those if I can open up a little route to the stream that runs beside us.

Interesting about the copper. I found a company that made copper tools (or that had copper in them) and apparently it does help with slugs.

I was going to get a couple for my husband's birthday but then saw the price of them! They are built for life but the bank still wouldn't come up with a mortgage!

I used some organic pellets from Growing Success - they were bird & hedgehog friendly, child-safe and very effective

However I can't use them now as the hens pick them up - I only use them where the hens can't get.

Not seen them for sale here - brought them from the UK with me - though I have seen other Growing Success products widely available

Hi Twinkle

I found those pellets in our local garden centre, they are organic, iron based. I've put them in the polytunnel and luckily our raised beds are now fenced off from the chickens so I'll use it there too.

I bought some gel today designed to deter slugs. Will give it a go and if that doesn't work we may have to go with the pond idea.
-Kirstie

I tried the gel, it didn't work.

We have 8 slug pubs in a relatively small space and they are all kept busy, all the time.

Yes looks as though you are right. There were a couple of slug trails across the gel this morning, although many of the plants have already been decimated so it's hard to tell if they faired any better.
-Kirstie

honestly. khaki campbells, nothing like it!

we have no slugs in the garden! of course we now have to protect plants from ducks. we have a small fence around the veg patch about knee high, which is enough to keep them (2 khaki campbells) away, and the slugs just don't get a foot in the door.

not sure how it work in the countryside, where there's foxes, maybe you could keep them in a safe area at night (ours have a house but choose not to use it, they sleep under the stars...) during the day you could let them roam, they are great foragers.
even if they don't go into the polytunnel, if they forage around the polytunnel they keep the slugs from going in!

We have a fox roaming about. Saw one for the first time the other day on the land next door. Although I think our dogs are likely to be more of a problem for roaming ducks/chickens etc.
Could I just grow more so that there is enough for slugs and us, or does the slug population just increase and eat more?
-Kirstie

hm, not sure, but i'd say, more slugfood - more slugs!
you could keep ducks in a foxproof run and just let them out once a day to deal with the slugs?