I know this will be controversial, but it's my way of dealing with slugs and snails. Despite the recent hot, dry spells in recent years, slugs have still been wreaking havoc in my garden. I've tried all the methods of slug control suggested, but so far the only effective one I have found are slug pellets. Now I can hear you all saying, does he feed the birds and if so slug pellets poison them. Yes I do feed the birds, but lets get some facts straight. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) say they have never actually recorded a single case of a bird being killed by a slug pellet. I will bet more birds are killed by cats in one day than are killed by slug pellets in a year, and in all the years I have grown in my garden, I can swear I have never once seen slug pellets kill any other creature than slugs and snails. What you must do is to use the pellets sparingly, scatter them widely around the base of the plants and don't leave them across the garden in heaps. The ideal slug and snail nest is among rotting leaves so make sure you keep your beds tidy. Another way to keep numbers down is to go on slug and snail patrol each night. I go round with torch in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other, and you'll be amazed how many you can find. I then dispatch them. I wont go into how, but I’m sure you can figure that out. If your too squeamish to do that, you can use a bucket instead and then dispose of them how you wish. And if wandering around the garden in the dark doesn't appeal to you, try putting out some lures such as beer traps or grapefruit skins and empty them in the morning. There are many different so called remedies, sharp mulches. Grit, sand, bark chips and eggshells, smear the edge of the rim in Vaseline, W D 40 or copper tape. Well I’ve tried all of them and for me they don’t work. Anyway in the end it’s up to you, but I still like my scissors, it gives me so much satisfaction.
