How do I stop slugs eating my lupins?

Quote by DanielleX
I've tried everything - coffee grinds, beer, grit, but nothing works. I can't put down glass cos of my pooch and don't want to use pellets. Any ideas?

Thanks

D x

Quote by DanielleX
I've tried everything - coffee grinds, beer, grit, but nothing works. I can't put down glass cos of my pooch and don't want to use pellets. Any ideas?

Thanks

D x

Quote by DanielleX
I've tried everything - coffee grinds, beer, grit, but nothing works. I can't put down glass cos of my pooch and don't want to use pellets. Any ideas?

Thanks

D x

Quote by KatieElizabeth


I Googled this and came up with Nematodes

Quote by Shannon3K


Sluggo is an effective slug and snail killing bait that can be used around pets and wildlife. Use Sluggo for organic gardening to control slugs and snails in vegetables and ornamentals. You can also use chewing tobacco, but Some dogs like chewing tobacco, and chewing tobacco does not like dogs!

Quote by cdlsf


http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Garden-Slugs

Usually they like wet/humid places, remove those places and trim your grass that surrounds your flowers. I've got problems with them as they ate my strawberries, there was nothing that I've could do except make way for the sun to 'shower' the ground (I dislike using pesticides and artificial means). Also, they attacked few vegetables (cabbage) so I've removed any and every green plan (other that vegetable) from that area (i.e. weeds). From what I know, snails reproduce themselves by laying eggs in ground when it rains and in the humid season. Slugs and snails need humidity as they need humidity for them to breath (something similar to how worms work).

I'm not sure but, you can try to throw some salt or ash around the area (make a circle around the flower bed) ?

Good luck!

Quote by DanielleX


I never know when you're being serious!

Quote by KatieElizabeth


Me? Silly? Never!

Seriously, Google it and see xxx

Quote by KatieElizabeth


I Googled this and came up with Nematodes

Quote by DanielleX
I've tried everything - coffee grinds, beer, grit, but nothing works. I can't put down glass cos of my pooch and don't want to use pellets. Any ideas?

Thanks

D x

We've used the nematodes. They are expensive, but they're easy to store (in the fridge in the container) until the next treatment, and easy to apply (with a watering can). They made a huge difference, and recommend it to our friends.

Edit: You can also go out in the evening after rain, or when you've watered, and collect them. I put them in the green bin, so they can nom away to their hearts' content until they go to the composting place. Death comes to us all, but at least they go happy.

Quote by Shylass


We've used the nematodes. They are expensive, but they're easy to store (in the fridge in the container) until the next treatment, and easy to apply (with a watering can). They made a huge difference, and recommend it to our friends.

Edit: You can also go out in the evening after rain, or when you've watered, and collect them. I put them in the green bin, so they can nom away to their hearts' content until they go to the composting place. Death comes to us all, but at least they go happy.

Quote by PanJinlian
To be honest, if your garden is (like mine) a very slug and snail infested place because of the orientation and soil make up then I think that the answer is to not grow lupins or hostas or anything else that they will eat and then you're home and dry.

My garden gets no sun at all for 6 months of the year but is a sun trap in summer. This is caused by the height of the surrounding buildings and there's nothing I can do to stop my garden being shady from equinox to equinox. Combine this with a very heavy soil and the whole place is nirvana for gastropods. For that reason I gave up planting things that they really like and leave them instead with things like Euonymus and Sarcococca which they can't be bothered to chew through

Quote by DanielleX


I love lupins, so not giving up... yet. Unless the Scouse snails are a bit more tenacious than regular ones!

It quoted the wrong bit, sorry. We got our nematodes online. We do have a couple of specialist garden centres here, but they don't stock them.

We also have lupins. Before treatment, Mother can be heard yelling, "DAWGONNIT, STUPID CRITTERS!". She doesn't use regular swearwords, but if I was a slug and heard her yelling like she does, I'd shrivel up and die instantly.

The easiest way to get them off the lupins (if you're being slug-friendly) is to go out just after dark and physically pick them off (I wear gloves if I do that, use a trowel to scrape them off and put them in a pot, which then gets emptied in the green bin). You have to search right under the leaves and in amongst all the surrounding plants. When we're not using nematodes (didn't manage it this summer), we do use pellets, sorry.

Quote by HeraTeleia
A shallow bowl or saucer of beer has always worked for me...in the backyard I have two chickens, Lucy and Julie, who looooove delicious slugs. Ducks, which I don't have, do love snails. Maybe some kind of combination approach?