Truss vs The Lettuce; Slugs vs Cucumber

Two slices of cucumber on top of five near identical pots. One has coarse pebbles, one has coffee grounds, one has Vaseline smeared around the pot, one has Vaseline with a heavy dusting of salt, one is au naturel. How many days will the cucumber last in each pot? Place your bets, please.

 

Good science. If I were to make one suggestion for improvement it would be that you need multiple samples of each group, located in multiple positions. Your science is mostly good, but the way you've done it, it's hard to rule out the possibility that location is an influencing factor.

 

Are you sure that cut cucumber will entice them? Surely a delicate, vulnerable seedling of some sort is the preferred bait?
If it comes to it, though, my money's on the Vaseline and salt....

 

Slug food?
No, pigeon food!

 

I’ve thought of that @flounder The pots are right outside the kitchen window and our pigeons are not that brazen. However mice and rats are: if they’re the cucumber snatchers I’ll pick it up on the CCTV.

 

They'd last a few hours here if you were lucky.
Any time I've not been able to use up a piece of cucumber, it goes into the little bucket by the back door - used for prunings, peelings etc. It's decimated by the following day -by slugs.

 

I fully agree but this is very much a scaled-down fun experiment. I have seen Vaseline, grit and coffee grounds recommended so many times as deterrents but I have always harboured doubts so I thought I’d put it to the test. I would have included eggs shells too, but I don’t have any at present.

 

Exactly my ranking as well. Tomorrow morning might give us the first indications.

 

Rutland may be different but down here on the Solent, those 'baits' would be gone in minutes. We have more magpies than one can shake a stick at; they eat anything !!

 

Rutland magpies are woosies. They never come within 50’ of the house.

 

Interesting....my money's on the Vaseline and salt.

 

Beer is the thing for snails! Little pots of beer half-buried in the soil. I use OH's 'less than drinkable' attempts at home-brew, but I'm sure commercial stuff would be acceptable. Bless, they die so happy.....

 

I think au naturel and coarse pebbles will be eaten first and vaseline and salt will be eaten last. Egg shells don't keep slugs away so doesn't matter if they are left out.