Slugs and snails are making a right mess of my lovely Dahlias this year.
I worry about putting anything down that is going to harm my dogs or other wildlife.
Then while I was in Wilko’s the other day, I saw this:
It is supposed to be completely harmless to pets, so
I bought some.
With it being so wet all day, I know all the little blighters will be out in force tonight, so have put the first application round my plants.
I will go out shortly with my torch on snail patrol and see if it is working or not.
I wondered if anyone else has ever used this product, and if so, did it work?
Don’t even start me on the subject Mups. I’ve been doing dawn and dusk patrols and this rain doesn’t help. But a colleague at work mentioned that she has no slugs or snails on her veg because a gardener she has used put down some special sharp gravel that repels them. I’m thinking of trying it next year. I think it works a bit like eggshells but you don’t have to eat a whole load of blinkin’ eggs!
If it’s a repellent , I assume it won’t kill them. Just send them next door
Always wary of slug bait. Mainly because of the birds and hedgehogs . Oddly enough, a few years ago there were slugs everywhere here, but now I rarely see any.
That could well be because I have had a few hedgehogs in the garden .
Little pots of beer are supposed to work, and at least they’d have a happy end rather than a slow one.
Funny you should say that about the gravel, Annie, because I experimented with that around one particular Dahlia.
Last night I went and inspected it, and there were THREE of the biggest snails in the world sliding up my plant!! :twisted:
Maybe I didn’t put enough down, I don’t know.
I think a trip to B&Q for a larger bag of grit is on the cards for tomorrow.
Just going to nip out there one more time for a last inspection. :roll:
I use very fine sharp gravel put in a circle around the bottom of each young runner bean plant to prevent slug damage. I also use home made plastic collars.
Do you just sprinkle a circle of grit around the plant Meg?
I tried that with one of the bigger Dahlias, but they still seemed to be able to slither over it.
Pyxell, I tried the Nematodes for Vine Weeval, but didn’t have much joy. I have never tried the slug/snail one though, have you?
I have a new packet for vine weeval in the fridge to mix up as we speak, so I will try once more. Last year I had to resort back to the chemical drenches instead in the end though.
The chemicals are a very last resort because of my dogs, they are always poking about where they shouldn’t, and the oldest one sometimes takes a mouthful of compost too.
Mups I use the very fine grit in a circle around each plant , it is quite sharp so not easy for them to crawl over. I sometimes use ‘collars’ made from clear disposable plastic picnic mugs with the bottoms cut out similar to this made from a bottle but I don’t have any of those…
The grit goes inside the ring.
Yes it does really work. It’s very fine dust that’s made from fossils and it’s so sharp and fine it slices them open so they die.
All you do is sprinkle some at the bottom of your plants. That’s where slugs and snails begin their climb onto your plants.
Note: the only downside is that you need to do this before it rains. After a big rainfall you may need to do it again depending on how much you used. Most of earth should still be there, but a lot of rain can disperse and move it around causing it to wash away.
This stuff is great to give to dogs also to help eliminate parasites.
I haven’t used nematodes yet, as I’ve been out of gardening for a few years. They might be better for slugs than for weevils.
You can get ladybird larvae which are voracious devourers of aphids, so I am wondering if they would devour vine weevil larvae? Or are the larvae like mealworms? If the latter, the birds might welcome them!
I always swore by copper tape for slugs and snails, but obviously the plant has to be in a container and the soil clean of eggs. Plus, there should be be no overhanging plants next to the pot, else the wily snails climb up them and drop onto the target plant, bypassing the copper tape!
Maybe a combo of copper tape and nematodes?
I love hostas, and have a perfect shady bed for them, and would like to try and grow some again, but it is soul-destroying to see them chomped.
[quote=“Meg, post: 1733646”]
Mups I use the very fine grit in a circle around each plant , it is quite sharp so not easy for them to crawl over. I sometimes use ‘collars’ made from clear disposable plastic picnic mugs with the bottoms cut out similar to this made from a bottle but I don’t have any of those…
The grit goes inside the ring.
Thanks Meg. I’ll try some different grit, or more of it.
It’s a good idea about the plastic bottles cut down, but these plants are too big for that now.
That’s interesting Bratti, thank you.
I know my friend used that as a wormer for her poultry too.
She also sprinkles it about on the ground and bedding in her fox pens. (She rescues foxes).
I use the very fine grit in a circle around each plant , it is quite sharp so not easy for them to crawl over. I sometimes use ‘collars’ made from clear disposable plastic picnic mugs with the bottoms cut out similar to this made from a bottle but I don’t have any of those…