Poor Marguerite. The lovely daisies I bought less than a month ago have fallen prey to slugs. The petals have gone and left some grotty yellow balls while the new flowers are being eaten as fast as they can grow.
As I have small children, and as I also want to encourage birds and hedgehogs that might eat the slugs for me, I don’t really want to put down slug pellets. I’ve been looking into less invasive methods of managing my garden’s slug population and this is what I’ve come up with:
1. Nematodes
This preparation is available in many garden centres, usually in a fridge cabinet. It is a bacteria that is fatal to slugs but not to anything else and can simply be watered into the soil. If you are growing root vegetables and are worried about slugs eating them, this is one of the best methods to deal with the little blighters as it works under the soil.
2. Copper tape
Put it round your plant pots! The slugs won’t cross it and your plants will be safe. You can also buy mats impregnated with copper salts to stand your plant pots on, which work in the same way.
3. Trap the little so-and-sos
Scoop out a melon, grapefruit or large orange and sink it in the ground near a vulnerable plant. You can use a small container of beer instead, if you like. The slugs will go in and become trapped. All you have to do is clear them out in the morning and either take them far away from your garden (and your neighbours’) or do them in with a strong salt solution.
Feel free to add your slug tips below and wish my Marguerite a speedy recovery!
