[green_lolly]

I put a thick layer of coffee grounds as mulch around some seedlings last weekend. When I checked on them today the coffee grounds has slug/snail trails all over it!

Trust me to have coffee loving slugs 

[al78]

It wasn't decaffinated coffee, was it?

[green_lolly]

It might have a a tiny percentage of decaf in it. Are slugs that health conscious? 

[al78]

It is the caffeine in the coffee which is toxic to slugs, thus if the coffee is decaffeinated then the slug-deterrent component has been removed hence its ineffectiveness as a barrier.

[green_lolly]

Oh I see. Well from now on I'll separate the decaf and see if that makes a differnce.

Thanks for the info.

Beer traps are the next weapon in my arsenal.

[al78]

I find beer traps have some, but limited effect (you need to put them a metre apart to be effective). I did find that going on to the plot at night with a torch and a pair of scissors and going snippy-snippy helped significantly, although it does require regular visits until the veg are large enough to withstand an attack. If you don't like killing things then handpicking and moving them somewhere else may work as well.

[Beetroot Queen]

It is the caffeine in the coffee which is toxic to slugs, thus if the coffee is decaffeinated then the slug-deterrent component has been removed hence its ineffectiveness as a barrier.

Well you learn something every day

[lettice]

I spread coffee around the edge of my raised beds as a barrier, but it seems more to deter them than kill them, as you can see the trails they leave coming and going. But it keeps the bed free of them.

I make my own bread so have yeast and I put a teaspoon of yeast in a pint of water, leave it for a few hours and then put that in as beer traps (small jam jars), its pretty successful. Attracts snails and slugs. But does need changing regularly, as it smells bad after a week from the dying slugs and snails, but then I add them to my homemade nematode bucket after Ive drained off most of the yeasty water.

For my onion sets a few week back, I did have a load of lemons, a supermarket deal and thought why not place them down, like they say for grapefruit. Each morning, must have had about 5/6 slugs underneath. BUt they only last a couple of days.
So I thought I would try something and cut the tops of plastic milk containers off about 4 inches, keeping the lid on and stuffed some cloth in by the lid, made up a lemon squash solution and poured it over the cloth and inside the plastic bottle. I have had on average 3 snails and 5 slugs each morning in each the four I used.

[green_lolly]

What is a homemade nemotode bucket Lettice? Sounds intriguing.

[Dave NE]

A little off topic but I moved a container yesterday and found what I can only describe as a nest of snails, there were dozens of them, quickly disposed in soapy water, it was in an area where my runners and French beans are going, Dave

[al78]

What is a homemade nemotode bucket Lettice? Sounds intriguing.

I think it is a container in which a large population of slugs are sealed, along with some food for the slugs (e.g. old veg leaves), and a little water. By random chance a small number of the slugs will be infected with nematodes. The high slug density and moisture provides the ideal conditions for the nematodes to multiply. Eventually all the slugs die and you are left with a nematode-rich mixture which can then be applied to the soil.

[lettice]

What is a homemade nemotode bucket Lettice? Sounds intriguing.

I think it is a container in which a large population of slugs are sealed, along with some food for the slugs (e.g. old veg leaves), and a little water. By random chance a small number of the slugs will be infected with nematodes. The high slug density and moisture provides the ideal conditions for the nematodes to multiply. Eventually all the slugs die and you are left with a nematode-rich mixture which can then be applied to the soil.

Could not have put it better Myself.
Been doing a few years now, and pour the mixture over my prepared potato plot and around the garden where its needed most and then I start all over again during the year. I also drop the snails in there too.