Answer to the slug wars?

The little b's have eaten half my garden this summer and many new plants purchased, so fed up :( might try this, thanks Stera.

Is the aluminium container open or closed ?

I still find the sharp knife + organic bait most effective.

Aluminium is funny stuff.......years ago where I worked the measuring jugs were made of it, some water was left in one for a few days and when we found it it was full of pin sized holes where it had dissolved....
So the acid in the cucumber must cause some sort of reaction........interesting........

I'll have to get some aluminium containers ... It's worth a try. Maybe it really works ... Thanks for the suggestion :o)

I dont have any aluminium either.

it doesnt work for me :o((

slugs eaten all my cucumbers and peppers in a huge aluminium cage ie greenhouse!

Try take away containers think they are aliminium, is foil made of ali? is it tin?

I will give it a go in my raised bed as I`ve just planted it up with cabbages and broccoli...

I would guess that there is an electric charge developed between the cucumber and the aluminium that the slugs don't like. But I don't see why they don't just avoid the containers and eat the greenery round about.

Well Pam, many years ago we had an aluminium kettle and we lived in a hard water area - the kettle only lasted a couple of years. The problem doesn't happen in soft water areas.

SBG, not sure that that's quite the same thing!

Grandmage, I think they are - we used to save them for al collections for guide dogs.

Lincslass - new problem is caterpillars - visitor last week and lots of rainy days meant i didn't keep an eye on the broccoli - now its like lace! Why do we bother???

Bulba - sound likely, but there must be another effect as well if it really does deter the little monsters.

Anyway, if anyone finds it does work I'm sure we would all like to know!

Gluttons for punishment Stera..

lol.

Found an interesting article yesterday 27/8, Quote....
''desperate gardeners will try every trick in the book to prevent their plants being obliterated by the scourge of slugs, but those who use a popular method to protect their plants are in fact breaking the law, Brussels bureaucrats have ruled that gardeners who sprinkle coffee grounds around their plants are BREAKING THE LAW'' ''This homemade solution contravenes the EU regulations on pesticides!!!!!!!! meaning....that any product, ingredient or chemical not on the EU list of pesticides is wrong and subject to a fine''.
It is apparently illegal as well to use soft soap on plants to kill aphids!!
So watch out folk if using cucumber that might also be deemed to be illegal. LOL.
Thought Stera, you would find this interesting!

Well well well - most of us are criminals then...
But of course the coffee is just a refreshing drink for the bushes, and the soft soap is just to clean the leaves up!

and the cucumber??? Lol whatever next, flaming EU regs....

Have tried the beer in a container this year and found it worked a treat.....they died happy anyway.....

Sorry, Rosy, beer is not an approved pesticide! see you in court ;-))))

Lol! ;))

I wonder if Aliminium is on that list too??

Anyway, I actually got around to trying it last week. I went out to the veg plot next day to see what had happened - and something had taken all the cucumber!! So instead of deterred slugs I think I must have a crowd of happy little mousies!
Truly you can't win at this game.