By Vpatmore
United Kingdom 
I want to grow a vegetable garden of carrots, beets, tyme, parsley, tomatoes and strawberry, but I am very afraid of snails, slugs, worms and other creatures. This year I built a raise bed and used shop bought compost and the copper strips to prevent the snails from entering but they still got through. What can I do. Would a small green house eliminate the problem or am I asking for the impossible? Please, please help me. Thank you V.
10 Sep, 2011
Answers
Hi V sorry you have a phobia around worms and the like as Beattie has already suggested do ask your GP about a desensitising programme to help you with this. Without the worms and other we beasties there would be no gardens. My mother was totally neurotic when it came to spiders - something she managed to pass on to myself and my sister. Fortunately I was able to overcome that neurosis... Good luck!
10 Sep, 2011
Try to write down exactly what it is you are afraid of, and then look at your answer rationally. You may find it is simply that you can't bear the thought of touching the creatures. Nobody enjoys slug and snail slime, but there is no need to come into contact with it. They can be moved easily with a trowel and some people dispose of them like that into a bucket of salty water.
Worms you need to come to terms with as without them there would be no gardens - but again there is no need to touch them.
Copper tape won't keep them out of raised beds - it is used for putting round pots to stop them climbing over the rim.
Logically it makes no sense for a large animal like us to fear very small harmless ones, but only you can work through your fears and I'm sure we all wish you success.
Unfortunatey if you cannot teach yourself to face your fears you will have to give up the idea of growing veg, which would be a great pity.
10 Sep, 2011
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I think a small greenhouse would be a fantastic refuge for the slugs and snails, so not what you want at all. Do you use organic slug pellets? (The ones based on ferric phosphate) A light sprinkling of those applied around your garden every couple of weeks would keep the numbers of slugs and snails down.
The worms, millipedes and many other garden animals are your friends, doing useful work for you in the garden. I'm sure you know, intellectually, that there is nothing to be afraid of with these small garden animals. Have you thought of asking your GP about desensitisation or cognitive behaviour modification therapy? Your phobia must detract from your enjoyment of your garden and other lovely places.
10 Sep, 2011