[rowlandwells]

we cut some cabbage the other day and they where full of slugs despite me putting slug pellets down is it a bad year for slugs or am I not using the rite stuff to rid  us of those damn critters

a fellow  gardener and friend of ours has a lovely crop of brassicas on his allotment has no slugs or aphid damage puts our brassicas  to shame and although netted its not completely netted all over the crop just sides and top with some spaces but even so the crop is perfect

so how do you do it Stanley well he said he sprays the plants a day before planting  out and this method seems to work for him so I'm going with his method from now on bought the appropriate spray so I'm going to give it a try I have used my own garlic spray in the past and it did seem to work on those dreaded white fly caterpillars but this season it looks like slugs are the problem already had problems with aphids but it looks like spraying has done the trick for them so how are you all coping with slugs?

[mumofstig]

Yes, it seems a bad year for the little blighters - I had 4 cucumber plant killed in 1 night, despite slug pellets  They ate right through the stems 
I really don't know what the answer is....

[coldandwindy]

More slugs than usual here this year. Doing everything I normally do & not making a dent in the numbers. Was a mild winter & now very wet.
Is that garlic spray your friend is using? Never tried that. Presumably only works in dry weather? 

[rowlandwells]

I wrote this topic this morning but it seems it didn't appear on site for some reason or another so start again
when we  cut some cabbage the other day we found quite a few slugs nesting in the leaves having caused damage to the cabbage although we managed to salvage some of the cabbage it was nevertheless annoying what damage these damn pests had done

I talked to a professional gardener and friend of ours who has a brilliant crop of brassicas only has side netting and a net on the top not even  environment netting or completely covered not a mark on um so how do you do it Stanley well he told me he sprays all his brassicas plants a day before planting

so I've bought some  spray he has recommended and I'm going with his advise spray prior to planting I have sprayed my brassicas in the past with garlic spray when I've seen the white butterfly active and I sprayed for aphids that has worked but slugs that's another thing to deal with I did put some slug pellets down when I planted out the plants so is the slug pellets I'm using not effective?  has anyone got the same problem with there brassicas

[mumofstig]

You posted it in Greenhouses this morning RW 
I've merged them into GYO, which I think is where you want it to be?

[Subversive_plot]

If you have an abundance of mint, I've heard spreading a mulch of mint around plants repels snails and slugs.

[Hampshire Hog]

I think we have to acknowledge that the new slug pellets don’t work half as well as the old ones. I have found slug damage and slugs in my lettuce despite a generous number of the new iron based pellets. Perhaps we’ll have to try a torch and despatching them at night. 

[Snow]

Was an extremely mild winter so they are in abundance unfortunately.  I got two spring greens out of about 12 planted. Have lost 6 winter squash so far thankfully the other 6 have taken off.

[cc]

My method is to use the old slug pellets. I have stocked up with them. Probably 20 years worth. I use them under netting..

[cc]

I think we have to acknowledge that the new slug pellets don’t work half as well as the old ones. I have found slug damage and slugs in my lettuce despite a generous number of the new iron based pellets. Perhaps we’ll have to try a torch and despatching them at night.

I have my doubts they work at all. I read somewhere they take a week. In that time they could have destroyed your crop and bred another million plus slugs

[Hampshire Hog]

I’m afraid you may be right cc I’ve just found another slug in a lettuce harvested this morning. Only good news is the lettuce was so big that I could extract the undamaged leaves and dispatch the slug. You could say that the bits of lettuce he ate comprised his last supper!!

[rowlandwells]

its clear that these new slug pellets are unfortunately not working so what's the answer there must be something out there that's available to stop these pest's

a fellow gardener  told me today that ferric phosphate was a good slug killer  so if anyone has any suggestions what one mite try give us a shout

and as for the garlic spray it seems to work better in dry conditions better sprayed on a dry day so it has a chance to dry on the leaves well that's what I found and i also sprayed the soil at the base of the plant that did seem to help as well a suggestion mite be to try  spraying  in the evening  when these damn slugs come out to feed could be worth a try 

also thanks Mum for rectifying my silly mistake brain now in gear hopefully 

[Aunt Sally]

Metaldehyde containing slug pellets have been banned because of their danger to wildlife.  I’m not happy to break the law by stockpiling and using them.  I’ve used Growing Success Advanced Slug Killer, which contains ferric phosphate, for years with good results.

[Plot 1 Problems]

I've also been using ferric phosphate pellets for the last two years and had very few problems with slugs.

[JayG]

If you can identify places where slugs and snails are likely to lurk overnight (e.g. shady, overgrown and in my garden, hedges) it's a good idea to sprinkle some ferric phosphate pellets there as well as round your crops.

Because it's not actually a poison, it acts more slowly than metaldehyde and you're unlikely to see mollusc corpses everywhere, but it does 'work.'