Know Your Enemy

A bit like one of the un-dead, The Slime wakes at sunset having spent the day resting in the cool, damp, darkness. When the last of the sun's rays have passed, out they come, slowly slithering towards their midnight feast - your tender young plants!  

Slugs and snails are nocturnal creatures spending the day in crack in the soil, under fallen leaves, underneath your decking or attached to the underside of plant-pots; anywhere that's cool and damp. 

The damage they cause is quite easy to identify by their slimy marker and by the large holes they make in the middle of the plants leaves. This is distinct from insect damage which is usually limited to the edges of leaves.

Slugs and Snails are hermaphrodites so don't need to pair up to produce offspring. A single mollusk can produce hundreds of eggs, given the right conditions and a ready supply of food they can quickly grow in numbers if not controlled.

A lot can be done to limit the effect of slugs and snails just by keeping things tidy, making sure the areas around plants are clear of decaying plant material such as leaves and grass clippings, debris and other objects where slugs might lurk. Using localized watering techniques like drippers rather than spraying whole areas will allow the spaces between plants to dry a little, making slug transit more difficult. Opening up overgrown areas will also reduce their habitat by removing damp, dark places. Picking strong plants and fertilizing during the season will allow them to recover from an attack more quickly.

But what can you do if, after following these guidelines you still get plagues by the slimy beasts ? We're all familiar with the most common means of control in pellet form but what are the alternatives and how effective are they?