[woodburner]

is there a bird/wildlife friendly slug repellant/killer?? 

That's what nematodes are. They put a dent in the food chain, but at least they aren't toxic.
The current slug pellets are supposed to be animal friendly but that's what they said about the previous sort too. 
Last year we had toads, hopefully they will have survived the winter.

[andreadon]

I was wrong, you have to be untidy according to http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o108-greatblackslug.php  (scroll down and slugs is at the bottom)
They only eat plants if you are too tidy and they have no decaying material to eat.
Maybe they started to eat the decaying flower end on your courgettes and got carried away?

That's why I don't get slugs eating my plants, then!
Lol!

My big tip is to use fir/pine cones around the plants you like to save - I assume they can't get over them.
However, this only works if you have access to a large number (like the wood next to me...  )

[RGManby]

We save egg shells all year round and bake them in the wee oven in the bottom of the rayburn, also use beer traps, I buy a can of McEwan's Export Ale for a pound, I only use half a can and the other half can be used for cooking or even drink it yourself. 
March- April start the first dose of nematodes, its an expensive option but worth it when you consider the amount of damage they cause. They are environmentally friendly and get the wee ones that do the real damage, while they are still underground.
The wife has been out this year and got frog spawn from the drainage ditches near by and put them in our newly dug drainage ditch.
Hopefully by next year we will have enough frogs and hedgehogs coming we wont need any thing else.
I like the pine cone idea but as we don't have any trees here at all, we cant try that one.

[treacleminer]

When I tried nematodes I'm sure I had a population explosion of snails   Does anyone know if this is likely - taken away their competition - or just my paranoia???

On a happier note I did find a toad hibernating in my compost heap - I reburied it quickly just hoping it survived and stays around

[dougsta]

I've gone for nematodes too
Advantage of being organic to boot
Had a little search round and cheapest I could find was Tuckers - who I use anyway - excellent company in my experience
Free delivery too

http://www.tuckers-seeds.co.uk/productsearch.php?wild=nematodes&Submit=Find

HTH

[Duracell]

Last year we used morrisons best buy bitter and they seemed to like it Also before I plant i put down cardboard for a week or so and lift it and empty it of slugs each day, this seems to help the seedlings out.

[Wombat]

Tried the Asda cheapo lager last year and didn't catch many slugs.  Cheapo bitter might be better, at least it might taste and smell more like beer.  I have this vision of slugs going on a pub crawl now!

[sunshineband]

Reading Duracell's idea about the catdboard reminded me - I had a year or two using the upside down half shells of grapefruit (after I'd eaten the grapefruit of course), checking and emptying them every morning -- got hundreds of slugs and kept the population down really well as there were far fewer to breed. Got fed up with grapefruit so the idea kind of got forgotten.

AND then my OH decided to patrol every evening with a torch and a towel, with plastic bag for his 'catch'  until he didn't come back one evening. No, our garden is not that big he'd got lost (or run off to the pub) He'd slipped a disc whilst bent over and was trapped at right angles down by the greenhouse 

Too ages to get him back indoors ....

[scotty]

thanks for all suggestions.
sounds like the nematodes will be a goer with beer traps prior to the ground heating up, go for cheapo real ale. i also think the cardboard trick sounds quite good.
the attach is on!

[Faz]

I used slates and roofing tiles near my plants last year too, and usually managed to squish a few under each one each day. I guess this misses out the majority of the little ones that live underground though!

[sunshineband]

Never actually done htis, but you could try burying half an orange skin or something and then seeing how many littl'uns you collect .... 

[scotty]

thanks sunshineband 
that would be easy to try.
they seem to have run off and hid again as the weather is cold and we have snow forcast
i well prepared now