"Kate Morgan" wrote in message
o.uk...

I have never had so many as this year but most are concentrated in one
area, tonight I looked and they were all crawling around on the wall,
all tiny ones, I don't know, goes off to bed scratching head

kate

Kate - For years my hostas have been decimated by snails whatever I
tried - even laying slug pellets before the shoots opened.

This year I tried a garlic wash which was posted on Martin Lewis' Money
Saving Expert web site and so far have had very little damage to the
leaves.
Obviously not a scientific test but it may be worth a try?
I have posted the recipe below.
I use a house plant mister to spray them rather than a watering can as I
find this sticks to the leaves better.
I also make it a bit stronger than suggested and spray every week
Good luck!
Jeff
NE England

'Get two bulbs of garlic, and smoosh them with a rolling pin...take out
your frustration on them. Put them in 2 pints of water, and simmer for
one hour. Let the liquid cool, and strain into a container. Use one
tablespoon of the liquid to one gallon of water. Use first thing in
spring as the hostas are peeking through the ground. One use of this is
supposed to be sufficient, but I use it maybe every two months. Use it on
any plant that is suseptible (spelling?) to slug attack'


I'd forgotten all about this garlic method and I'm now glad to be reminded.
It was once featured on GW when the show visited a Hosta specialist nursery
somewhere and the proprietor said she used this method to ensure her plants
were always slug free.
Wish I'd remembered cos my hostas are now bare-stemmed uglies.
vsop