Re: March of the...the phantom perists, please give us more help!

Following on from last weekend's post - 'The march of the phantom pest' - our seedlings are still diminishing in spite of an expertly constructed netting canopy (bodged up by me if you didn't already guess!). More cauliflowers have been eaten at the base (living ones are about 15cm tall now) and we are left with only 2 carrots from a 150cm row, spinach is also looking very very poorly. Just one short line of slug slime and no sign of actual slugs. We are now thinking it's mice as we have seen evidence of the furry little blighters in the shed next to patch. How can we protect our green friends without killing our rodenty neighbours?

 

Hi Gem, I think the main problem could be Keel slugs, you don`t usually see them because they live in the soil and only come out at night, but, you are probably having trouble with the mice as well. For the first pest you should use slug pellets, for the second, if you don`t want to kill the mice then get a humane trap that catches them but you can release them elsewhere. David.

 

Try copper circles, wire, or mats. These should keep any slugs out, then if your plants are still being eaten you can assume it's mice.
As dai says you don't often see slugs in day time- put a little shallow container upside down next to your plant, and upend it in the morning- you'll usually find some slugs hiding if there's a problem