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Hedgehog friendly slug control
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Advice from Hedgehog Street.org
Source and more info: Ideas for safe slug control - Hedgehog Street
Alternative ways of controlling those slimy beasts
– Strain mixture and add more water to make back up to 2 pints.
– Let mixture cool before pouring into a bottle.
– Use 1 tablespoon of garlic mix to 1 gallon of water as needed.
- Slugs are attracted to beer and so if you make pitfall traps, i.e. a small open container such as a jam jar or plastic cup, half filled with beer then the slugs will seek out the beer, fall in and drown. This can however attract and kill other, more beneficial ground dwelling invertebrates.
- Seaweed is a slug deterrent due to its salt content. Use plenty of dried seaweed around the base of your plants, being careful for it not to touch the plant stems. The sharp texture will also make it difficult for slugs to move over.
- If you scatter squeezed halves of oranges or grapefruits around your garden, these will attract the slugs and so collecting them just after dark is much quicker.
- Slugs thrive in damp conditions so change your watering schedule from the evening to the morning, that way the top layer of the soil will be dry when the slugs are most active therefore reducing their efficiency.
- Dig a wildlife pond to encourage amphibians into your garden. These will add to the ranks of slug and snail consuming creatures in your garden.
- Plant garlic next to your most vulnerable crop as this is a repellent. If you don’t have the space, or the inclination, then make a garlic spray (you will need to apply to plants regularly, especially after rain):
– Strain mixture and add more water to make back up to 2 pints.
– Let mixture cool before pouring into a bottle.
– Use 1 tablespoon of garlic mix to 1 gallon of water as needed.
- Other plants thought to repel slugs are rosemary, fennel and rue.
Advice from RHS on slugs and snail control
Source and more info: RHS-safe slugs-and-snails control
What makes slugs and snails go away?
Slugs and snails are so abundant in gardens that some feeding is normal. They cannot and should not be eradicated, so targeted management to protect particularly vulnerable plants, such as seedlings
and soft young shoots on herbaceous plants, will give the best results.
There are ways to try to minimise slug and snail damage:
- Choose plants that are less palatable to slugs and snails, such as woody plants, those with thick or waxy leaves and some herbaceous plants known to be less appealing to them. Check the list at the bottom of the page for a list of more slug-resistant plants
- Transplant sturdy plantlets grown in pots rather than young vulnerable seedlings. Transplants can be given some protection with cloches
- Predators should be encouraged in gardens to enhance a garden’s biodiversity: some birds, frogs, toads, hedgehogs, slowworms and ground beetles eat slugs and snails
- Torchlight searches can be carried out on mild evenings, especially when the weather is damp, hand-picking slugs and snails into a container. They can then be placed in another part of your garden, such as the compost heap or areas with less vulnerable plants, or left out for predators to take. However some species have homing instincts so may return to their preferred patch!
- Rake over soil and removing fallen leaves during winter can allow birds to eat slug and snail eggs that have been exposed, but this may make a less welcoming environment for predators and other wildlife
- Water in the early morning rather than the evening as evening watering provide ideal conditions for them to move around at night
Barriers, thought to repel slugs, include rough or sharp textured mulches and substances considered distasteful or strong smelling but many of these do not have any scientific evidence to prove they are effective. In some studies, copper-based barriers have been shown to repel slugs. A recent RHS study in a garden-realistic scenario found no reduction in slug damage from barriers made of copper tape, bark mulch, eggshells, sharp grit or wool pellets.
Should I kill slugs and snails?
It’s much better to learn to live with slugs and snails, especially if you have a garden that has the right conditions for them. They will always be present and are a normal part of the garden ecosystem. If you want to protect your most vulnerable garden border plants or vegetable bed, you might want to manage their population using traps or biological control.
Traps, such as scooped-out half orange, grapefruit, or melon skins, can be laid out cut side down or jars part-filled with beer and sunk into the soil near vulnerable plants. Check and empty these regularly, preferably every morning. Proprietary traps are also available from garden centres and mail-order suppliers.
Biological control (‘Nemaslug’)
Is specific to molluscs, with no adverse effect on other types of animals, and is available as a microscopic nematode or eelworm watered into the soil. The nematodes (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) enter slugs’ bodies, infecting them with bacteria that cause a fatal disease.
- This should only be used in a targeted manner, as it will affect all species of slugs, including the beneficial ones that do not feed on live plants
- The nematode biological control available to control slugs is unlikely to affect snails, as they rarely come into contact with the soil-dwelling nematodes
- To be effective, moist, warm soil – temperatures of 5-20ºC (41-68ºF) – is required. So, spring to early autumn is the best time to apply nematodes. Best results are achieved by applying in the evening to moist but well-drained soils; they may be less successful in heavy soils such as clay
- The nematode is available from refrigerated cabinets in some garden centres or by mail order from suppliers of biological controls (download pdf below)
Should I use slug pellets?
No – slug pellets (even organic ones) have been shown to have negative effects on wildlife in the garden. It’s better to encourage natural predators and use the cultural and biological control methods outlined above.
What plants are less likely to be eaten by slugs and snails?
Herbaceous plants
Acanthus mollis (bear’s breeches)
Achillea filipendulina
Agapanthus hybrids and cultivars
Alchemilla mollis (lady’s mantle)
Anemone × hybrida (Japanese anemone), A. hupehensis (Japanese anemone)
Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon)
Aquilegia species
Armeria species
Aster amellus, A.× frikartii, A. novae-angliae (Michaelmas daisies)
Astilbe × arendsii
Astrantia major
Bergenia (elephant’s ears)
Centaurea dealbata, C. montana
Corydalis lutea
Cynara cardunculus (globe artichoke)
Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart)
Digitalis purpurea (foxglove)
Eryngium species
Euphorbia species (spurges)
Foeniculum vulgare (fennel)
Fuchsia cultivars
Gaillardia aristata
Geranium species
Geum chiloense
Hemerocallis cultivars (day lilies)
Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy)
Pelargonium
Phlox paniculata
Physostegia virginiana (obedient plant)
Polemonium foliosissimum
Polygonum species
Potentilla hybrids and cultivars
Pulmonaria species (lungwort)
Rudbeckia fulgida
Salvia × superba
Saxifraga × urbium (London pride)
Scabiosa caucasica (scabious)
Sedum spectabile (ice plant)
Sempervivum species (houseleeks)
Sisyrinchium species
Solidago species (golden rod)
Stachys macrantha
Tanacetum coccineum (pyrethrum)
Thalictrum aquilegiifolium
Tradescantia virginiana
Tropaeolum species (nasturtium)
Verbascum species (mullein)
Potatoes
Early potatoes are usually unaffected; maincrop potatoes should be lifted as soon as the tubers have matured. Less susceptible varieties include: ‘Romano’, ‘Pentland Dell’, ‘Pentland Squire’, ‘Wilja’, ‘Charlotte’, ‘Golden Wonder’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Estima’, ‘Stemster’, ‘Sante’ and ‘Pentland Ivory’.