[Trebor]

OK, thanks some interesting suggestions (as always!). I will try some of these out.

Another thought on the same line – the local coffee shop gives away bags of used coffee grinds for free. I have heard that one of the uses can be as a slug barrier because the caffeine dries them out – anybody tried this/ have a view on it being worthwhile or not?

[Yorkie]

Quite a few members have tried this.

If you use the forum search facility you'll find some relevant posts, I'm sure.

[Elcie]

I haven't seen anyone mention egg shells yet.  Put these as a barrier around the plants.  The slugs don't like crawling over them.  Very organic and you don't even kill them!  Of course, this means that they live to fight another day and it doesn't work for any slugs in the soil already!

However, myself and my neighbour have been saving up egg shells all winter so I have a large supply ready to scatter.

Also going to do the beer thing this year.

[mashbintater]

Bran didn't work for me. I had a huge sack of it in my shed for over a year until last Sunday when I took it to the tip. It had holes near the bottom where something had been eating it, & large yellow slugs on the sodden wooden floor beneath the sack.

Dry porridge oats are good in a dry spell, torch & bucket excellent when it's raining, put a lid on the bucket overnight to stop 'em escaping, feed to birds in morning. Or just chop them in half with your trowel, they'll get eaten.

Grease around the base of your containers, they can't slither past that, salt circles if you like to watch a horror movie but dont leave them for wildlife.

Beer traps, or any other sweet sticky liquid, they love it.

Eggshells, sand, grit, gravel they don't like but will cross. 

[jennyb]

Dry porridge oats are good in a dry spell

i hadn't thought about weather

last year i had to make domes for my "pubs" so the beer (supermarket value - no expense spared!) didn't get diluted.

they get so smelly though and aren't nice to clear out i find.  difficult when the jars set in the ground near plants.

guess i could start serving meals this year at my "pubs"  - special of the summer being Oats?


i did give a sand assault course last year too which seemed to work well just a border a;; the ay round the dge of the patch.

[Trebor]

Just a quick update for you: I listened to all the advice and then did something completely different! What I tried was half grapefruits at the end of the broad beans. In two days I collected 30 slugs this way. Two house bricks and a squishing noise then no more slug problem (for now) and all organic. I also found 3 centipedes so could filter these good guys out.

(As a further point I rolled back all the carpet and found virtually no slugs so grapefruits are what I am sticking with for now).