PLEASE, PLEASE, HELP

could some one please please help me sort this problem out that i have got, i have got all my plants in tubs as my garden is not very big as i told you b4, i once asked you how to keep snails away from my plants and most people told me to use copper tape around the tubs,i have used copper tape around my tubs infact i,ve put 2 strips around them to make sure, one strip near the bottom and one strip in the middle, at first it seemed to do the job, but now they are having a slap up meal eating all my plants again infact some of them are sleeping at the base of the plant, my plants look disgusting most of them are bald the stems are breaking in my fingers,i was out side last night 16/07/07 @ 11.30pm killing what i could see in the grass with salt, i feel like just packing it all in i,m growing plants to feed the blasted snails, see pic of eaten plant its worse than it looks on pic try to get a close up view of pic, please please help,

[ 17. July 2007, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: Daisy-michaelmas ]

 

hi paul walker tray and stand your pots up on bricks think the Small pot with one brick and the long ones with two or you can get feet for your pots but don't give up

 

Hi, paul, it's me here. I'm not sure what to say to you at this moment except calm down.

I'm obviously in a different situation than you as I'm so dry. Give me a bit of time to think and I'll come back to you, okay?

Sleep on it and I will too and speak to you tomorrow.

 

Hi Paul you probably will have to use slug pellets as the ones you allready have in your pots have more than likely laid eggs, copper tape is good but does get a coating after a while making it less effective, one thing I do going along with what high kype says, I stand my special pots on those wiry trivet things you stand stuff on that are hot after cooking, nothing as managed to work out how to get up these.

 

There is also a matting with copper inter-woven into it which you can put underneath bricks/ trivets. I haven't tried it yet but I'm going to! Make sure pots aren't overhung by other plants forming a bridge for the slugs and snails, and try putting grit, ground egg shells, and the aluminium sulphate based slug pellets in the pots as a further deterrent.
The blue slug pellets really do work and I agree with walnut but apart from being toxic the dead creatures make a disgusting mess which attracts flies if not promptly removed.
I've found it's just a constant battle....

 

I agree, slug pellets do the trick, but as Liz says remove the mess each morning else the flies do swarm.
Going round at night gets some, but not as many as the pellets.

 

Hi Paul,

I have got tons of slugs and snails in my garden, but I have noticed a huge drop in the number of eaten plants since last year! The only thing I have done differently is to put a compost bin in the garden. Now it seems that most of the little dudes are hanging out in there. I guess its the equivalent of going to the drive-in (or should that be slime-in :D ) where they get all the old fruit and veg that they can eat so they don't bother eating the plants.

Is that a practical option for you to try?

Cheers,

Dave

 

We have just moved house and there is a huge Hosta in the front garden that has been completely shredded - almost looks good! I think that they should develop a strain of 'wood lice' or whatever they are that we could train to eat slugs and snails. I confess that I once went out with a bag of salt and a torch - very satisfying if a little gruesome..........
Give up now or change your planting preferenes to something which they do not devour (many of the hairy leaf plants plus selected others.

 

I think I read somewhere that if you smear vaseline or WD40 round the rim of the pots that will form a barrier that they cannot cross. Might need renewing but its worth a try. Make sure there is no foliage that enables them to bridge any barriers.

 

You can buy copper foil or sheet in various thickness and rest your pots on this it's quite expensive but the real deal being pure copper, a lot of the products sold now for deterents are copper coted or copper alloys they don't last.
http://www.advent-rm.com/materials/copper.htm

 

Hi Paul,

I had the same problem with my Hosta's and also my Echinacea, I found that the slug pellets worked well. If you get the green waxy ones they will be safe around pets too!

Hope it helps.

"Its a dog diggidy dog not a ball and a chain" :D