Gardening in England - slugs conundrum ?

Author

slugs conundrum ?

Fray Bentos

2006-02-03, 12:21 pm

hello gang.
While walking home the other day I got to thinking about slugs.

In the warmer weather, I have to dodge slugs all the way down my street as
they
are out all over the pavements. Anyway, where are they in winter ?

I figured they would all be dead, and if that is so,
then where do they come from in summer?

Timothy

2006-02-07, 1:21 am

On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 16:06:03 +0000, Fray Bentos wrote:

> hello gang.
> While walking home the other day I got to thinking about slugs.
>
> In the warmer weather, I have to dodge slugs all the way down my street
> as they
> are out all over the pavements. Anyway, where are they in winter ?
>
> I figured they would all be dead, and if that is so, then where do they
> come from in summer?

Slugs can over winter as fully developed adults in hollow logs and the
like but the slugs you see are more likely from last year's eggs. Slugs
lay eggs that look like tapioca pearls and you can find these in many
different areas of the garden. Slugs are hermaphrodites and they can lay
40,000 eggs per year! Good luck getting rid of them.

--
http://resources.ywgc.com

Fray Bentos

2006-02-07, 5:21 am

"Timothy" <yardworks@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:pan.2006.02.07.05.14.09.223123@gmail.com...
> On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 16:06:03 +0000, Fray Bentos wrote:
>
>
>
> Slugs can over winter as fully developed adults in hollow logs and the
> like but the slugs you see are more likely from last year's eggs. Slugs
> lay eggs that look like tapioca pearls and you can find these in many
> different areas of the garden. Slugs are hermaphrodites and they can lay
> 40,000 eggs per year! Good luck getting rid of them.
>
> --
> http://resources.ywgc.com

We get loads in our garden.

I just sprinkle a light dusting of salt over the path every couple of days.

It seems to keep 'em at bay.

We seem to get a lot down our street.

Maybe I should step on instead of over them (squish-yuk)

Timothy

2006-02-07, 1:21 pm

On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 08:58:26 +0000, Fray Bentos wrote:

>
> "Timothy" <yardworks@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:pan.2006.02.07.05.14.09.223123@gmail.com...
[color=darkred]
>
> We get loads in our garden.
> I just sprinkle a light dusting of salt over the path every couple of
> days.
> It seems to keep 'em at bay.
> We seem to get a lot down our street.
> Maybe I should step on instead of over them (squish-yuk)

It would seem to me that the salt would do more damage than it's worth.
Over time the salt will damage the concrete and the salt run off into the
soil areas will build up.

You can set a beer trap for them that will work very well. Take a large
cup/bowl/container and bury it into the soil. The top of the container
should be a soil level. Fill the container with beer (use cheap American
beer, don't waste the good stuff..hahaha). Come back to it after a few
days and empty it into the compost. Works like a charm.

My Mother-in-law uses a bit more of a cruel but satisfying method. She
takes a spray bottle filled with a 50/50 mix of water and ammonia. A few
squirts of this and they turn into ammonia nitrate right there on the
spot. Great fertilizer!

If you have the room and time, ducks are slug eating machines. A client of
mine got a pair of ducks just for that purpose. They keep a whole acre of
land slug free.

Good luck and enjoy.
--
http://resources.ywgc.com/photo/

Bob

2006-07-18, 5:25 pm

Got to say I heard about the beer traps a while ago, and just laid one out
last night... After work today I came home and emptied it out - one small
plastic cup half full of beer had netted me about 17 big, fat slugs!

Highly recommended... unfortunately, you may find that a whole can of beer
would make the cup too full, so you might have to.... dispose of some of thw
excess beer somehow.

Cheers,
- Steve.

Simon Harding

2007-05-10, 1:25 pm

Bob wrote:
> Got to say I heard about the beer traps a while ago, and just laid one out
> last night... After work today I came home and emptied it out - one small
> plastic cup half full of beer had netted me about 17 big, fat slugs!
>
> Highly recommended... unfortunately, you may find that a whole can of beer
> would make the cup too full, so you might have to.... dispose of some of thw
> excess beer somehow.
>
> Cheers,
> - Steve.

I concur... slugs love beer and seem to gladly throw them selves into it
to drown. My wife suggested I get cheap stubby bottles of lager but I
insist they like Bitter better and the bit at the bottom of the can is
always best for slugs... how to get it from the bottom of the can to the
trap though... Happy slug hunting (hic!!!)

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