jww wrote:
my neighbour says if i put my 'slug chewed' plant in a pot and then
stand the pot in a saucer and smear the saucer edge with Vaseline, the
slugs wont cross over the vaseline. any truth in this please? or any
other recommendations of what arrangement to stand the pot in
please? thanks

I had so many plants slaughtered by slugs last year so decided to try the
anti-slug nematodes this year.
I have to say that it was a great success. All the plants normally stunted
by
slugs early in the season are thriving. Eight weeks on I just noticed a
return of the slugs, so I have just ordered another batch of nematodes.

I was worried that doing this would kill off the food supply to the many
frogs
in the garden but they too seem to be doing very well.

Slatts

Mary Fisher wrote in message
t...


either copper strip or if you have a QD shop near you, they sell crushed
seashells which you sprinkle around the plants which slugs don't like to
cross cos the shards poke them in their little sluggy tummies.

I tried that, it didn't work.

I have a large source of crushed eggshells which are sometimes suggested,
they didn't work either.

Perhaps yours have little kevlar slug tummy vests? The crushed seashell and
crushed eggshell works just fine for me. I grow hostas, luopins and all
sorts of slug favourites here very sucsessfully. The slugs are about cos
when I let the dogs out for their last piddle I see them on the concrete
path. Ginormous black ones and reddish brown ones nearly 3 inches long.They
just don't eat my plants.

"fenwoman" wrote in message
...

Mary Fisher wrote in message
t...


either copper strip or if you have a QD shop near you, they sell
crushed
seashells which you sprinkle around the plants which slugs don't like
to
cross cos the shards poke them in their little sluggy tummies.

I tried that, it didn't work.

I have a large source of crushed eggshells which are sometimes suggested,
they didn't work either.

Perhaps yours have little kevlar slug tummy vests?

Well of course they're not their tummies, they're feet. When you consider
what they move along - concrete, sharp faced stone, soil itself, I'm not
surprised that shells don't work.

The crushed seashell and
crushed eggshell works just fine for me. I grow hostas, luopins and all
sorts of slug favourites here very sucsessfully. The slugs are about cos
when I let the dogs out for their last piddle I see them on the concrete
path. Ginormous black ones and reddish brown ones nearly 3 inches
long.They
just don't eat my plants.

We get those too. The hens see to the smaller ones when they see them - but
the hens aren't allowed in the veg plots. I don't have hostas or lupins
(aphids saw lupins off my favourite list!) and in fact the huge slugs aren't
a problem for my veg, it's the little grey ones which have a taste for good
food :-)

Mary

"Sla#s" wrote in message
...
jww wrote:


I had so many plants slaughtered by slugs last year so decided to try the
anti-slug nematodes this year.
I have to say that it was a great success. All the plants normally stunted
by
slugs early in the season are thriving. Eight weeks on I just noticed a
return of the slugs, so I have just ordered another batch of nematodes.

Nemaslug is very effective but a bit faffy (timing and conditions have to be
right and they often don't so-incide with our life) and it's expensive.
What's more, you can't use it in the winter and my cabbages grow through the
winter. I have no experience of hostas.

Mary

fenwoman writes

Mary Fisher wrote in message
et...


either copper strip or if you have a QD shop near you, they sell crushed
seashells which you sprinkle around the plants which slugs don't like to
cross cos the shards poke them in their little sluggy tummies.

I tried that, it didn't work.

I have a large source of crushed eggshells which are sometimes suggested,
they didn't work either.

Perhaps yours have little kevlar slug tummy vests? The crushed seashell and
crushed eggshell works just fine for me. I grow hostas, luopins and all
sorts of slug favourites here very sucsessfully. The slugs are about cos
when I let the dogs out for their last piddle I see them on the concrete
path. Ginormous black ones and reddish brown ones nearly 3 inches long.They
just don't eat my plants.

The large ones are mainly detritus eaters. It's the smaller species that
do most damage to plants.


--
Kay

Mary Fisher writes


Well of course they're not their tummies, they're feet.

Gastropod = tummy-foot


--
Kay

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Sla#s" wrote in message
...
jww wrote:


I had so many plants slaughtered by slugs last year so decided to try the
anti-slug nematodes this year.
I have to say that it was a great success. All the plants normally
stunted
by
slugs early in the season are thriving. Eight weeks on I just noticed a
return of the slugs, so I have just ordered another batch of nematodes.

Nemaslug is very effective but a bit faffy (timing and conditions have to
be right and they often don't so-incide with our life) and it's expensive.
What's more, you can't use it in the winter and my cabbages grow through
the winter. I have no experience of hostas.

Mary
Hi Mary,

the copper ring idea sounds like it's worth a try - I have a really bad
slug/snail problem. Could you just explain how you set the rings on/in the
soil. I presume you don't lay them flat, but poke them into the soil so
they protrude upwards....am I understanding it right?

Jo

"Jo" wrote in message news:448dd1c9$0$69382

the copper ring idea sounds like it's worth a try - I have a really bad
slug/snail problem. Could you just explain how you set the rings on/in
the soil. I presume you don't lay them flat, but poke them into the soil
so they protrude upwards....am I understanding it right?

Think of a straight sided flower pot with no bottom but made of a flat piece
of copper metal bent round into an overlapping ring, you have the thing.

I put the ring onto my arm, over my hand, then hold the leaves of the plant
together with my fingers and allow the ring to slide over my hand and the
plant. Then I move it round, backwards and forwards in a circular motion,
into the soil for about half to one inch deep.

I hope this helps.

Mary

Jo

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Jo" wrote in message news:448dd1c9$0$69382

the copper ring idea sounds like it's worth a try - I have a really bad
slug/snail problem. Could you just explain how you set the rings on/in
the soil. I presume you don't lay them flat, but poke them into the
soil so they protrude upwards....am I understanding it right?

Think of a straight sided flower pot with no bottom but made of a flat
piece of copper metal bent round into an overlapping ring, you have the
thing.

I put the ring onto my arm, over my hand, then hold the leaves of the
plant together with my fingers and allow the ring to slide over my hand
and the plant. Then I move it round, backwards and forwards in a circular
motion, into the soil for about half to one inch deep.

I hope this helps.

Mary

Jo

Aah, I get it, but how but how tall is the ring...the whole height of the
plant or just a couple of inches?
I have just explained to hubby who thinks it sounds a good idea too....and
there's an electrical wholesalers near his workplace that sells copper
bonding strip!

Jo

On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:38:49 +0100, "fenwoman"
wrote:


Mary Fisher wrote in message
et...


either copper strip or if you have a QD shop near you, they sell crushed
seashells which you sprinkle around the plants which slugs don't like to
cross cos the shards poke them in their little sluggy tummies.

I tried that, it didn't work.

I have a large source of crushed eggshells which are sometimes suggested,
they didn't work either.

Perhaps yours have little kevlar slug tummy vests? The crushed seashell and
crushed eggshell works just fine for me. I grow hostas, luopins and all
sorts of slug favourites here very sucsessfully. The slugs are about cos
when I let the dogs out for their last piddle I see them on the concrete
path. Ginormous black ones and reddish brown ones nearly 3 inches long.They
just don't eat my plants.

My new runners have nice slug friendly crushed shells and they don't
seem to mind walking over it, judging by the number of plain stalks I
now have. ;-(

Maybe these London slugs are just 'ard' ..?

Copper rings now methinks ..

All the best ..

T i m

"T i m" wrote:

Maybe these London slugs are just 'ard' ..?
Copper rings now methinks ..

---
Hi T i m,
After having most of my potted up seedlings snail savaged, I recently
stripped a few lengths of heavy duty, spare electric cabling. I cut the
exposed copper wire into 2ft. lengths and spiralled each round a few pots
containing those plants still worth saving. To stop the wire from slipping
down each pot, I bent the top of each spiralled wire over the pot rim. The
whole job took me most of one morning last week, but so far, it works!
Not one chewed leaf since. :-))

MikeCT

"MikeCT" wrote in message
...

"T i m" wrote:

Maybe these London slugs are just 'ard' ..?
Copper rings now methinks ..

---
Hi T i m,
After having most of my potted up seedlings snail savaged, I recently
stripped a few lengths of heavy duty, spare electric cabling. I cut the
exposed copper wire into 2ft. lengths and spiralled each round a few pots
containing those plants still worth saving. To stop the wire from slipping
down each pot, I bent the top of each spiralled wire over the pot rim. The
whole job took me most of one morning last week, but so far, it works!
Not one chewed leaf since. :-))

MikeCT






I had the chimney swept over the winter and the sweep gave me a bucketful of
the gritty soot stuff that came out. He said that it was an excellent
deterrent against snails. I haven't tried it yet - I'm a bit wary of
spreading chimney sweepings all over the garden!
Trefor

On Thu, 31 May 2007 21:54:23 +0100, "Trefor Jones"
wrote:


"MikeCT" wrote in message
...

"T i m" wrote:

Maybe these London slugs are just 'ard' ..?
Copper rings now methinks ..

---
Hi T i m,
After having most of my potted up seedlings snail savaged, I recently
stripped a few lengths of heavy duty, spare electric cabling. I cut the
exposed copper wire into 2ft. lengths and spiralled each round a few pots
containing those plants still worth saving. To stop the wire from slipping
down each pot, I bent the top of each spiralled wire over the pot rim. The
whole job took me most of one morning last week, but so far, it works!
Not one chewed leaf since. :-))

MikeCT






I had the chimney swept over the winter and the sweep gave me a bucketful of
the gritty soot stuff that came out. He said that it was an excellent
deterrent against snails. I haven't tried it yet - I'm a bit wary of
spreading chimney sweepings all over the garden!
Trefor

Someone told me yesterday to use 'horticultural gravel' (sharper than
yer average gravel apparently) ;-)

I did go into an electrical wholesaler yesterday to get some copper
strip of some sort but they were very busy and I had stuff to do.

My runners and now in the ground (but only 1' tall) and I was
wondering if I could use the 2.5mm copper wire idea but on the ground.
I was thinking of coiling it up round a rod of some sort so it looks
like a long spring (or barbless wire) and then joining it back to
itself in a loop / ring but wondered if they would climb underneath
the 'turns' if they ended up a bit 'open'?

Maybe I could solder a single hoop of wire to the coil top / bottom to
finish it off?

I think I'll try some earthling strip first ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

On 31 May, 15:53, "MikeCT" wrote:
"T i m" wrote:

Maybe these Londonslugsare just 'ard' ..?
Copper rings now methinks ..
I tried this last year with newly planted out beans etc.I used old lemonade bottles wrapped in copper wire but everything got eaten within a week! This year I used copper tape around the same bottles and so far everything has survived.
Wendy
---
Hi T i m,
After having most of my potted up seedlings snail savaged, I recently
stripped a few lengths of heavy duty, spare electric cabling. I cut the
exposed copper wire into 2ft. lengths and spiralled each round a few pots
containing those plants still worth saving. To stop the wire from slipping
down each pot, I bent the top of each spiralled wire over the pot rim. The
whole job took me most of one morning last week, but so far, it works!
Not one chewed leaf since. :-))

MikeCT

On 1 Jun, 08:32, T i m wrote:
Maybe I could solder a single hoop of wire to the coil top / bottom to
finish it off?

All sounds so so complicated. I've used copper rings for years now.
Every year I've bought some and I've now got enough to protect my
young seedlings and then move them about for the new one as I go
along. I've used copper strips with sticky back on pots and trough and
even on canes. It really works. A friend has bought herself some
copper hand tools (for the magnetism it gives to the soil but also as
a slug deterrent) and they have now become widely used. However, if
your plant hangs out of the loop, you'll provide a bridge for slugs
and snails, or if you leave a gap they'll go through it. I've recently
seen a picture of a slug going over a razor blade with no problem.
Makes you think what they can do!

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/slugextra.htm
http://www.slugrings.co.uk/
http://www.rootrainers.co.uk/gardene...ls/coppertools