When we moved to our new house, the neglected garden was full of slugs. I promised our children 5 eurocent per slug/ snail and a little bonus after each 10 slugs. We counted them at the kitchen chalk board. To my own surprise it worked perfect. Sometimes they found 40 slugs in 1 round. I’ve never had better slug hunters. :-) The game lasted a few weeks, but was very effective. Now (4 years later) we still have a normal population.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

What a wonderfully inventive way to deal with them!

@DeniseSyrett

2 жыл бұрын

Entertaining and exercising the kids, plus teaching some math, as well as getting rid of slugs. You are a genius parent.

@DrownTheRabbitHole

Жыл бұрын

Five cents?! A bit tight no?!

@destinycoach5

Жыл бұрын

​@@DrownTheRabbitHole Lol

@icke11234

Жыл бұрын

What did you do to the slugs?

The comment about "cheap beer" made me remember a slug remedy we used a few years back. Just mix some flour and yeast with water and stir it up. Smells a lot like beer and seems to attract the slugs just as well. I put the mixture in a plastic cottage cheese container, cut a hole in the top so the slugs could get in, but they never came out. The top slows evaporation down a bit.

@tesstess3371

2 жыл бұрын

I was just thinking about that. Mix sugar, yeast and water.

@TiredNana100

2 жыл бұрын

It’s what I use and it actually does work. Hubble was horrified at the prospect of ‘wasting’ good beer 🤣

@peterbergel

2 жыл бұрын

@@tesstess3371 Well, I used flour instead of sugar, but sugar might work.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Great idea, thanks for sharing this Peter.

@minkefin

2 жыл бұрын

I don't drink beer, so even the 'cheap nonsense' would be an extra outlay. But I do have planted fish tanks, and I use a mixture of sugar and yeast in water to generate CO2 in the tank. Once the yeast has exhausted itself and there's no CO2 left, I have a bottleful of sweet, boozy-smelling water that I have been throwing away. Now it looks like I've found a use for it! Waste not want not! Thank you for the tip!

For 2 years now I've used vapour rub, wiping a thin layer about an inch wide around pots and beds, works an absolute treat, it stays on for the whole season, it doesn't leave dead slugs around my garden leaving them for the predators and own label brands are less than a £1 a jar, time and money saving.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Great tip, thanks for sharing!

@TheBettyBoopnl

Жыл бұрын

Wow great tip. How do you smear it round a bed In the ground ?

@sonnypryvee3471

Жыл бұрын

On the side of the bed near the bottom rather than the grass I imagine! Im Going to give this a go

@WolfeTone17-98

Жыл бұрын

@@TheBettyBoopnl With my tongue.

@TheBettyBoopnl

Жыл бұрын

@@WolfeTone17-98 🤣

I have been following your channel for years. I love how precisely you give your information without rambling like many others do, and you have a great sense of humor while teaching us. I always look forward to your videos!

@melindaedgington9925

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. The videos are not long and boring. Perfect for a busy parent.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much guys! :-)

@destinycoach5

Жыл бұрын

Yes.... I hate ramblers.... or those who talk all sorts of unrelated nonsense and i especially dislike those ridiculous, insecure channel creators who gotta tell you to LIKE SHARE SUB every few min. Even twice is too much. My record in counting these commercial breaks was 8 in a 1 hr show. And it wasn't just a 5 sec reminder... it would get the guy off track and he start selling his merch and he start talking about other things so the break ended up taking 5 min or becoming the topic. Soooo annoying!!! After multiple complaints about his incessant reminders, as if we are all stupid children... I UNSUBBED!!!

This is the best slug control video I’ve seen! I agree that removing them to other areas really does reduce their population in the garden. Some of your tips are new to me and I’ll give them a try. (I usually just collect them and take them for a walk into the woods to settle in a new area.) I especially love the humane and environmentally friendly approach you seem to have to controlling them ❤️ thank you for this!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

They're all creatures that deserve a break!

@goteamslugs

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! We love going on walks! =)

so interestingly, I've just found an excellent slug and snail lure, completely by accident. I have a stone mushroom about 8 inches high that bought years ago, and I finally decided to paint it. I went for the traditional red and white toadstool colours and ever since, each night when I go out in the garden, its covered in slugs and snails. I pick them off and relocate them to a nearby field. they all seem to be on or heading for the white spots. I think you could apply the colour scheme to any rock and have the same result.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

What an interesting effect there Steve - you're clearly onto something there!

@uschiuschi3232

Жыл бұрын

I think it has something to do with the smell of the colour .

@meemkaplan4315

11 ай бұрын

Ha! Great idea! I have noticed they do like the Amanita mushrooms...

@OG_Beckie_Leigh

4 ай бұрын

@steves7271 Your color theory track for the slugs at my house. I don’t have a garden nor do I intentionally grow anything in my flower bed areas. However, all of the trim on my house is white. I’ve noticed a lot of slugs gathering on the door over the last couple of weeks while it’s been very rainy here. The white also attracts a lot of bugs, especially flies, mosquitoes, “mosquito hawks”, and June bugs.

@sobiabutt4995

2 ай бұрын

If white attracts slugs, could any other colour deter them?

I've had good success with planting decoy seedlings with my prized seedlings. I kept losing zucchini seedlings and finally out of desperation started planting mustard seeds in a ring around my zucchini (or in a proposed planting spot, a few days ahead of time, and then plant the seedling in the patch of mustard seedlings). The slugs seem to prefer the mustard and spared the zucchini (or zinnias, etc). As the mustard grows I can thin or remove as desired - but it's also a fantastic trap plant for cabbage moths and aphids, so I tend to let some grow to maturity throughout the garden. Anecdotally, pests seem to prefer the mustard plants to other brassicas as well. The bees and especially hover flies love it. I just buy mustard seed from the supermarket spice aisle.

@lysamerekvart9471

2 жыл бұрын

I've never seen slugs going over my mustard, but since it's growing everywhere in my garden, they might be tackling 90% of it without me noticing! I've not bought seeds in three years now, and have tried doing some mustard condiment with it, that's fabulous! Probably one of the most underestimated plats to me : grows all year long, loved by bees and other pollinators (especially if you grow it during winter and it flowers really early), terrific young leaves in salad, I love the green seeds in salads as well, dried seeds goes into all pickling recipes, slow cook meals, and obviously mustard condiment... Terrific as green manure, and if you let it grow and dry on the spot, perfect hollow stems for all kind of ladybugs and friends to spend the winter... And now you tell me it's good against slugs? All Hail to The Mustard, savior of the garden :D

@peterbergel

2 жыл бұрын

Do you also eat your mustard greens? I love them in salads. Great spicy taste!

@uschiaala

2 жыл бұрын

@@peterbergel Yes, and the flowers too. I love them.

@uschiaala

2 жыл бұрын

@@lysamerekvart9471 It's definitely one of my favourite plants! :)

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Mustard is definitely a super plant in so many ways!

Honesty is the best policy... calling Coors what it is -- "cheap nonsense" -- you don't want to waste good beer on bad slugs.

@lorrihernandez341

2 жыл бұрын

I had a good laugh over that one! 😂

@stefancook5745

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I caught that too, use that cheap US beer...Coors, Colorado kool-aid.

@lysamerekvart9471

2 жыл бұрын

@@maffmaheed1447 Well, to be honest... Who wouldn't like a nice cold Guinness? If you're deciding to treat your slugs for beer, then respect them and serve them beer, not piss :D

@Ralf1erudd

2 жыл бұрын

Recently found out they very much like Sainbury's Depot 90. £1 for 4 x 440ml cans.

@sarahdotcom

Жыл бұрын

​@@Ralf1erudd I would feel the need to explain to the staff that no, I don't intend to actually drink it!

In the winter months, when there are no more vegetables in the garden, I let the chickens run loose, then I have less problems with snails in the spring.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

That's a great way of getting a clean sweep - smart move.

I tried to be the bigger man...but after so many destroyed seedlings, I am firmly in the "death to the slugs" camp

@killlion

Жыл бұрын

Waiting for some vegan activists to accuse you of slug genocide....

@plushypuppy2024

Жыл бұрын

me too!!!...how about cat litter?, that's the only thing that works for me, but then you must hide the corpses from the birds so they don't meet the same fate.

@veekitt9733

Жыл бұрын

i had a huge tray of healthy coriander and bell pepper seedlings, all eaten the next day :( actually so sad

@Snowdonia_Hideaway

Жыл бұрын

I give them their first flying lesson free! On the end of my trowel, flicked over the other side of the stream.

@dinmavric5504

Жыл бұрын

@@Snowdonia_Hideaway I haven't found anything to work better than the scissor method. I don't like cutting the big slugs, but the small ones I don't care about, they do much more damage to plants than bigger ones because I can hardly see them. Worms take care of their remains overnight. The bigger ones I just chuck far away, this method, cutting them or chucking them far away has by far worked the greatest. Slug pellets don't work (and I've tried it many times). These beer methods are pointless in my opinion. Looking for them manually and chucking them is far more efficient.

Around pots , Vaseline is a great barrier do a strip of it around your pot about 2 to 3 inches wide , the slugs can’t grip to it and fall off and it’s waterproof , or do aa ring of double sided sticky tape with salt stuck on one side they touch it and soon bugger off without killing them .😁❤️🇬🇧👍

I stopped letting slugs be in my compost pile. I believe their eggs are then transplanted into the garden when you move in the compost which then reinfests your beds with slugs. Homemade beer traps work excellently. As an aside, one year a raccoon broke into the garden and drank all the beer traps! She was after the ripe strawberries and added a drink along with the berries!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Oh wow - I bet the raccoon had an interesting afternoon after that!

Snails and slugs are thriving in rainy and cool Northern Ireland, so gardening is a bit of a challenge for those who don't keep chickens roaming around and don't want to use chemicals! Thanks a lot for sharing your tips and tricks!😉🌱🌿🥦🍎🌶

@JourneytoSustainableLiving

9 күн бұрын

eggshells are also a really good way to prevent slugs from targeting certain plants! I also tried washing my dishes with eggshell powder for the first time while I was making my YT video and I was SHOCKED at the results! 😮

Something you may want to try is, all the old bits of lettuce that you clean up to try and discourage the slugs, stick them under your planks of wood, so they get attracted to shelter and food all in one crafty (and free!) trap.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Smart move Dean, I like it!

@Key-Pen_it_real_1A

Жыл бұрын

​@GrowVeg I was cringing when you were holding and touching the slugs with bare hands.

@Agrillot6

Ай бұрын

@@Key-Pen_it_real_1Aagreed. I don’t MIND plucking them up with my bare hands, however the slime just doesn’t wash off very well, and takes 4-5 washings or even more to get it off my hands 🤢

I went slug and snail hunting after dark for a couple of weeks and that really helped reduce the numbers. Good to known we can relocate them to the compost heap where they will do some good.

I use a garlic wash on my hostas, there’s lots of recipes online, but it’s basically garlic boiled in water then used diluted in a watering can. Slugs really don’t like it. You have to use it more often in rainy weather 👍🏻

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Great idea!

@callyg7696

Жыл бұрын

Would wild garlic boiled do the same job? Just an idea so I don't use up my garlic

@condequinto6484

Жыл бұрын

How about spraying the boiled garlic water on the plants themselves Will it work?

@meemkaplan4315

11 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, the slugs in my part of the NW, USA love to eat the allium family....

@no-one-no-one

6 ай бұрын

Slugs eat my garlic like it's chocolate also my onions

We've avoided tilling but tried it last year and saw a significant reduction in slugs. I've also found coffee grounds to be effective. They don't seem to like to crawl over them.

@matgggg55

Жыл бұрын

I just tested this and coffee grounds do not work, but cinnamon seems to work very well.

Love your shooting angle - sprawled out straight on the ground, putting everything into perspective.

Thanks for yet a great video! I love your non cruel perspective and advice - very helpful!

I'm 2 Floors up. No Slugs. Sometimes Woodlice though. 👍 Mind your Dogs with Slugs & Snails, you don't want them eating them. Lungworm. TFS GV, & take care too everyone. ❤🙂🐶

Very educational. Also I never tire of your enthusiasm which inspires me to get going in my garden.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Joanne. :-)

Maybe luck but I layered my ever hospitable cold frame with sandpaper and also my shelves in the greenhouse, it had a huge effect. Most seedlings survived for the first year ever. The more coarse the better. No area was left uncovered and it seemed to survive the rain too. Yes I will relay it this year but think I've got my answer. Planting out to the main garden this year I'm going to create some sandpaper rings and see how that goes.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Great result Ian. 😀

@carlchapman4053

Жыл бұрын

My Grandad did the same and dusted it with talcum powder each week, he said it was the best solution he ever found.

@lisapiselli2176

Жыл бұрын

Brilliant idea! Thank you.

@Mantras-and-Mystics

11 ай бұрын

Dang!!! 😖 Guess what I found in my old garage last week and just threw out?

@1436jeannie

3 ай бұрын

Isn't that always what happens!??!

The best most comprehensive slug video I've seen! Excellent resource - will be sharing with my community garden.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for sharing Rebecca, that means a lot.

GrowVeg is definitely my favorite gardening channel

I grow extra cabbage and lettuce. Pull leaves off, lay about 200mm away from your tender plants, go out when dark and collect them up to move on.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

What a great idea!

Your channel, along with Self Sufficient Me, has been invaluble to learning more about gardening for me. Keep up the great work!

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chad, appreciate that. Love Self Sufficient Me too - great channel. 😀

Love your energy, your enthusiasm and excitement, and the time you put into these videos They are deeply appreciated and insightful! I'll be sure to put these into action 🥰🙏🏼 Love and Light!

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much, really appreciate that! Love and light right back at yer! :-)

You can also make slug bait with some bakers yeast, sugar, water, and flour. The sugar/flour/water feeds the yeast which offgas and attracts slugs! Beer works well, but if you don't want to waste your last ale it's a good workaround

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Excellent tip and a great way to save precious beer!

Thanks again Ben, I love your posts. I’ve read that the beer is smelt by slugs miles away and this way you actually attract even more slugs to your garden

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

I can only go by my experiences is that I have found they help. It may draw in slugs from a little further, but it seems to be a good way of corralling them into one place for removal.

One thing I’ve done that’s not mentioned here is turning my soil up and over at the end of the growing season once overnight frosts start. From what I understand, it disrupts the next generation. I did this last year and it seems to be giving me a terrific result, and thank goodness because between them and the cabbage moths, my poor veggies and I were STRESSING lol

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you've managed to get on top of them - a big relief!

@kinkyelina2012

22 күн бұрын

with what tools did you manage that? am a complete beginner

You do make me smile Ben - thank you for entertaining as well as informing us! :)

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

You've most welcome - thank you for watching. :-)

Thank you Mr Ben : ) The nematoads for vine weevil and slugs work really well.

I particularly liked the trick of using them for compost.

Great video! I tried all sorts of things but beer seems to work best. I also discovered that marigolds are their favorite plant to eat. I planted a variety of flowers in a group and the marigolds were eaten down to nubs almost overnight. They also nibbled on the sunflowers but didn't touch the calendulas. They started a bit on the nasturtiums once they finished the marigolds, but not too much. Next I'm going to plant decoy seedlings of them, much like Uschiaala did with mustard. By the way, they will also hide under cardboard.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Marigolds eaten to a stump is something I'm also very familiar with Alice!

My grandad used to cover the edges of his garden beds with coarse sandpaper dusted with talcum powder, it didn't stop them but the dry sharp surface reduced the amount of slugs willing cross over it and the trails were clearly visible so he knew how many he needed to find and remove. Edit - They all went over the hedge into the nearby woodland, usually as far as he could throw.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Great technique.

@klsaunders2656

Күн бұрын

That's a really good idea that I've never heard before. I will have to try it.

I have over fifty pot's of flowers in my front garden and use seven slug traps around my hosta's. The rest of my pots rarely get attacked which include agapanthus, salvia's, alpines, fuchsia's, hebe's, daylilies, African daisy's, alstroemeria's , cranesbill geranium's, delosperma. In the flowerbeds I have eight slug traps placed beside hostas. The bait I use in the traps is water, sugar, flour and dry yeast.

@GrowVeg

28 күн бұрын

Great suggestion, thanks for sharing this. 😀

I absolutely love your videos! They really make me yearn for a larger garden

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I am sure you have a beautiful garden.

I've been sprinkling Epsom salt around my plants, mulching with aromatic cedar shavings and spritzing everything with essential oils, such as peppermint, mixed with a little water and a tiny bit of a surfactant like vegetable glycerin. I also installed bird feeders and planted lots of shrubbery that attract birds and bees. Our climate is damp and cool with lots of rain, so the gardens have little chance to dry out. Between the slugs and the wildlife it's a constant battle to grow anything all the way to harvest!

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Sometimes gardening does feel like a real battle!

Excellent to the last second. Thank you for this video. Take care and have a great weekend, DA

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Donald!

Brilliant options presented Ben. I’m going out to my shed now to throw away the slug pellets. You are the David Attenborough of gardening 👍

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers John - high praise indeed!

I live in a clay soil area and slugs own this place. Planted out marigolds , woke up with 1/2 of them gone, flowers and leaves. Following night, at 11pm, went out with a torch, a plastic tub with hot and very salty water, and metal pegs to pick the slugs up. picked about 500 slugs 😫 Yes I was counting. these are just the ones I found at that particular time! They we’re eating all my plants and flowers. They were on my mint plants, onions/chives, leeks and all. No plant is slug proof at all. I’m sick of them.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Wow! That's an incredible result from collecting the slugs though - you must have been very determined!

@tapic8502

Жыл бұрын

Very much determined. Thanks for this video. I will follow your techniques too since it’s the beginning of the season. I can plant mindfully and do preventative actions. So I don’t suffer as much 😅

I love your videos. I do not live in an area where slugs are a problem, but I love the information and the way you present it!!!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you. :-)

@janewalker1731

6 ай бұрын

Where do you live? I think I need to move there!!

Excellent. I am sharing this video far and wide.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! :-)

Garter snakes are great slug defence. I have two photos of snakes living in my garden, swallowing whole, slugs 2-3” in length!!! Those are the slugs that escaped my nightly slug hunts and avoided the beer pots, which work really successfully. Thank you for an informative video. Stay organic 🙏😍👍

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Wow - what an impressive thing to have witnessed.

I do prefer the trap-and-relocate method. It's made a good dent in my snug problem and I have neighbouring lizards, hedgehogs and frogs so they've hopefully been enjoying my efforts. It's not perfect and I've lost a few seedlings but most of my plants are thriving. Thanks for the video x

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Seems like a more civilised way of dealing with slugs for sure Christina.

I've made a border of crinkled up tin foil that has worked amazingly so far, but hardly aesthetically pleasing or long term 😅 so I'll be trying some of these. The critters always get relocated to the compost heap to speed things along 👍

I love your Videos Ben always so full of great info and explanations. Thank you. 👍👌

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! :-)

Great advice thank you, you always make me giggle, I just wanted to remind everyone that DE can also harm the pollinators and we all know that our bees are precious 🐝 so please use it carefully.

Great info on slug control. Thanks! I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of intentionally leaving standing water to attract frogs... you must live in a very magical place with no mosquito control issues!!! I am constantly battling standing water to prevent my yard being hospitable to my personal summer enemy #1!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, very lucky that my climate is so benign. No mosquito problem here. Glad you enjoyed the video. :-)

I attract and collect slugs by putting some food scraps under a piece of wet cardboard weighted down with a rock. In the morning I check each of the traps and collect the slugs. Really works well! I love your videos and always look forward to them. Thanks for all of the great slugging ideas.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Great method there Jeanette. :-)

LOL! Great thumbnail! Thank you for all your inspiration and information!

Love your channel, been watching it for tips for our allotment. I don’t like to harm anything so am looking for natural alternatives. One thing I’ve learnt is slugs don’t like onions or garlic. I planted some radishes in the onion patch and they left the radishes alone, planted elsewhere they obliterated them in 2 days. Going to plant lettuce and chard with the spring onions and leeks and where the onions were to see if the scent still puts them off!

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

What an interesting find - thanks so much for sharing that. :-)

Hi Ben…nuts as always!😍 Popping a sand path around the compost heap hinders the varmints trail to where the veggies are greener 🍀 Thanks for the constant entertainment while learning 🍓🥜🐌

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Top tip, cheers Suzanne!

Excellent video, thank you!

Fresh STRULCH works very well. I use it for strawberries, runner beans & dahlias. I also have islands of strulch where I can put pots of seedlings when I am hardening them off. 🙂

Hi Ben. Ive found in my home garden and allotment normal play sand stops slugs. I use it around the outside and floor of my green house and around young plants. Planks I put out for a few weeks. The rest I leave up to our frogs, toads, and resident hedgehog. Yet still on occation I use Nemetoads if I think the slugs and snails are becoming too prolific. Love the video especially the google eye head set. lol sould be a regular feature. 😂 Allotment owner and pretend gardener. I follow your ideas, advice and guidance. My friends at the allotment think I'm a great gardener. Not: its all you. So thanks for making me look like I know what im doing. Lots of love and best wishes Kim x

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the very kind comments Kim. As a gardener you are always learning, and I'm almost certain your success as a gardener is down to your diligent attention and care. :-)

I've always found slugs and snails to be quite cute, so I really like the idea of just relocating them to the compost!

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

They're not all bad are they!

Loved this! Thank you!

I had mine hedge hogs in my garden last autumn and seen 3 this spring, still an armada of slugs... Found more than fifty in my green house, hope they are all collected by now...

You don’t have to use beer in your slug trap. Here’s an alternative home-made recipe: 1 cup water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon flour 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast That’s all folks… it’s the yeast they’re after, not the beer. 😘

@TheSamba37

2 жыл бұрын

You're just making beer with that homemade recipe, but yeah, it doesn't need to come from a can.

@kimberlysmith697

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you

@rrbb36

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheSamba37 Funny, I don’t see any hops on my list of ingredients, but I’m happy to can it up if you wish. How much “Slugger Beer” would you like to buy….a case, a 6-pack, or just a can?

@Nitecrow314

2 жыл бұрын

@@rrbb36 Beer doesn't need hops to be beer. It's a flavouring, nothing more.

@rrbb36

2 жыл бұрын

@@Nitecrow314 Wow, it’s amazing how rare a genuine sense of humor has become. And since you seem to prefer to be so very serious, as a PRACTICAL matter, MOST beer does indeed contain hops as a flavoring agent. Have a beer and TRY to have a lovely day.

I relocate my slugs and snails to my chicken coop. The chickens love it. The slugs and snails not so much...

@MorusAlba1975

20 күн бұрын

Couldn't work. Chickens don't eat slugs, only snails.

@bigskirtmcgirt89

20 күн бұрын

I only find a slug on rare occasions. 99% are snails. You are probably right about the slugs. I just assumed they were being eaten along with all of the snails. Have a good evening.

Some have suggested to me, but I've not tried it yet; is putting copper meat around the base of the plants. You curl it up in a rope and cut it, circling the base of a plant anoy 1-2 inches and it keeps the slugs out. I have mostly use DE and that works well.

Love the humour.....thanks Ben🥬🌶🥕

Since attracting all of the birds with feeders a few years back, I rarely ever see slugs anymore, there's a couple of snails but there seems to be a weekly massacre looking at the shells on the slabs. Touch wood, noones eaten any of my seedlings so far, even the local squirrel jumps over them to the feeders and ignores everything in the beds.

@PrincessFidelma

2 жыл бұрын

A few years ago we left/forgot about a Halloween pumpkin on our patio, I can't remember now if it had mostly disappeared or had been hollowed out, either way something had eaten it, and surrounding it was about 50 snail shells, yeah, it looked like a massacre had happened, I felt pretty traumatised for quite a while by all the "skulls" piled up, but that year we had almost no slugs or snails, and hardly any since!

@PrincessFidelma

2 жыл бұрын

@@maffmaheed1447 👍😆

@mikeus69

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! Feed your local bird population

@meikusje

2 жыл бұрын

My neighbor overfeeds the local birds, so they barely even pay attention to the snails and slugs, unfortunately. All they do is fly about in her garden day in day out.

I did a test with copper tape about five years ago, similar pots/compost/plants and the one I used tape on was slug free all year...the other was not and I've used tape ever since. Double the strips up to increase width.

@phenixwars1

2 жыл бұрын

Do you put the tape on the stems of the plants?

@mickhowes5485

2 жыл бұрын

do you connect a 9 volt battery to it? two strips of copper 5 mm apart with the battery positive terminal connected to one strip and the negative to the other strip, as the slug/snail crosses the two strips it gets a mild shock and retreats. The battery lasts at least a year as its only shorting with a slug going across it.

@ChrisWijtmans

Жыл бұрын

I think chicken wire around the grow beds and some vulcanic gravel does the job as well. They dont like crossing the sharp objects.

Thanks for the informative and entertaining video.

Brilliant informative video with clever phptography and supporting animated graphics! Thanks you very much

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words. :-)

Just tried the wooly idea but as i don't have a sheep or a dog... have been using the lint from the dryer and my vacuum cleaner bag contents. So far so good :-)

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it's working for you Nomi.

Great video! I like to use a flour sifter to apply the diatomaceous earth. Easy to handle, precise, and don't get it on my skin. Cheers!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Great tip Julie, thanks.

Great video. Informative and fun. 👍🐌🐌🐌

Thanks heaps. There’s a whole bunch of stuff for me to try here.

I press in a border of slender wild blackberry branches (very thorny, and they grow everywhere here in the Pacific North West). Although it takes some time to put in place, it is an effective barrier in wet or dry conditions.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Great idea. :-)

I’m thinking of using all of your tips at once, to make sure I definitely nail them! I have oranges, beer and a head torch at the ready.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

All set to go Harry!

Just tried the beer trap yesterday. When I came out to it this morning I had 8 slugs in it, keeping them off my courgettes and lettuce! Thanks Ben!

Excellent video, thank you.

It wasn't near my veg thank heaven, but the other day I counted no less than 36 slugs in the back yard. 36! I did find some on an overwintered green bell pepper plant. I pick them off with leaves and throw them back into the woods. Living in the deep, dark, and dank eastern hemlock forest makes slugs a part of daily life. They really like beer. I mean they REALLY like beer.

@melanielinkous8746

2 жыл бұрын

So do I 😊

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

That’s a good way to deal with them. Just hurl them back!

Overturned cabbage leaves have been working for me, similar to your citrus suggestion. Thank you for all of this. So helpful to see all the ways you suggest battling slugs. I was expecting to find big slugs in my garden when I went hunting for them, like the ones you show, but mine have been tiny and whitish pink. I’m guessing babies?

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, quite possibly Isabelle. Love your use of cabbage leaves - that way you can dump the whole lot onto the compost heap I guess.

I relocate mine to the compost heap as well. I also use plastic cloche covers that I slightly bury into the ground around the plants for seedlings until they're big enough to handle a nibble.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Great idea. 😀

This is probably my third year gardening at my house and this is the first year where I’m really having a problem with slugs. I’m currently using the beer technique and it’s working but I seem to have more coming as my bean plants are being destroyed right now. I’m also going to try the watering in the morning instead of during the evening. Great video btw.

@GrowVeg

11 ай бұрын

I think watering in the morning will help, so things are a bit drier at night. And just being meticulous in removing potential hiding places.

great information about natural slug control which is so important thank you! one more slug repellant is getting fleece from sheep and placing the fleece around the base of the plant ... the slugs do not like touching the hairy sheep fleece.... and the little slug song was excellent!

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Great extra tip, thank you! 😀

@meemkaplan4315

11 ай бұрын

I wonder if that technique would work with my German Shepherd's fur.... LOTS of fur available to me!

@aeastman59

11 ай бұрын

@@meemkaplan4315 I think so! I have a poodle and I put some of his fur out and it seems to do the same thing

I played over and over the part in your video of you singing. I placed my cell phone in my garden with your melodious tune and all of my slugs rolled over and died!

@rosethorne9076

2 жыл бұрын

🤣

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

I often have that effect! The plants on the other hand absolutely love the singing...

@matthewkurt2246

2 жыл бұрын

@@GrowVeg I feel your pain!

I am also learning from you...And thank you for sharing ..

Interesting point about barrier methods. My garden is riddled with them and I be found slug collars from the big website beginning with A really good. I’m trying horticultural sand around my strawberries. Hopefully keep the soil away from the fruit and put off the slugs.

Good vid! Two things to add: you can by nematodes tablets to dissolve in water, or you can make your own (the recipes easily found online). One physical barrier that does help is an edge with a sharp angle around your garden bed. Slugs can't crawl over sharp angles, so if you put up a barrier that leans outward and down, they won't be able to crawl into the bed - however, keep in mind that slugs can also dig (the majority of them stay underground at all times), so unless your bed edge is burried around 20 cms deep, you'll still get some slugs in.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Some great advice there, thank you.

Thanks, Ben.. I appreciate that you relocated the slugs. I almost didn't watch this video 😂

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you did though Helen. :-)

We have started to surround our brassica plants with stretched our copper scourers pinned in place. We also use beer traps.

Great video, very informative 🙏

I have a sweat scrapper for my horses, it is aluminum and has a curved end. I just scoop up the slugs with that and then sling them off into the woods. I can throw them a good 20 feet or more! I have one hanging in my greenhouse by the door. The sweat scrappers are super cheap and you do not have to get the slime on your hands!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

What a great idea!

I've just realised the frogs/toads we had in our garden until a few years ago were living rent free, as we were riddled with slugs and snails! Then one year left/forgot about a Halloween pumpkin on our patio, I can't remember now if it had mostly disappeared or had been hollowed out, either way something had eaten it, and surrounding it was about 50 snail shells, but that year, and since, we had almost no slugs or snails! The frogs/toads disappeared that year, too 🤷🏻

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

How curious - that is a real mystery!

I am going to try blackberry brambles this year, along with your bottle idea and I also saw setting a board at an angle bottom outside of raised beds then check daily to remove slugs, I like your idea of putting the slugs in my compost bin. I don't like to kill they are squishy. Thank you for all your tips because I have lots and lots of slugs here in North Carolina.

Awesome video, very helpful thank you

Hot tip: use chopsticks to pick up the slugs to avoid slimey hands! Personally I go slug hunting with my garden scissors… ✂️

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Great tip!

Thank you for not killing the slugs and just relocating them. All living things have a right to be here

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

Agreed!

@huckleberrywillow7485

24 күн бұрын

Unfortunately diatomaceous earth will kill every tiny insect that it comes into contact with - big downside would not recommend at all 🙁

Great video. We had a chronic mole problem, so dug 3 foot deep trench (borrowed neighbours hired digger 😊) around the allotment. Now there is better drainage, a continuous ground water supply, no moles and absolutely zero slugs!!

@GrowVeg

Ай бұрын

Nice job! :-)

I saw this method in a gardening magazine. Take an empty plastic soda bottle, cut off the top part, invert, staple it in place. Then use the slug pellet stuff, pouring some in. The slugs get in, eat and can't get out and die. So it isn't affected by rain or toxic to small animals and pets.

I started sprinkling chilli powder in my small garden to deter the neighbours' cat (she liked my garden as her toilet, sadly) and it not only annoyed the cat, I also noticed the slugs were eating the powder and leaving my seedlings alone. At some point when the chilli powder got wet from the rain, the slugs were kind of rolling in it (they looked like those corn cheese puffs coated in chilli...) and other slugs were eating them. Quite disgusting! Slugs are cannibals! Anyway, chilli powder works really well to deter the cat and distract the slugs, so hey, give it a try. I live in a very windy area and we get plenty of rain, too, so I have to keep on reapplying it. But it works.

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

What a great tip - thanks for sharing this Andrea.

@DeniseSyrett

2 жыл бұрын

I don't think I can ever each a corn cheese puff again without thinking of cannibal snails who love spicy meat.

@lady8kombu

2 жыл бұрын

@@DeniseSyrett Hahah!

@marktoldgardengnome4110

Ай бұрын

I tried cayenne pepper on a tomato that had been munched. A light sprinkle on the plant, soil, and damaged tomato. The next morning, I found more damage. Game on. I coated the 1 damaged fruit with additional pepper. Next morning, it was gone. No idea what it was, but it never came back.

Great video! It's the " why" information that you provide about slugs that really help. Here's a question. If you put them all in your compost, will their eggs survive to be redistributed into your garden in the soil? They are pretty white and obvious, and a proper heap gets hot.... Just not sure

@lysamerekvart9471

2 жыл бұрын

I'd reckon that gathering the slugs in one place like that will also gather their predators, that (for most of them) also feast on the eggs... If you have hens, set them free on the heap before using it, you'll be sure to ditch any egg left, and add quite a bit of poo to it!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

I reckon it would be a bit like dumping all your weeds on one pile - the majority would never make it through so even if a few survived you'd still be making a huge dent on the overall population.

Hey, Ben! Comprehensive video. Thank you. You ask for more suggestions. I've had huge success with ordinary half litre plastic bottles lid on half buried with a hole in the side at ground level - half the bottom half filled with beer/cider or a sugar yeast mixture diluted with water. Lethal. If you make the hole u-shaped and bend the tong out a bit then the rain or watering runs off and not in. The other huge success in the polytunnel is a buried board on edge with two copper wires stapled carefully 1cm apart not touching... one connected to the positive terminal of a 9v battery and the other to the negative but otherwise going nowhere. A perimeter of such very effective deterrent... so far. Sour enough for the slug to not want to cross both. Potential hazard if the wires are touching or otherwise connected so check voltage regularly. Battery lasts and lasts if the wires are not touching or otherwise connected to each other. Don't know how it would work outside if the boards are wet too often.

@GrowVeg

Жыл бұрын

What superb ideas! Thanks so much for sharing these! :-)

Thanks for the information…. Love that video….. as always!

@GrowVeg

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Jack!

I've had good luck with diatomaceous earth against the hordes of snails and slugs we have here in the very damp, cool Pacific Northwest of the US. Feed stores usually sell it for far less than garden shops, and a small amount seems to be enough to deter the slimy pests.

@elw6150

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, going to the feed store to buy some!