yannovitch Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 bonjour tout le monde! if it hasn't started already for you, it will start pretty soon: the yearly war against snails and slugs. i tell you what, i am French... well even a guy like me who used to love eating snails, i now hate them and do my best to erradicate them!! anyway... my main problem every year is in my four storey shelf greenhouse. i am sure you have seen them in garden centers. they are ideal for seedlings in small gardens like mine... but of course it is very unpleasant to discover that promising seedlings have gone to snails even though you came round to check the evening before... suddenly this year, i have had a genius idea: i'll stand the shelf on a large open box filled with sand!! hence my question: is it true that slugs and snails can't go over sand? any comment well appreciated. good luck in your garden war this year! Yann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola H Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Not too sure about sand but i have heard they don't like fine grit or egg shells............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 If you can find a tray big enough, you could stang the mini green house in it and fill with water. Slugs and snails don't cross water! Or have you tried copper tape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura & CTB Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 We used to use copper tape in the garden to stop them crawling up the pots, it worked really well. Now, of course we have chickens and I havent seen a snail or slug for months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Now, of course we have chickens and I havent seen a snail or slug for months Or grass. Or plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura & CTB Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Or grass. Or plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara.F Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 sand works, but it has to be sharp sand (which is lucky cos that's the cheapest kind) If you want to be really sure (and a little sadistic) add some salt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubereglu Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Sounds like a plan. I grow my seedlings on the windowsill in my bedroom and they don't get munched up there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Slugs and snails don't cross water! Maybe I should dig a moat around the raised beds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Thanks for the reminder - I'm going to put my mini-greenhouse outside in a few weeks (it's in my conservatory, full of tomato seedlings, at the moment), and although I don't have a lot of slugs in my garden, even one can do a lot of damage to small seedlings! On the allotment I'm using a combination of Nemaslug and beer traps this year - all my newly-germinated French beans got munched last year (and it wasn't the pigeons 'cos they were inside a wigwam covered in bird netting) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 You have Tomato seedlings already??? I really must get mine done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I used Nemaslug in my last garden and it did work just wish it wasn't so expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 You have Tomato seedlings already??? I really must get mine done I know, I'm a bit early this year! I had such a bad year for tomatoes last year (ended up having to buy plants because I lost all the ones I'd raised from seed thanks to the atrocious weather - and then lost most of those to blight!), I decided to get things off to an early start this year. They're in a mini-greenhouse in my conservatory, so reasonably snug despite minimal heating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 ooh, thanks for the reminder - I leave it too late every year to buy the Nematodes! they are expensive but I am desperate after last year, every courgette plant I raised was slugged as soon as I put it out. I tried coffee, eggshells, salt ... they must have had parachutes. My chickens don't seem to like slugs, but they love snails. I have a proper greenhouse, and they have been in there this evening giving it a good clean-out and enjoying the very dry dusty soil in there. I'm hoping they will have discovered and eaten any baby snails - they will not be allowed in there once I have seedlings going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 We used copper tape to wrap around the base of a raised herb garden... but unfortunately that meant that the slugs that were already in, couldn't get out... Yannovitch... I'm just curious... that username doesn't sound very french?? Or is that your war-name in the fight against slugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 . My chickens don't seem to like slugs, but they love snails. I have a proper greenhouse, and they have been in there this evening giving it a good clean-out and enjoying the very dry dusty soil in there. I'm hoping they will have discovered and eaten any baby snails - they will not be allowed in there once I have seedlings going! My chickens love slugs but hate the greenhouse, they won't go in there I don't know why I want to know if there is something I should know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Is it haunted Liz?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 who knows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yannovitch Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 We used copper tape to wrap around the base of a raised herb garden... but unfortunately that meant that the slugs that were already in, couldn't get out... Yannovitch... I'm just curious... that username doesn't sound very french?? Or is that your war-name in the fight against slugs? Yann is my real name, it is from Brittany (best part of France, of course), but my mother used to call me yannovitch when i was a kid... so i thought it would do well for an email address... anyway... thanks to all for so many tips about the snail war! i am going to put my grennhouse shelf in a bucket, and i am hesitating etween filling it up with sharp sand or water. if i fill it up with water, aren't mosquitoes going to breed in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffymuppet Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 You could try cat litter or something like that. If you create a barrier that absorbs water (and hence slug/ snail slime) slugs and snails won't cross it, because if they lose too much water they die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 i am going to put my grennhouse shelf in a bucket, and i am hesitating etween filling it up with sharp sand or water. if i fill it up with water, aren't mosquitoes going to breed in there? If you put a squirt of washing-up liquid in the water, it will break the surface tension, so the mosquito larvae can't stick to the underside of the water surface and will drown - mwa-ha-ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara.F Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 ooooh! good tip! Bob Flowerdew keeps a goldfish in his waterbutt to eat the mozzie larvae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Coffee grounds keep slugs away too - emptied cafetierre onto hostas - it works! Doesn't work with instant or granules. I don't know if it works with snails though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 This was on Gardener's World on Friday - they reckon coffee works, but apparently it's not how thick the layer is, it's the width /depth of the band of coffee - it's got to be enough so the slugs get onto it and decide it's not worth going any further. I love some of the suggestions above though. I don't know why your chickens don't like the greenhouse, chickencam. I can't keep mine out of it! and as it has earth beds, and has been empty over the winter, they dug a lovely dust-bath in one of them 'cos it's all dry and warm. I'm going to have to ban them shortly, when I get some seedlings in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 This was on Gardener's World on Friday - they reckon coffee works, but apparently it's not how thick the layer is, it's the width /depth of the band of coffee - it's got to be enough so the slugs get onto it and decide it's not worth going any further. I love some of the suggestions above though. I don't know why your chickens don't like the greenhouse, chickencam. I can't keep mine out of it! and as it has earth beds, and has been empty over the winter, they dug a lovely dust-bath in one of them 'cos it's all dry and warm. I'm going to have to ban them shortly, when I get some seedlings in. Pop into starbucks for a free bag most days now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
