[marcofez]

I always have slug damaged potatoes and it's usually the decent sized potatoes that get it! What tips/ideas do forum users have to minimize this problem. I love my spuds but I,m considering not growing any due to me throwing lots of them out, because of this problem!

[brianc]

I always put some slug pellets in the planting hole or trench when i plant potatoes, i get very little slug damage
i also throw in some growmore as well. It definately works.

[BabbyAnn]

my advice would be to also opt for slug resistant potato varieties.  The problem with main crop potatoes is that they are in the ground for much longer so the risk is higher - I don't grow main crop now and stick to second earlies instead, and waxy salad types seem to do better  If you do need to grow main crop, I found Desiree more resistant than most others (Cara not a lot despite being labelled as such), and to lift them up as soon as you are able - the longer the tubers are in the ground, the greater the risk of slug damage.  The Sarpo Mira (blight resistant) seemed to be very good at slug resistance - shame I found them tasteless so not everyone's cup of tea.

The other factor is the weather - a long dry summer and I have very few problems, but if it's wet then the risk is so much higher.  Not sure what you can do about that though ...

i also throw in some growmore as well. It definately works.

Growmore is unlikely to affect the slugs - it is just a fertilizer.

[jaydig]

Red skinned potatoes are supposed to be more slug resistant than most others, and I agree with BabbyAnn, both Desiree and Sarpo Mira fit the bill.  I prefer Desiree as I don't particularly like the flavour of Sarpo Mira.  I found Cara, Amore and Lady Balfour very prone to slug damage on my heavyish clay, which is a shame because they are lovely spuds, but not a lot of use if they are riddled with holes.   If you are on an allotment site try asking around to find out which varieties most people have success with.  On ours we are quite happy to give, or swap a few potatoes when they are ready for harvesting so that people can taste different varieties, and it helps to decide what you might like to grow next year.

[cadalot]

Pop bottle slug traps with beer and blue pellets of death work for me to assist in keeping numbers down but this year has been really bad for slugs.

[marcofez]

Thanks for your tips, folks

[Goosegirl]

Trouble is that there are slugs that live underground in the soil as well as above, so it's not easy to control them. Cadalot's advice sounds good though!

[marcofez]

I've read that chimney soot is good for detering slugs, anyone have tried it?

[Goosegirl]

There will be tar residues in soot so it's probably not a good idea.

[cadalot]

Slugs don't like coffee grounds and they act as a fertiliser so a win win solution

[Rampant_Weasel]

There will be tar residues in soot so it's probably not a good idea.

i use it (weathered for a year ) and it helps keep them down, if its really wet you still get damage.

[fatbelly]

The only Spud that beats the slugs on my soil is Desiree.
Providing I lift them as soon as they are ready they are fine, I tried Maris Piper a few seasons ago and the crop was decimated but the Desiree in the very next row were fine, a few were slugged but only a few.

I plant my Desiree on St Patricks day and lift them mid August and have few problems. However this season because of work pressures I lifted half the crop in August which were fine and the other half in October and the slug damage was more noticeable.

So for me plant Desiree and lift when they are ready. I have also grown Romano and Mr Slug leaves them alone as well.