10 Best & Cheap Ways to Get Rid of Slugs in Your Garden

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  • čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
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    The war on Gastropods is real, and takes more than a bottle of beer to win. I've tried every counter you can imagine and come up with my list of the 10 best and cheapest methods to get rid of slugs and keep your garden slug free.
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Komentáře • 370

  • @HuwRichards
    @HuwRichards  Před 10 měsíci +9

    Thank you for watching! Get an exclusive @Surfshark deal! Enter promo code HUWRICHARDS for an extra 3 months free at surfshark.deals/huwrichards

    • @andrewgiles2715
      @andrewgiles2715 Před 8 měsíci

      Great video, really useful variety of tips. Have you ever used wool mulch, apparently it dries out the slugs?

    • @davydavo3627
      @davydavo3627 Před měsícem

      Does Surfshark also protect against slugs, asking for a friend. Nice video.

    • @lsb9073
      @lsb9073 Před 23 dny +2

      Nothing works! except maybe those salt water buckets, but a double line of copper tape around the legs would be less ugly or in the way. Slugs avoid all my lettuces that I plant as sacrificials. In Scotland in high summer when it is still light after 11pm, the nightly slug patrol is a waste of time before 1am, as they dont come out immediately after dark. I need to wait at least an hour.
      I use a double line of copper tape around tin cans (open both ends) and plastic bottle cloches for my young plants, in particular brassicas & tagetes - beloved by slugs & snails.
      Beer traps are too expensive for a larger garden! even the cheapest stuff. You have to replace them and it all adds up over our long season. I tried using yeast & sugar- they went no where near it.
      Copper mesh (from Lidls) around the stems of young climbing beans, squashes, cucumber& aubergines, stops them completely and lasts all season but once the plant grows, they still find a way to the leaves but at least they dont get destroyed by that point. I put dbl copper tape around the bean poles too and the legs of any tables, or shelving in the greenhouse. Not cheap but cut the widest band you can find to make the double strip so when the animal touches both strips it creates the current- more effective then just one band. I get the tape online, much cheaper than the shops. But the nightly slug patrol and a tub of salty water to see them off is the only real solution for mature plants. Snails get taken up the road and chucked down the bank to thrive elsewhere.

  • @sanchadeburca1382
    @sanchadeburca1382 Před 10 měsíci +67

    Pet hair, hair brush fluff and even carpet fluff sweepings work really well. Little 'nests' around the stalks deters slugs and snails. Keep it topped up because when the hair compacts it works less well. All the hair is also compostable. My garden has changed completely since I discovered this tip.

    • @Sine-gl9ly
      @Sine-gl9ly Před měsícem +11

      Doesn't work for me at all. Mind you, all the local birds have lovely cosy warm nests now ... and in refurn, they do their level best to help me in return.

    • @hollybowers23
      @hollybowers23 Před měsícem +2

      I use my sheep's wool which kinda works, sometimes : )

    • @RichardTaylorgardening
      @RichardTaylorgardening Před 14 dny

      Touch a nettle you get stung si do the stomach foots

    • @JourneytoSustainableLiving
      @JourneytoSustainableLiving Před 9 hodinami

      If you can't get your hands on oyster shells, eggshells are also a good way to prevent slugs from going after certain plants! I also tried scrubbing my pans with eggshell powder for the first time while making my YT video and I was SHOCKED at the results! 🙌

  • @moamoa7067
    @moamoa7067 Před měsícem +37

    This reminds me of my dad getting me and my brother going on a *slughunt* every summer and spring evenings in the garden. We were supposed to get 1 sek for every slug. Remember we got over 100 one night and saddly my dad removed the money-making aspect for some reason 😂. I still goes on a 5-15 min hunt every evening for slugs with the same tools. Trash picker and a small hanging pot with salt water in it.Going early in the season really keeps the population down 👍

  • @deanwatt
    @deanwatt Před 10 měsíci +65

    Instead of wasting beer, just get a jug of 2 litres of cold water, and mix in 2 tablespoons of yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar (these can be bought in bulk and a very cheap!) and put this in your Slug Pubs.
    You can fill lots of them with 2 litres, also with them dotted around the whole garden, you can find the areas that have the most slugs and try clear them out from their stronghold.
    The slug pubs don't need to be buried and the edges of the container don't worry them, they will climb straight in!
    Trust me, I was once over run!!
    🤣😅

    • @realstatistician
      @realstatistician Před měsícem +3

      I have also used the yeast method, and it definitely works. 👍

    • @Sine-gl9ly
      @Sine-gl9ly Před měsícem +1

      The only thing wrong with the yeast water method is that I don't find it as easy to look in and see how many slugs I've trapped, as it is with a pale ale or a lager, as it gets cloudy much faster.

    • @vladtheimpaler8995
      @vladtheimpaler8995 Před měsícem

      @@Sine-gl9lyI just filter the contents through a Sieve and replace the liquid.

    • @Sine-gl9ly
      @Sine-gl9ly Před měsícem +1

      @@vladtheimpaler8995 I just like to look in to see what I'm catching - size of them, and to check there aren't any beetles in there (certain beetles prey on slug eggs and newly-hatched slugs). Also I think the birds seem to prefer slugs marinated in beer, to slugs in a yeast sauce ...

    • @vladtheimpaler8995
      @vladtheimpaler8995 Před měsícem +1

      @@Sine-gl9ly The brewers yeast and sugar brew I use seems to attract some . I have several jars filled with it around the garden . Not happy though about the bugs and insects that fall in .

  • @1258-Eckhart
    @1258-Eckhart Před 10 měsíci +13

    Just on the bramble rampart - I have a very mature (i.e. old) barrel cactus on my patio, which seems to attract the slugs. I caught one slithering over it (spines & all) a few days ago.

  • @haraldtheyounger5504
    @haraldtheyounger5504 Před měsícem +9

    3:40 The Moat, that's what I did to protect our Hosta. Put it in a huge wooden tub which sits on top of a metal frame, which sits within a sunken concrete pool with a depth of 4" for the water. The only way the hosta survives the summer.

  • @chezelleconroy2951
    @chezelleconroy2951 Před 10 měsíci +38

    I’ve been genuinely surprised how well beer traps work.

    • @SimonHaestoe
      @SimonHaestoe Před 9 měsíci +3

      Well, they have good taste. Slug connoseurs.

    • @annashiegl
      @annashiegl Před 3 měsíci +2

      I had a beer trap but beetles also drowned in there 😢

    • @inwardvoyage4209
      @inwardvoyage4209 Před měsícem +12

      My partner put one out one night without me knowing and I nearly drowned in there

    • @DozyRoseyPosey
      @DozyRoseyPosey Před 13 dny +2

      Work too well for me, uncountable slugs, two massive stag beetles and a small frog 😞

    • @annashiegl
      @annashiegl Před 13 dny +2

      @@DozyRoseyPosey that's why I don't use them anymore, killing good guys in there as well. Stag beetles eat slugs.

  • @clairewings4412
    @clairewings4412 Před měsícem +6

    If there is a coffee roasting company in your community (follow your nose!) they may have loads of coffee bean chaff they to get rid of. This organic matter is very dry and fluffy, very lightweight. Slugs and snails cannot glide over it as it sticks to their bodies and slime trails until it becomes too much for them to drag behind them. It works well between rains, composts well (a layer- even a thin layer - of dry coffee chaff blanketing your compost pile or wormbox will also keep fruitflies from entering) and can be had for free.

  • @roontunes
    @roontunes Před 9 dny +3

    in my current garden we have a snail problem, very few slugs but the blackbirds and thrushes are a big help in keeping down the numbers. I grow roses and have recently been using bracken extract to spray for aphids, sawflies etc. As an unexpected benefit Ive discovered that my extract kills snails 😮. Not immediately but they will be stationary quite quickly then by the next day without any sign of life. No foaming or signs of distress, just a quiet death, apparently.Thats a bonus but I will have to keep an eye on the corpses as Im not sure what happens if the blackbirds eat the dead snails.

  • @susanfoy4794
    @susanfoy4794 Před 10 měsíci +37

    I live at the top of a pretty steep hill. Every morning I "relocate" snails as far down the hill as I can throw them. If they survive that ride, they deserve to live.

    • @twpsy634
      @twpsy634 Před 4 měsíci +13

      😂😂! Brilliant! This reminds me of a time years ago, when in total exasperation ,I threw a handful of slimes slugs over my garden wall.To my horror I heard a loud shriek from the lane running alongside .I scuttled back into the house as quickly and quietly as I could , prepared to deny all knowledge To my relief no one appeared. Maybe they thought slugs could fly. 😅

    • @jlseagull2.060
      @jlseagull2.060 Před měsícem

      @@twpsy634😜🤪

    • @rosemarielee7775
      @rosemarielee7775 Před měsícem +3

      They will have worked up an appetite by the time they are home!

    • @Sine-gl9ly
      @Sine-gl9ly Před měsícem +8

      You might want to put a dab of Tippex or nail polish on some of the snails to see if they do climb back up. Apparently snails have a 'homing instinct'.

    • @johnnyd3387
      @johnnyd3387 Před měsícem

      That would be brilliant​@@Sine-gl9ly

  • @madjockmacsporran
    @madjockmacsporran Před 10 měsíci +11

    The idea of putting the table legs in salt water is brilliant! I would improve it further by adding a shelter of some sort a little above each moat to stop rainwater from diluting it. The other good thing with this idea is that, if it starts to dry out, you only need to add fresh water as the salt will remain during evaporation.

    • @spritzpistol
      @spritzpistol Před 20 dny +7

      Maybe put the legs of tables in a smaller empty tub first before popping the legs into the water containers, as salt water will corrode metal and water will infiltrate wood😅

  • @helensavery6622
    @helensavery6622 Před měsícem +5

    Having horticultural sand around raised beds/growing areas works well!

  • @annteather2826
    @annteather2826 Před 9 měsíci +9

    I found Nemaslug very time consuming to apply for a couple of years using watering can, then bought a hose end sprayer which didn't have many turns on the screw, so lid fell off when it fell on the ground, so have given up with it.
    Re slug pubs; I found the slugs don't like cheap lager! They like real ale with all the yeasty smells & no doubt Vitamin B, so now take the drip tray contents from my local pub, which would otherwise go down the sink. Best of all they like dark ales!

    • @annteather2826
      @annteather2826 Před 9 měsíci +2

      Oh and I forgot to mention, the rotting slugs can get smelly in greenhouse, whilst slug pubs outdoors self clean, due to the foxes licking the bowl clean and enjoying a meal of beer marinaded slug!

  • @alexk7973
    @alexk7973 Před 10 měsíci +11

    The water moats are an age old technique that was used a lot inside as well. You sometimes see it in museums, where old beds have traps similar to this around the base of their legs, so parasites wouldn‘t climb into the straw mattresses.

    • @jlseagull2.060
      @jlseagull2.060 Před měsícem

      Yeah, I parents did so to deter ants climbing into the shelves where they stored food and sugar, when I was a kid.

  • @rwind1814
    @rwind1814 Před 29 dny +6

    I found that leaving a simple slice of bread at sundown attracts all nearby snails / slugs similar to beer (due to the yeast) but won’t kill them in a horrible way. Just remove the slugs before going to bed and repeat for a few evenings.

    • @fousies
      @fousies Před 9 dny

      Where do you put them after that

    • @UsualYaddaYadda
      @UsualYaddaYadda Před 9 dny +3

      Whilst they're still on the bread, pop it under the grill, just until bubbling and with a dash of Worcester Sauce, it makes a delicious pre bed snack. Bon appétit!

  • @mavisbritton6257
    @mavisbritton6257 Před 10 měsíci +21

    I moved some bags today that had been in a compost bin for quite a while. The slugs underneath were the size of a small mouse....I kid you not 😱

    • @curiosityC
      @curiosityC Před 10 měsíci

      I had all sorts: Brown, black, french, panter, wood, house. Moved a few 100 meters to a more sunny spot and less cracks in the rocks. No slugs at all.

  • @BigFootG
    @BigFootG Před 10 měsíci +18

    Hi everyone! I would just like to say I've been using Copper tubing simply poked into the pot/ raised garden bed to prevent slugs from attacking my plants, if you can get your hands on old copper wire that should do the trick too, cheers hope this helps!

    • @bmg2507
      @bmg2507 Před 10 měsíci +1

      Does it work?

    • @dawntheodore
      @dawntheodore Před 10 měsíci

      ​@@bmg2507anything copper placed around pots or plants will work. I've spent years collecting copper coins just for this purpose. I think it gives the slugs/snails an electric shock. You can also buy copper tape for your pots x

    • @BirgitProfessional
      @BirgitProfessional Před 9 měsíci

      ​@@bmg2507yes, it keeps slugs out because there's a chemical reaction between slug slime and copper. They don't like the feeling of crawling over copper and turn around.

    • @RichardTaylorgardening
      @RichardTaylorgardening Před 14 dny +1

      Only if conected to a battery

  • @juneshannon8074
    @juneshannon8074 Před 10 měsíci +22

    Huw, I’m wondering why you don’t like to net your brassicas? I have a huge problem with white cabbage moth.

  • @ThatBritishHomestead
    @ThatBritishHomestead Před měsícem +5

    There are so many slugs this year... I have to say. We left out some plastic and you get 100s under them! I also have been putting ducks in my garden or chickens... they live eatting them! They are so many the other day they wouldn't eat any I found lol they for so full! Win win as I can save on feed and be slug and snail free!

  • @BogusDudeGW
    @BogusDudeGW Před 10 měsíci +9

    another one for plant pots, melt some bees wax and add a load of salt to it, then smear it around the rims/bases of your pots. I do all of the above but as i work 3-3 nightshift i'm around for first light with machete in hand, works a treat.

    • @lialicious1000
      @lialicious1000 Před 9 dny

      But over time the salt will wash into the ground and harm it

  • @curiosityC
    @curiosityC Před 10 měsíci +5

    Tried growing beetroots in a dark rocky place for three years. Got extreme amounts of slugs. Moved to a rocky but sunny place in the same area. No slugs. Perhaps because the rocks now has fewer cracks and the plants are stronger thanks to the sunny spot. In northern scandinavia.

  • @DannyHodge95
    @DannyHodge95 Před 10 měsíci +24

    The RHS released a paper a few years ago that claimed that barriers (such as brambles, egg shells, etc) actually make 0 difference when it comes to snail/slug damage.

    • @HuwRichards
      @HuwRichards  Před 10 měsíci +15

      Good for them

    • @DannyHodge95
      @DannyHodge95 Před 10 měsíci +8

      @@HuwRichards Sassy!

    • @Marketingmagician
      @Marketingmagician Před 10 měsíci +5

      Agreed. Slugs can slither over razor blades so a bramble isn’t going to deter them.

    • @anarchypanarchy
      @anarchypanarchy Před 10 měsíci +2

      @@Marketingmagician Is this an urban myth, or are sharp objects (shells, brambles) really an ineffective deterrent? Opinion seems to be divided on this.

    • @Sine-gl9ly
      @Sine-gl9ly Před 2 měsíci +13

      ​@@anarchypanarchyI think, like most garden things, 'it depends'. I find spiky things totally useless, and I lifted the raw sheep's wool which 'protected' my neighbour's hostas to find a veritable slug community underneath, enjoying their cosy hiding place with convenient dining facilities ...
      Nematodes, slug pubs, wildlife-friendly pellets, wildlife encouragement and hand picking for me. I live in a major Slug Birthing Centre, in temperate, wet, Lancashire, and despite my efforts at organising conveniences such as Birth Control, Abortion and Euthanasia clinics for my visitors, too few of them take me up on it voluntarily and my Border Force of fast blackbirds (during the day) and heavily-armoured hedgehogs (at night) are too thinly stretched over a wide area ...

  • @123WBPhotography
    @123WBPhotography Před 17 dny +3

    my favourite bit was 'relocate them'. splat!

  • @driftingoffgrid9573
    @driftingoffgrid9573 Před 9 měsíci +1

    Hi Hugh - love the channel! I have a polycarbonate polytunnel it does not meet the ground completely. My slugs scale the walls. I go out there in the morning and they are all over the place - above my head - everywhere. I was considering a saline spray to clean the polycarbonate - and leaving it to dry. Do you think that would work?

  • @bellsibub9951
    @bellsibub9951 Před 9 měsíci +4

    ive been using copper tape around my bench, with all my delicious coleus plants on it.

    • @MargaretUK
      @MargaretUK Před 18 dny +1

      I also swear by copper tape, it's not 100% but I lose a lot less of my strawberries now

  • @O.T.A
    @O.T.A Před 10 měsíci +1

    This will be so helpful as that the sails I have like to eat bell peper leaves to much.

  • @louiseann_venusandneptune
    @louiseann_venusandneptune Před měsícem

    Love that moat idea - I’m going to try that on my outside table at the allotment 👍🏻

  • @kdk1716
    @kdk1716 Před měsícem +2

    That table and salt water tip is giving me hope j can actually grow something!!!

  • @markhutton6824
    @markhutton6824 Před měsícem +2

    Sorry I am loving the Slug Gone wool pellets... my dog Apollo is fascinated by them... UK wool pellets that help stop slugs and then rot into the soil enriching it.

  • @RichardTaylorgardening
    @RichardTaylorgardening Před 14 dny +5

    Ok i have been gardening for 50 odd years top tips chop up nettles and brambles use as a mulch water the roots with a pipe let the ground stay dry happy gardening Richardx

  • @WMHhomestead
    @WMHhomestead Před 10 měsíci +1

    I have tried the beer pool and it worked very well! I genuinely think it decreased the whole population for me this year since slugs have not been as big of a problem

  • @johnlord8337
    @johnlord8337 Před 10 měsíci +11

    Beer ponds (cups) work excellent with a covered dome - slugs and snails will find, get drunk and drown. One then needs to dispose of the gucky goo - spray out and refill.

  • @tanseypenfold2109
    @tanseypenfold2109 Před 19 hodinami +1

    Years ago my dad ran bantam hens on his veg bed in winter. No slugs and happy birds.

  • @kaf2303
    @kaf2303 Před měsícem

    The moat method works well for mushroom logs ( no salt needed) I use it for my Shiitake logs . Cheers.

  • @christinatyler7255
    @christinatyler7255 Před 9 dny +2

    I use sheep wool around the base of the plant. Slugs won't touch it, I get it from the local farmer. Bonus it works like a weed suppressant as well

    • @maxine3587
      @maxine3587 Před 9 hodinami

      It is useless when it rains, which is all the time in the UK so far this "summer".

  • @lirushmore9028
    @lirushmore9028 Před 2 měsíci

    I like to add pine cones around my plants. The pine cones have rugged stickers all around it that slugs do not like. The brand new green pine cones are the most rugged. They make great compost after they break down

  • @uwentv5302
    @uwentv5302 Před měsícem

    Beer traps work! I love them.

  • @JR-ol1jz
    @JR-ol1jz Před 9 měsíci +2

    thanks! a lot of ideas! what about ants? do you have ants problems there ?

  • @denisdufresne5338
    @denisdufresne5338 Před měsícem +10

    There is nothing better than a few indian runner ducks. Not only they loves slugs but they also provide eggs and meat for almost no cost. And they are funny to care of.

    • @saskins22
      @saskins22 Před měsícem +1

      They also scratch the garden up,

    • @fionahenry4592
      @fionahenry4592 Před 26 dny

      @@saskins22with webbed feet? You must be thinking of chickens…

  • @jeffskinner1226
    @jeffskinner1226 Před měsícem +2

    Dry loose sand spread around the base of plants is also an easy and effective deterrent against slugs, will need to be refreshed after heavy rains.

  • @oojimmyflip
    @oojimmyflip Před 15 dny +2

    equally if you sink old guttering close to raised borders and fill it with road salt it will stop them eating your brassicas in the raised borders.

  • @senpaiyehet3769
    @senpaiyehet3769 Před 10 měsíci

    Swear by beer traps/slug pubs and the nemaslug. Had beer traps last year and it worked a treated. This year we needed more defence thanks to all the rain and wetness. Tried many different things to no avail. Caved in and tried nemaslug, I must say this is working well! Don’t get me wrong we get the occasional slug in the raised bed, however compared to before the population has drastically decreased

    • @twpsy634
      @twpsy634 Před 4 měsíci

      I have used Nematodes for a few years now and have certainly seen far fewer slugs.Just the bloomin snails now.

  • @kerryl4031
    @kerryl4031 Před 10 měsíci +2

    We seem to have a fair few devil's coach horse beetles - but even they can't cope with the current invasion! Thinking of letting the ducks have supervised access if and when it stops raining. Probably the wettest year here so far and the slugs have multiplied many times over. So much devastation - including in the greenhouse!

  • @kennethcope7266
    @kennethcope7266 Před 10 měsíci +6

    I'm a catch and release guy, though the release is generally onto a shed roof for the birds, or into the road. If they manage to get back into the garden, then I'll get them another day, They earned the respite. Hunting seems best when it's warm and wet - during rain, or just after - early morning or late evening. they can go 6feet deep or more during the day, so they can be tricky to get rid of otherwise.
    I don't like slug pellets though I have lot of pest pressure for neighbouring gardens. So, when it's bad, I put them out on a plastic lid, of some sort, that's covered from the rain and which has a thimble (or other small container) of cheap bear, or yeasted bread starter at the middle. The beer really draws them from all around and they generally succumb to the slug pellets before they can reach it. I don't want slug pellets in the soil; this works well and is disposable.
    I have slugs crawling all over my blackberries and thorned raspberries - so I'm viewing that suggestion with some doubt - I suspect they are agile enough to work around the thorns.
    Copper tape, seems to lose efficacy in a season.
    Nematode, works, but not forever. You need a good population of slugs and snails inthe soil already to feed the nematodes and keep them alive long enough to have any impact on the gastropode population. If I was moving into a new poperty with a really bad infestation, then I would use this and douse that garden every few weeks.
    Anyway, my main, pest seems to be woodlice. I'm not putting down powders, so my main prophylactic is lots of diversity to get lots of predators in the garden. If anyone has a good, tried and tested, let's say organic method of getting rid of stupidly high populations of woodlice, I would love to know.

    • @hp-cs7mx
      @hp-cs7mx Před 10 měsíci +2

      I used a straw ( cane bagasse) mulch one year and slaters inundated everything. Too many places to hide! I found “ no dig” and now I keep my beds very firm and very clean - no woodlice/slaters at all. Rare slug in the silver beet. No snails.

  • @haniespanieldollis
    @haniespanieldollis Před 9 dny

    1:11 Awesome! I've got a plank of wood spare anyway 😊

  • @wendyburston3132
    @wendyburston3132 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Thanks

  • @janenewley1014
    @janenewley1014 Před 10 měsíci

    I always start to look out for slugs from mid Feb….St Valentine’s Day!

  • @JoyOfThinking
    @JoyOfThinking Před 14 dny

    I wonder, for those taller raised beds (e.g. the waist-height one shown in the video), if you could construct something that runs along the edge of it (maybe midway up) which contains something to stop slugs/snails from climbing further. Maybe some spikes pointing downwards, or a salt water moat, etc.

  • @SimonHaestoe
    @SimonHaestoe Před 9 měsíci +4

    I sometimes feel Im easy to entertain but not easy enough to think laying sticks on the ground is fun 🤠🍻

    • @copyerror
      @copyerror Před 13 dny

      Can you say Andy Goldsworthy?

  • @jude7321
    @jude7321 Před měsícem

    Hi Huw,
    What kind of watering can is that you got there? I love the sprinkle that it makes.
    Oh, and you're awesome!!!

  • @LordJazzly
    @LordJazzly Před 9 měsíci +1

    Ooh, I made a joke about chickens before I got to that point in the video. They are very effective - just also very destructive. It's part of the charm, really.

  • @Undercoverbooks
    @Undercoverbooks Před 9 měsíci +2

    Can you recommend ways to keep earwigs out of cabbage? Thx!

  • @barodacyril
    @barodacyril Před 10 měsíci +2

    I have lots of ants in my polytunnel and also in my mini orchard, which has already brought an army of aphids and destroyed my plum and pear produce however should I get ants from my polytunnel which has tomatoes, aubergine and celery

  • @simonmonto
    @simonmonto Před 8 měsíci +1

    5:02 god damn that was a smooth ad transition

  • @alan_cycles
    @alan_cycles Před měsícem +1

    Budweiser is the beer of choice for the slugs where I live. Someone in the area dumps their half empty tins along the roadside near the house and they’re full of dead slug gunk within days 😂

  • @littlesinman
    @littlesinman Před 10 měsíci +1

    1st~~ thank you for the great tips!!!

  • @DataSmithy
    @DataSmithy Před 10 měsíci +33

    When I notice slug damage I literally put on a headlight, set my alarm for 10 p.m. after the sun sets and go out and pick slugs by hand off of my plants.
    I try to do this once a week for several weeks in a row, especially after a rain.
    I rarely have a slug problem now.

    • @silverpromidi
      @silverpromidi Před 10 měsíci +1

      take out a container with HOT water in it and give the slugs and snails a nice warm bath

    • @marinasanders8299
      @marinasanders8299 Před 10 měsíci +2

      I am doing that 3-4 times a week and I do not think the are getting any less

    • @ohsugar-cookies
      @ohsugar-cookies Před 9 měsíci +3

      I've been going out and collecting a bucketful and then taking a trip to the forest nearby and releasing them. Seems to work alot better and kids enjoy this activity haha

  • @gbcb8853
    @gbcb8853 Před 10 měsíci +17

    Buckingham Palace gardeners swear by steel wool to protect the Royal hostas; we were told on a tour last week

  • @thegoodraj
    @thegoodraj Před měsícem +3

    How about squirrels Huw? Any tips or videos for that?

  • @martincrabtree6704
    @martincrabtree6704 Před 9 měsíci +7

    'Relocate them' PMSL, I relocate them in Hell with my boot or a pair of scissors.

  • @nineteenninetyfive
    @nineteenninetyfive Před měsícem +1

    Slugs and every kind of pest are food for other predators. I think it was James Wong on GQT i heard saying the most pristine hostas he saw was in the wild in Japan where every population of pest was controlled by their natural predators. The problem with our gardens is we fence out hedgehogs, we net out birds (or have cats to scare them), we kill off other insects and frogs with chemicals, and even removing by hand takes away the food source for the animals we want to encourage. The only thing in either my garden or allotment that i have to seriously protect from slugs and snails is my lupins. During the spring i go out first thing and remove any i find and throw them next door (just a grass lawn). When they get going and it gets hotter they do fine without protection.

  • @teolinek
    @teolinek Před měsícem +1

    I have slow worms in my garden - and believe they help me with the slug control.

  • @MarianWalsh-vz9fy
    @MarianWalsh-vz9fy Před 10 měsíci +3

    Love the brambles idea 😀

    • @garthwunsch
      @garthwunsch Před 10 měsíci +4

      Totally useless... and what garden has that much bare soil around any plant... and bare soil is detrimental to healthy soil.

  • @80sLiving
    @80sLiving Před 13 dny +1

    Watch out, Slug pushed the gate open at 1:26, mighty persistent these slugs ;)

  • @bewoodford2807
    @bewoodford2807 Před 3 dny

    I use the moat method but I place a yoghurt carton inside a larger container so the table/staging legs don't deteriorate from contact with the brine. Som useful tips.

  • @byjamie-hillierrubis
    @byjamie-hillierrubis Před 10 měsíci +5

    Table legs in salt water, brilliant simplicity.

    💖🙏💫

    • @janebailey9228
      @janebailey9228 Před 10 měsíci

      Great idea but I worried a little about putting metal legs into salt water.

  • @daviddecatur4190
    @daviddecatur4190 Před 4 měsíci +1

    Hi Huw thaks forthe video, i had beer plates out in my raised beds forslugs investaton ad a nigt aimal like possum, raccoon, fox, skunk, cat came nd drank the beer lollolololo!

  • @pingupenguin2474
    @pingupenguin2474 Před 10 měsíci +4

    Egg shells, etc may not deter slugs, I don't know. But brambles definately discourages our local cats from using our deep beds as litter trays !!

  • @berkes
    @berkes Před měsícem +1

    I have some copper tape that I glued around a few pots with "my difficult darlings" (pepper, cucumber etc). It's expensive, but keeps forever.
    In my garden I successfully created small fences from copper wire that I harvested from old electronics (motors and transformers have hundreds of meters wore wound up).
    These fences were only about 3cm (an inch) high. Bamboo fenceposts at the corners and every half a meter or so. Al lot of work, and rather flimsy: lasted only one season. It works, but I found it not worth the offort. Might help others, though.

    • @MargaretUK
      @MargaretUK Před 18 dny +1

      100% agree with you on the copper tape 👍

  • @thenextpoetician6328
    @thenextpoetician6328 Před 10 měsíci +4

    Galvanized steel and ducks should be on the list.

  • @shelleygoetchius231
    @shelleygoetchius231 Před 13 dny

    I use boards or cardboard and relocate the slugs. Also I have a couple toads that live in my strawberry patch and they keep the slugs and snails down😀

  • @saintz177
    @saintz177 Před 22 dny +1

    I been using egg shells for decades,does the job

  • @cameronconnery2080
    @cameronconnery2080 Před měsícem

    Hello Huw. Loving your channel. I'm curious - did you know that it's perfectly fine to eat garden snails? Do a CZcams search for "Gordan Ramsey British Garden Snails" and he'll show you how to prepare them. I realise this might not be for the squeemish, but seeing as though you dislike snails in your garden, you're all about self sufficiency and you don't use chemicals, I figured it might be an ideal match. Protein from the garden! I admit I have not tried it yet, but I certainly will.

  • @livemusicloverLyn
    @livemusicloverLyn Před 2 měsíci +1

    Great advice about hedgehogs :)

  • @oliverb5726
    @oliverb5726 Před 10 měsíci +4

    I’ve had good success mixing ammonia 1:6 or so with water in a 5L garden sprayer and going around at night with a head torch spraying any slugs and snails I can see, and areas I know they will be in. When hit with the ammonia solution they just melt away. The ammonia doesn’t harm the plants and gives them a nitrogen boost

    • @garthwunsch
      @garthwunsch Před 10 měsíci +2

      I stumbled onto this idea years ago. I found that I can use one part household cleaning ammonia to ten parts water and still get effective control. Slugs decimate my carrot seedlings, so at around day 6 after sowing, I go out in the late evening and water the area around my carrot bed with this solution. Doing that a couple of evenings in a row seems to handle the slugs.

    • @kayputtergill8996
      @kayputtergill8996 Před 24 dny

      12:08 😊

  • @TMGVideoDiaries
    @TMGVideoDiaries Před měsícem +1

    ahh ,,, when you started talking about online security, I realised straght away you were going down that "naughty" advertising route... when in fact the only antivirus worth mentionnning is Kaspersky (and i dont even get sponsored)

  • @vitamartinenko4747
    @vitamartinenko4747 Před 10 měsíci

    🌱🌱🌱 we have some violent slugs this year

  • @liam6899
    @liam6899 Před 5 měsíci +1

    Can you do one for the bloody caterpillars they ate everything this year and it makes it hard when not wanting to use chemicals to kill them off

    • @Ollybus
      @Ollybus Před měsícem

      Birds eat caterpillars. Provide food and nesting boxes/sites for birds.

  • @bethanyfelton4330
    @bethanyfelton4330 Před měsícem +1

    Nice ideas. There’s one method I tried that is phenomenally good on snails and slugs. Go buy a six pack of cheap beer and small clear plastic cups. Like you’re getting ready for a party. Small holes around your garden where you place the cups level to the ground where the rim is at soil level or just above. Poor a quarter of beer in the cup. Check in the morning. It will be full of slugs and snails. Continue the process until you don’t have anymore. Killed out the snails in my yard one season, the next season was only babies that I was catching. After that yard was good. And you don’t have to change the beer every day unless it rains.

  • @krzysztofrudnicki5841
    @krzysztofrudnicki5841 Před 10 měsíci +18

    I wanted ducks, wife wanted chickens. Now we have chickens and only one sunflower from 40 planted.

    • @smas3256
      @smas3256 Před 10 měsíci +5

      And chicken poop for the compost.

    • @Hereford1642
      @Hereford1642 Před měsícem

      Ducks turn an area into a muddy swamp much more than chickens ever do. Doubt if your sunflower seeds would have fared any better.

    • @ahmedsn9297
      @ahmedsn9297 Před 11 dny

      Chickens will eat slugs and small snails and ducks with eat bigger snails too.
      I don't let the birds in the garden but i keep a container to gather snails and slugs while i'm working in the garden then give it to the birds.

  • @annashiegl
    @annashiegl Před 3 měsíci +6

    I have some leopard slugs, they are good slugs, which kill the bad slugs. So make sure to look for them,they are mainly brown with black stripes and or spots. I need more of these 😊

    • @EtherealSunset
      @EtherealSunset Před měsícem +4

      I love Leopard Slugs. Good for your garden and as far as slugs go, they're actually quite pretty too.

    • @Solitude11-11
      @Solitude11-11 Před měsícem +1

      It’s sad that people think all slugs are bad and kill them. I love leopard slugs.

    • @LouciferFlump
      @LouciferFlump Před 20 dny

      @@Solitude11-11I love slugs and snails. They’re cute.

  • @kennysmith3799
    @kennysmith3799 Před měsícem +1

    Built a bramble moat, next morning my sunflower seedling was shredded.

  • @abitnajs9479
    @abitnajs9479 Před 15 dny +1

    I tried to fin nemaslugs online, but i cant, can some one help me with the link, maybe its because i am situated in croatia that i can not find it?

  • @Joannabcdefghij
    @Joannabcdefghij Před 10 měsíci +1

    How do you crush oyster shells??

  • @Oteucanalpreferido
    @Oteucanalpreferido Před 10 měsíci +15

    I cut the slugs in half with a scissor and pile them near the plants I want to protect. More slugs come to eat the dead ones so it gets really easy. I check every morning and night, with a lantern its easy to spot them at night. Its simple and works really well!

    • @micha040
      @micha040 Před 9 měsíci +13

      wow thats horrible

    • @thorfinn518
      @thorfinn518 Před 2 měsíci +6

      Gross

    • @MyAirMyles
      @MyAirMyles Před měsícem +4

      Amazing. Might try this

    • @marschma
      @marschma Před měsícem +5

      Blood for the blood god

    • @andreahorsch286
      @andreahorsch286 Před měsícem +3

      ​@@marschmaI am here for the cultish horticulture replies. This made my day.

  • @TramaForKing
    @TramaForKing Před 10 měsíci +1

    i think the best way to protect raised garden bets from slugs it to use the technology that bath tubs have....
    the edges are basically impossible for slugs to pass and get to the dirt n plants.
    Thats because it is too thin n too steep
    tho thing is... how do u make something like it and put it on every raised bed... well
    short diameter thin pvc pipes with a third cut off are pretty good, the thinner the better btw
    Huw i think u should try this on one of ur beds n see the results, ull probably have 0-1 slugs... and that one slug will get there by evolving legs due to natural selection cuz he needs to overcome your obstacle to eat XD

  • @MynewTennesseeHome
    @MynewTennesseeHome Před měsícem +3

    Snail and slugs don't like copper, I sometimes lay copper wire around susceptible plants.

    • @user-qj3vz7jk6i
      @user-qj3vz7jk6i Před 18 dny +2

      They are in my concrete raised beds and my plastic beds not in my metal ones

  • @johnransom1146
    @johnransom1146 Před 10 měsíci +6

    Ducks love to eat slugs. They don’t pull up your garden like chickens do.

  • @timallcutt7283
    @timallcutt7283 Před měsícem +1

    Just a warning that sea shells can be very very sharp... bare in mind if you have decided to use them

  • @Krispy1011
    @Krispy1011 Před měsícem +1

    you want to get rid of snails and slugs - get a pie pan and fill it with beer and put it in your flower bed or vegetable garden in the evening - the next morning - if there are slugs in your flower bed or garden, the pie tin that was filled with beer will be filled with slugs and snails - I tried it and it works every time. You will be amazed at how many slugs and snails are in your flower beds and gardens, especially if they never have been treated for them.

  • @truth3358
    @truth3358 Před měsícem +1

    You picked a plant up in your polly tunnel that looked to me had be eaten alive leaves

  • @nathansteiger2409
    @nathansteiger2409 Před 13 dny

    This guy all about saving and playing with slugs, lol! Crazy!

  • @andrewtowell6074
    @andrewtowell6074 Před měsícem +1

    The best and most effective long term solution is to use Nematodes, works a treat and is environmentally friendly too.
    Having beer traps (or yeast and water) to catch them is effective too.
    If you have ducks, they obviously love a slug 😂

  • @Beejayize
    @Beejayize Před měsícem +2

    Best shallow fry, with paprika.

  • @eggtool54
    @eggtool54 Před 26 dny +1

    I stick snails & slugs into my compost that has a lid ,make them work for a living 😅

  • @russelhill9721
    @russelhill9721 Před měsícem +3

    From experience it is not good to fill a beer trap to the top as slugs can often access the beer without danger of falling in and you've just got drunk slugs rampaging round then when happy hour is finished.

  • @bewoodford2807
    @bewoodford2807 Před 10 měsíci +4

    Does chicken oyster grit work as well as crushing oyster shells, which I would ind difficult to do? Thank you 🙂I m lucky enough to have slow works on my plot!

    • @MyScottyboy1
      @MyScottyboy1 Před 10 měsíci +2

      I used large trays with 10mm of chicken oyster shell (I bought a 20k bag) with a 30l pot on top in each tray to grow carrots, dwarf beans and corgettes. No slug damage even though my garden has been a warzone for slug/snail genonicide many nights throughout June/July.

    • @janebailey9228
      @janebailey9228 Před 10 měsíci +2

      I have 30kg of chicken oyster grit that I was wondering what to do with...I have literally just gone outside in the dark and made a tray of grit to put my brassica seedlings in. (One by one I had been losing them to slugs). 🤞

    • @bewoodford2807
      @bewoodford2807 Před 10 měsíci

      @@MyScottyboy1 oh that's brilliant. Thank you :-)

  • @leavealekalone
    @leavealekalone Před 15 dny +11

    Slugs and snails ate my dahlias, cucumbers and got to my marigolds as well. Don’t even get me started on my gladiolas last month..
    The war is on - I’ve placed yoghurt cups with beer in my pots, and slugs literally climbed up and drowned in it 😇 I will now turn my garden into a beer pool, I have a personal vendetta now 😹

  • @MikeSpaa
    @MikeSpaa Před 10 měsíci +6

    Beer traps have been really effective in my garden. However I go about it much less fancy: just an empty yoghurt container with beer placed in the garden. No need to dig a hole, or put little grasses on top. The slugs will come anyway.

    • @andreahorsch286
      @andreahorsch286 Před měsícem

      Thanks for saying this. I have wondered but didn't want to waste beer if I had to bury it

  • @steveelkins52
    @steveelkins52 Před měsícem +1

    Raised beds harbour slug if made of wood, they are basically a waste of time, especially if you don't keep them full of soil. They do look nice though. I can't imagine going around with a torch at night is sustainable for anything other than the smallest plot. I have yet to be convinced why we can't use slug pellets anymore. Probably the sat behind a desk committee.