Lord, spare us all!

Hello all,

I just wanted to reply to say I am still trying to find the name of the clay product I used in the UK.

@ drdawg,

My reply about poisons was not meant to sound judgmental but only to explain why some find poisons to be a big deal. Saying that, I love your reply on how you garden organically. If I had cedars, I would definitely hug them though for they are favorite tree. ;)

Also regarding the post where someone actually said something is wrong with your garden due to your slug issues (as already mentioned) they have never lived in a wet climate. It rains nearly every day in England so slugs and snails are an inevitability (along with fungal diseases). It is a challenge to protect your garden and I for one enjoyed the challenge. I lost many plants (my prized hostas for example) in the process but I was so happy when I finally found something that worked. It is exasperating to say the least when you want to achieve something in your garden and the forces of nature have other plans. If I had acres of plants to protect, I am not sure what I would do.

At any rate, this has been a great thread as not only has there been great discussions but many different ideas have materialized in controlling one of the more destructive pests in a wet garden. :)

Once I get the name of the clay product, I will update again.

There was absolutely no offense taken, Benny. We each have our growing methods and our gardening philosophies and I would not dare tell someone they don't know what they are talking about - well, not often anyway.

What clay product are you referring to?

Hi there,

Nice one. :)

The clay product I was referring to acts as a deterrent due to texture but it has an added benefit in that if they do decide to go over it, it dries them out and they don't reach their destination. This is the only thing I found that worked when I was trying to protect my hostas (well that and going out and hand picking them). I tried sharp gravel (that sort of worked) egg shells, etc. and then I found this but it has been years since I bought it and I don't have slug issues in Colorado. Well, I say that but recently with all our rain, I have seen some of the little buggers emerge but they are the tiny ones and easy enough to dispatch. A slug longer than your middle finger can decimate a full grown plant overnight.

At any rate, I empathize with anyone having to deal with slugs because of the immediate and complete damage they can deliver.

I am awaiting a call back or email from the garden center where I purchased this in Watford. Once I have it, I will post it here. It is amazing stuff.

All the best to you,
Benny

Might the clay product you purchased in the UK be "Nemaslug"???

I found information about it on this site:
http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staf... where it says:


"Since writing this chapter in 1990 there has been a major new development in slug control in the form of the slug parasitic nematode, Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita. Although I was aware then of work to develop this biological control agent I was not free to make the information public, for reasons of commercial confidentiality. Now, however, these nematodes are available from garden centres under a variety of brand names, including 'Nemaslug'. They come bound up in clay granules, that can be simply dissolved in water and applied to slug-infested crops. Although they do not kill the slugs as rapidly as pellets, infected slugs stop feeding almost immediately and thus stop damaging your crop. The nematodes are completely safe to humans, pests [s/b pets?] and other garden wildlife, including the slug predators. This means, of course, that while slug numbers can build up again rapidly after use of a molluscicide based on methiocarb, because the predators have been removed, after applying the nematodes the predators will remain to prevent slugs re-invading, and to mop up slugs hatching from eggs in the soil."

I think that sentence should have said "pets", not "pests". Though I guess in jolly ole England, pests might represent all kinds of insects/animals.

Thanks, Greene! I loved reading about the slug parasitic nematode [i]Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita[/u].

My hero!

Hi there Greene,

Thank you for the post. That is not it however it certainly looks like a good thing to try! Yet another idea for the arsenal to battle slugs. I think if I ever moved to where it was constantly wet, I would want to try the duck idea. I have always wanted ducks. :)

Thank you again and all the best,
Benny

not to change the subject or anything, but is "Benny Hill" your real name???

I asked him that when he joined and he refrained from answering me. Hope you have better luck!

I know this is the 'Slug Thread' and not the 'Why You Should Own Ducks Thread' but why would it need to be constantly wet for you to own ducks?
I had 6 ducks in a lovely suburban back yard. The only water available was a kiddie wading pool. They thought it was their own private lake. Although sometimes they would knock on the kitchen door and ask me to make it rain...actually they wanted me to spray water from the garden hose. Ducks are very good pets; they work cheap; they eat bugs, insects and weeds...okay, sometimes they get it wrong and eat the good plants, but ...

Okay, back to the slug fest.

We had about a dozen ducks fenced in and I have tried giving them snails, but want nothing to do with them. Also had a goose--didn't bother the snails, but sure loved our tender tips of cucumber vines.

Hi there Greene and riverman,

Yep, Benny Hill is my real name. On my second day in England, the HR Manager said we have a surprise for you. They took me and the other new hires to Madame Tussaud's as a way to get to know each other. At the time when you entered Benny Hill was there and they all enjoyed taking photos of me with the wax likeness of the comedian.

It's been a fun journey.

Oh, for the ducks, don't they need a pond or pool or something similar? That was my thinking when it came to a wet environment as I would feel guilty using water for that.

Wishing you all the best,
Benny

Good story; thanks.

For the ducks they need drinking water like any other critter. The 'lake' was just for fun. I would fill a small wading pool with water so they could slosh around and play. Some ducks can only do the mating in/on water but I never watched to see if they did that. When play time was over I watered the plants with the pool water and put the pool away until next time.

Back to slugs...
I had a thought but haven't researched this yet. Does anyone remember back in the 60s? 70s? when the gardening gurus would advocate capturing a bunch of say, grasshoppers, and popping them into the Oster blender with some water to make 'grasshopper liquid', strain, pour into a sprayer and spray the garden to keep grasshoppers away...anyone remember that? try that? think it would work with slugs? A blender full of slug liquid (eeewww, throw the blender out after that; no thank you, I would not like a frozen Marguerita made in that )...think it would work for slugs?

I think I'm going to continue to use the blender for margaritas and stick with the Sluggo for slugs... if only I can get around to putting it out there

I bought a wading pool for them and let the ducks out for a bit. Even put a plank so ducks can easily get into the water. Problem was--the male duck kept chasing after the goose, trying to mate with her. I eventually got rid of the pool, frogs were depositing their long strands of eggs in it. And still, none of them want to eat snails.
-Kadie

Perhaps we are looking at this from the wrong view point.
If we consider that Hosta are not a food source while slugs are edible and a good source of protein...
Here, take a look and see if you view the slugs differently:
http://feralfood.blogspot.com/...

Interesting, Greene. Our slugs are not large enough to do anything with, except kill.

drdawg - some of our Washington state slugs are big enough to drive. which the damage caused by that would be preferable to them chewing on my plants...