Slugs and Snails

Hi,
they don,t seem to touch my aqualegas or my geraniums,and if your not in the full sun, what about ferns

Dear Bren,

Thank you very much for your help.

Cheers.

LIZ

Dreaded slugs and snails! I hate them! We also seem to suffer with badly eaten plants. My clematis Dorothy Walton has been chewed to death, the foxgloves have been nibbled, the Nemesias have been nibbled, the runner beans have been nibbled. All I can think of is that slugs and snails have a better diet than we do! Things I have which haven't been eaten (yet) are Pieris, Cordeline, Geraniums, Conifers, Crocosmia, strawberries, bamboo, acer, grape vine, azalea, smoke bush and ivy. I resorted to slug pellets a couple of weeks ago as plants can be expensive and I didn't want to splash out on a new plant only to have it eaten. I have noticed an improvement but the little blighters wait til you're not watching, then creep up and munch away. Keep a close eye out for them. I check around in the morning before going to work and again in the evening after watering. I reposition the slugs and snails in a hedge (for bird food). Encourage birds to your garden and they'll clean a few up too. I don't like using pellets as we also have 3 cats who enjoy the garden as much as we do and I'm not sure they're the best solution to be honest, it's just that I was desperate! Hope I've helped a little?

Dear Greenfingers,

Thanks very much for your help.

I have been told that the pellets can harm birds if they eat the slugs and snails. I'm not sure if it's true. Do you know the answer?

Looking forward to hearing from hou.

LIZ

Good point Liz, no good poisoning other creatures. Plus, with our 3 cats, I avoid pellets usually, but I was desperate.

Ooooo - there are LOADS of plants that are not eaten by slugs - a quick list from my garden.....

IN sun:-
Cistus (loads of varieties in all shades of pink and white)
Rosemary
Lavander
Geraniums (hardy)
Euphorbias
Heucheras
Lamiums (for ground cover)
Oriental poppies (and all other species for that matter)
Phormiums (for the foliage)
Osteospurmums
Roses
Nigella / Love in a Mist (and annual that self-seeds itself)
Eryngiums
Grasses

Part Shade:-
Rhodos and azaleas
Camellias
Euphorbias
Geraniums
Dicentra

Shade:-
Ferns and ivy

I've left out 'borderline' ones, but many more would probably be Ok. If you plant MOST of your garden with plants that are not too susceptable to slugs, then the population should stabilise at a lower level than it is at current and you can then introduce the more susceptable plants - hostas, delphiniums, achilleas etc. I will be writing a blog about this soonish. Hope this helps.

Hi Liz, My fuschias seem to remain uneaten but something has scoffed most of my lilies as they come up!!

Dear Jasmine,

I have a lilly-type plant, but it isn't growing because it's been eaten. Perhaps fuschias are the answer. It's a lovely plant. I used to have a variagated one in the front garden and it was beautiful, but, until your message, I had forgotten all about it.

Thank you for your help.

Cheers.

LIZ

There is a nematode advertised in thompson and morgan that eats your slugs in the soil. I have considered buying this. Does anyone have opinions on these namatodes or even tried them.

Although I've never tried it personally, (haven't had a slug problem---knock on wood) I've always heard you could put out saucers of beer. Apparently the slugs like beer and crawl into the saucers and drown. You might try it before you start ripping up plants or using some type of poison.

Dear Dirtyfingers,

I heard about that years ago, but had forgotten. However, I shall remember in future and, if the slugs and snails destroy more plants, I shall go to the off licence!

Thanks very much.

LIZ

Your more than welcome. Glad I could help. One thing about the beer treatment, if it doesn't work you can always drown your sorrows. lol Good luck.

Dirtyfingers