those pesky slugs

[Hayhoe]

I'm trying to keep an organic vegetable patch so I'm reluctant to use slug pellets, but the slippery creatures are driving me round the bend. Every morning I do a trip round the garden to catch a bunch and snip them in half, but the missus says they will multiply into two slugs. Is this true? If you cut a slug in half will it turn into two slugs? If so, where's the best place to snip them? Just behind the head?

Hope some of you ABs can help me out

[Nevin]

What a coincidence Hayhoe! I've just asked the same question on Animals and Nature.

[Lindy Loo]

No they don't fortunately, but garden worms do! I've heard that grit, ash and sand are good for detering the little b*ggers, but have never tried it myself. (I tend to use the pellets). Another way to kill slugs is to use household salt! It is a very messy way of dealing with the problem (any school boy knows!) but very effective!!

 

Good luck with your venture.

[inicholson]

A suggestion that was given to me was to use a 'slug pub'. You can get them in most Garden Centres/DIY stores.

All you do is part bury a pot with some beer in the bottom of it. The slugs cannot resist, crawl in and drown. Whne I first started using one there were literally 30 or 40 of them in there. Not very pleaseant to empty but do seem to do the trick

[BenDToy]

I have been told that if you put out some bran flakes they will eat them and then "pass away". The way I was told this made me think that the passing away was not as peaceful as it sounds.

[DorsetJay]

I found that the best (and probably most humane) way of killing slugs is dig a pond. A little extreme, but the frogs that live in my pond all come out at night, and i have noticed a significant reduction in the slug population of my garden. Even my organic lettuce was untouched!

[doorknob]

I used to give my toddlers a penny for each slug/snail they found.  Worked a treat until they expanded their area of operation to take in the rest of the street!   Since then I have tried most things and pellets are definitely the more sucessful.  I think Gardeners World advocated putting down an old square of carpet each night then collecting up all the nasties found underneath in the morning.  You'll never ged rid of them all and over the years you get to know which varieties of plants/veg that they avoid and you concentrate on growing those.

good luck,  DK

[Newt]

Hayhoe,
You should find this interesting.

http://www.nomoreslugs.com/about/species.php

http://www.ghorganics.com/page13.html

[NiaXela]

You will get rid of them, trust me, but it will take time. Firstly if you are going organic, then as things settle down, their natural preditors will do the job, largley, for you. Until then though what you need is a torch, a nightly walkround with a plastic bag and a strong stomach. We tried this method in a large overgrown neglected (originally Victorian) garden and I can guarantee it works. We had thousands of slugs to start with and managed to reduce them to manageable numbers. Always plant a few extra for the birds and the slugs and you can protect choice specimens with a ring of sharp sand. Hope this helps. Happy hunting!

[Jules001]

we have got quite a large strawberry bed in our garden and to protect them from slugs and snails we have built a raised bed and edged it with copper sheet metal. Apparently they don't like crossing it and our strawberries are safe