[smellykipper]

Hi guys, how do you all go about keep slugs off of your raised beds and out of the pollytunnel, they little things eat most of the greens i grew last year but not once did i find one  does copper around the perimeter work ?

SK

[mumofstig]

Slugs don't have to cross a perimeter - they live in the soil 

I find I have to use the blue pellets of death if I want to harvest much.

[3 allotments]

Yes blue pellets and/or beer traps

[Lesleyk]

Blue pellets of death for me too, although I had some success with the "organic" pellets - trouble is they are more difficult to come by and cost more!  Tried other methods, including beer traps and barriers of various kinds but nothing else seems to work.

[adri123]

When will we need to start using the blue pellets?

Adri

[Lardman]

When will we need to start using the blue pellets?

Why would you stop? I have a scattering around the greenhouses all the time - I hates slugs !

[grinling]

beetles.if using in a raised bed, move them every other day.
scissors
porridge oats

[beesrus]

Blue pellets. The "organic" ones. However, this year I have just noticed those pellets put down in the greenhouse have been spirited away several times by something. Too many to be very hungry slugs. I guess it can only be ants or rodents in the greenhouse. Anybody else have this problem of organic pellets disappearing over night ? They smell sweeter than the old pellets.

[brianbishop]

They are more expensive but I find nematodes really do work.Bish

[Lesleyk]

Nematodes did nothing to stop my slugs - of course, I may have applied them incorrectly.....

[Dabhand]

I have success with the organic slug pellets by Beyer.  Cant remember offhand but I think it's ferric phosphate rather than Methaldehide.  You can get them in Wilco's for the same price. 

[finleyfreyaseth]

beer traps are great £1 for 4 cans in a..a t....o.

[Eightball]

Those "organic" slug pellets don't just contain ferric phosphate. That's the active ingredient but there are other things that help the active ingredient work. Out of interest does it say what else is contained in the slug pellets on the packet? From my research they seem to contain a chelating agent such as EDTA or EDDS which allows the iron to be released in the slugs during digestion. Killing the slug of iron poisoning.

This study http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~soilecol/Full%20articles/2008/Crop%20Protection%2028.pdf seems to show that EDTA/EDDS has a detrimental effect on earthworms.

Just food for thought. I have a general distrust for pesticide/herbicide companies All about money.

I have had some success with copper tape on a small scale. I.e around the base of my plastic blow away greenhouse, granted it's cited on concrete so the slugs can't come up through any soil. I also have some around the edge of my raised beds and it seemed to have helped. Also hand picking them off at night as they are way more active at night. They hide in the day.

[lettice]

Make your own nematodes for slugs, it works very well.
I use all over my potato crop and never see a slug.
This article a few years back is the method I use, but I use a large bucket with a lid.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningequipment/8675592/The-war-on-slugs-starts-at-home.html

Around the garden, instead of beer traps, I mix some easy bake yeast I use for making bread.
I empty out many a slug and snail each week that have dived in there.

I use the blue pellets in the covered areas, raised beds and greenhouse, they do their job very well.
The organic ones (Growing Success Advanced) I use around the garden where the animals and cats go. The organic ones are not really that effective and are expensive, so a mix like I use works for me.

[smellykipper]

i have put 6mm copper rod all the way around the raised bed in the pt and all the way around the pt and i have not seen one inside yet, but have saw a few climbing over the top of the pt covering, fingers crassed that it stays like this, thankyou all for your replies

SK