I have been conducting my own experiment since late February this year because I have a particularly bad problem with slugs. At present, I am cautiously hopeful that it is working. About five evenings a week I go out for one hour and collect all the slugs I can find and dispose of them. From April U was collecting between 200 and 600 each night. The drought helped of course. Now I am only finding about 40. I hope that by reducing the breeding population it may be possible to grow a number of plants more successfully next year. We shall see.
I came across slug or snail eggs the other day. When you see how many there are in a clutch,it's not surprising how many mature ones there are about.
I find a lot of slugs lurking under plants that they don't eat. I never used to think of looking there but I suppose it makes sense -there's more shelter under a plant that you haven't defoliated.
I use copper tape on really cheap lawn edging to enclose vulnerable veg, it has always seemed to work as beans, peas, cornichon etc all un-nibbled. Now I'm wondering if it's worth just using the edging as a barrier without the copper tape? Definitely going to try that next year, always have too many plants for the space so might just sacrifice a few.
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
When I pick rhubarb I cut the leaves off there and then and leave them on the ground. In my Belgian garden this worked a treat as slugs would shelter there. Haven't had any mature enough to pick here yet.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I find a lot of slugs lurking under plants that they don't eat. I never used to think of looking there but I suppose it makes sense -there's more shelter under a plant that you haven't defoliated.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw