They r eating my sunflowers

Hi everyone!
I planted 18 sunflowers out saturday and now ive only got 8 left someone is nibbling at the bottom of the stems..I took the smaller ones out and potted them up till they get bigger. Im really annoyed now. Any suggestions on wht i can do, other than camp out tonight and exterminate them myself (the slugs). Ive got to get more now.

 

I lost a couple of mature sunflowers last year due to a nibbler so this year I've planted some inside rings cut from lemonade bottles about 6" tall and sunk about 3" into the soil . No damage so far, but I'm not counting my chickens (or sunflowers)!

 

Hi Dave! Thanx for tht...Ive just been raiding my recycling for all the bottles and Ive cut the bottles and done the same as you, so fingers crossed eh!

 

great tip, I have been putting off planting mine outside because the slugs are taking over, I will try this with one of the weaker sunflowers

 

I planted loads as usual but the slugs decimated all of them, the only one that made it was a wayward seed that sprouted in a hanging basket.
I`ve transplanted it into the bed now but it would`ve been interesting to see a 12ft sunflower in a hanging basket :wink:

 

So far, my sunflowers that I planted in the container with the dwarf and runner beans seem to have not felt the slugs munch yet. I lost 8 to slugs while they were hardening off in the garden! Damn things mean I've sown three lots of sunflowers this year!

I'll have to try the pop bottle thing! Sounds slightly cheaper than copper rings!

 

Sounds like a great tip. I only grow mini sunflowers so they're fine in pots, but I'll try this with delicate, emerging, perennial buds next Spring.