Hi all,
         Last year in my garden we had a massive infestation of slugs.Every day i was outside filling a carry bag full of them.The spring is coming and i was wondering if any  one had any tips or advice.I do not want to use pellets etc as i am worried about my newfie puppy and my children,i would like to be prepared this year as it was so bad last year.
Thanks alot
jo,george and stanley

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/techniques/pests/slugs.htm

http://defenders.co.uk/pest-solutions/biological-slug-control.html

I have used these in the past with great success and plan to use them again this year too.   If I don't use them my garden becomes a slug fest and is disgusting :(

I never use the slug pellets as I won't take chances with my dogs getting ill.

get some freeranging hens or ducks:)

hedgehogs Jo, your most natural slug controller!
Find your nearest wildlife rehabber and ask to be a hedgehog releaser :)

wow,all ideas i have never thought of,like the hedgehog one,my partner has always wanted call ducks etc but i am worried my newfie may get them? and the links are fab so will def order some of that,i used to Fill a carry bag every morning!!it was like a horror movie,every evening they would sliver over the walls and there were hundreds of them.I used to dread going into the garden,
thanks everyone for the advice
jo x

I'd love Chickens or Ducks but my garden is really too small - I mean, REALLY small.  It would be cruel to try to keep chilckens in it with the Bedlingtons ;) so my only recourse is to use the Nematodes.

Just a quicky, don't forget that slugs carry lungworm
Chris

lungworm is my main concern,then my plants!!also it is so bad trying to hang the washing on the line when you cant step anywhere.Maybe it wont be so bad this year,last year was the only year we really had them.We have a large garden with outbuildings,i just dont know if chickens/ducks and a newfie would mix,plus its more work and care,although i do quite fancy call ducks!!!
jo

How about a small pond with frogs?

Beer filled slug traps work well,keeping them out of reach of the dogs can be difficult though.

the neighbours have a pond with fish and frogs,and they still had alot of slugs,plus i would be scared of the pug and my children falling in.I have heard of beer traps,but would like encourage more slugs and wasps(terrible phobia of buzzy things)
jo

Just a thought, the winters have been mild up to this year. So all the bugs that are normally killed off over winter have managed to survive. Causing an infestation of the bugs etc. With the winter being so long and cold and sub 0 temps for so long, alot of things will be killed off! So we wont have so many around this year hopefully. Already when tidying gardens i am finding alot more empty snail shells than i normallly do :)     Lea :)

we have a waterfall which encourages frogs which does keep the slugs down and no worries of a pond. Also look at the plants you have I removed all hostas as I found hundred under the leaves and pots and there are other plants that encourage them too .

going to look into that product though ...looks interesting.

Hedgehogs hedgehogs hedgehogs!
Do you have any in your area Jo?
Ah, I wish I lived nearer to you, as we have about 100 in care at the mo.

Hedgehogs, a great idea but how do they get on with your dogs?

I have a pug so she's more interested in the dry spikes hog food I sprinkle!

They dont like eggshells or gravel. HTH

I've hardly got any plants left between the slugs and recently, my Bedlngton Landscape gardener :(

Never mind, this year there won't be any slugs and The Badly Bedly Terrorist should have grown up enough to leave off stealth-gardening to give some plants a start :)

> how do they get on with your dogs?

I live near Tiggywinkles and we have loads of hedgehogs around. I still have to put out slug traps. I use porridge oats in water, they really cannot resist trying to reach the oats.

As to how the hedgehogs get on with the dogs.... Well Maxie would happily eat one if she could get to it, so they do get tormented if she finds them before I do. Arts on the other hand ignores them but last year we had one in the garden which appeared to have ticks on it and sortly after I had ticks on the dogs.... Ugh! Hate those nasty little tick horrors...

Polly. Many thanks. I hadn't thought about the ticks, and had forgotten about porridge oats. Will try that this spring instead of beer, will have to cover with chicken wire or the dogs will get to it first in the morning when I'm still half a sleep. Rang local rescue who said if they had an injured hedgehog they would keep us in mind (walled garden) - Didn't know that hedgehogs can suffer from lung worm too.