Slug pellets

Hello

I thought others might be interested in this site.
www.gardenseeker.com/slug_pellets.htm

This research seems to have been done by the pellet company so no surprise with what they are saying but i have seen similar conclusions in several horti and agri trade magazines recently. I guess it is still up to the individual whether to use pellets or not but its good to have as much info as possible.

 

Nice to have extra info, thank you for the link. I have read a great deal about pellets over the past year, and use them in restricted amounts in certain areas, I also use the slug stoppa granules in other places, they work very well but need replacing every time it rains. Okay in a dry area :0) I mustn't complain though, we have had dry and sunny days with rain overnight. Very civilised :0)

 

Have you seen the weather forecast for the end of the week? :eek:

 

I have tried slug pellets and honestly find them useless..they always disintegrate in the gun barrel before firing and the slugs just crawl away!

 

Steve, have you tried pushing the blighters down the barrel - make a lovely splodge when fired :D Thanks for info Cloudy, v. interesting, but, Sorry, they just don't do it for me. Having seen hedgehog dying from poisoned mollusc consumption, I'll never use them. Manufacturers will justify anything to make a sale. I guess you have to weigh up the balance between plants & wildlife. Surely there's room for both? a bit of give & take. I love Hosta's but don't grow them purely for the hassle - they're so unattractive when they resemble net curtains! Most other plants can be grown hard enough,with "friendlier" protection. But as you say, its good to make informed decisions.

[ April 06, 2005, 01:00 AM: Message edited by: Bayleaf ]

 

some hostas are more resiastant than others,the ones with waxy looking leaves and growers are breeding more resitant types so the range getting better.I have one hosta that makes it throug to flowering before the slugs and snails really make much of an impression and one that has only managed to grow one extra leaf per year because the slugs like it so much. I now grow it in a pot topped with gravel on the decking up the steps with a ring on slug pellets(the only place I use them in the entire garden I've got frogs,toads and newts with I give a good talking to about keeping on top of the molluscs) and I still find silvery trails and holes in it's leaves. 'Fire and ice' must be the caviar of hostas.

 

Thankyou, thankyou very much!

 

One tip I read was to grow the hostas in pots and stand the pots in a tray of water...Hostas like water slugs can't swim

 

They would say that wouldnt they?? How many people do you know who use them properly - I've been to gardens that have a blue haze on the soil surface. I haven't used them for ten years and we have song and mistle thrushes, frogs and toads and plenty of wildlife. Yes we lose plants but we just grow those that slugs and snails (which they dont mention in the article!!) dont like eg hardy geranium. Personally I'm not persuaded.

 

My new toy is a weed gun, I can't wait to play with it and if you are squeamish look away now ..............cos..............if I spot slugs slithering towards my beloved plants the beasties will be fried.
Penlan, you have confused me, slugs and snails certainly do eat hardy Geraniums, some varieties more than others as with hostas.
Outdoor gardening is cancelled today, we have snow and icy winds. Brrrrrrrrr. I shall shut myself in the greenhouse and admire the Mandrake LOL

 

You could use your weed gun to warm yourself up today. Tis bloomin baltic here too. It snowed all night but it didnt lie for long this morning thank goodness. Poor little planties are shivering and i didnt have enough fleece to cover them all. Lots of trees fell down around here in the gales over the last day or two so i guess i will have got off lightly if i just lose a few flowers.

 

more snow and icy winds here too, I did consider using the weed gun for a warm blast but had a rare moment of sanity. I also considered sitting on the heated propagator LOL
Plants and trees hereabouts have survived the gales, I did have a cold frame lid blow away - and another one came down on my head when I was trying to sort it. Time to beat a hasty retreat!

 

Ouch! Hope you've taken something medicinal for it

 

I don't know if your going to believe this, I saw it I and I'm not sure I do, you can now buy a pair of long handled 'tongs', so you can pick up slugs without bending down. I thought it was a weed gun at first the phrase 'no-more holely hostas' caught my eye, the best bit- it has a torch attatched to it so you can see the blighters in the dark.LOL.