After the horrific wet spring we’ve all had this year, the first sign of warmth and sun I was super excited and got busy planting out. Unfortunately my eagerness to plant out runner beans was short lived and within two days every single little plant was nommed to death. Dam slugs 🤣🤣 I need copper rings Kate!
True snail story: when I was a kid, one day my mother was doing some gardening, tossing snails onto the hot patio pavement when she spotted one wearing a bandage sliming nearby. Startled she looked up and saw my sister administering first aid and putting them back in the garden. You see, she had just finished reading a kiddie’s bio of Florence Nightingale and was looking for patients. In re: copper. It works outdoors when it is clean, but dirt and dust coating on the ring can provide a way in for the little beasties. Check them now and then to make sure soil has not splashed up on them from watering.
Our biggest slug fail definitely has to be when we planted out flowers in our very first year of gardening….. they were in two days and we came home from a weekend away to no leaves left on the plants…. At all!!! Every single leaf gone!!! We’ve not been able to find a deterrent that works so far so definitely want to give these a try! 😍
My 1st year of vegetable gardening, thank goodness you explain things for us beginners. I have a slug problem (I shiver even typing the word, I have a phobia with the 2 S’s). Thanks for video I will have a go at using copper in garden.
Hi Eli, I use copper tape also when planting in containers. So far slugs have eating 20 sunflowers, 6 peas, runner beans, dwarf beans and 3 broad beans and numerous other flower plants. So all I am left with now is potatoes and nothing else. I have sown more peas and beans but they have not germinated yet. If the slugs don’t eat my seedling, I now have to contend with pigeons destroying my plants. It’s a nightmare, feel like giving up lol. Have a nice day.
I bought some of the copper tape that you recommended to put around my hanging baskets. Unfortunately, those wily slimy things used the automatic irrigation pipes to access the plants! I've replanted now, and put some tape on the pipes and the basket brackets too - seems to be working so far! For my borders and lawn I use Nemaslug nematodes, which are very effective against slugs if applied every 6 weeks or so.
Love your vids Eli, always cheer me up. My Hostas.... I've a shady bit to the garden and so I planted tonnes of hostas and used bark mulch... wee sluggery buggers set up camp under the bark mulch, and baisicaly had an Empty.... they moved in, Gorged on all the hostas and partied and frolicked with eachother and had loads of wee babies had a jolly good time... my hostas were decimated. This year I'm trying Strulch. Its a wheat based mulch and apparently the slugs hate it, so, Bark cleared away, Nematode troops sent in to try and get shot of any grubs under the soil... then a massive soak with water and Strulch on top. I pray to God it works as I'm up in the Highlands, postage for Strulch was crazy...I've noticed a massive reduction in damage this year so far and all hostas are looking 👌 those Rings look fab too.... Will invest.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 had an empty now the thing is... if this works, how will you know if it was the nematodes or the strulch? Also I use straw mulch and it didn't make any difference - the little gits still got my strawberries :D
@@eliandkate well, I'm glad you said that because I only had enough Strulch for one bit of the garden.... but... I had plenty Nematodes so, I'm leaving the un strulched bit alone with just Nematodes and ill plant 2 sacrificial hostas in there with the Dahlia thats in there to see if there is a difference. ( split a hosta in half) Again....the cost of getting Strulch delivered up here is steep, so.... we shall see. There is damage on un strulched bit but not as bad as previous years... thing is, Nematodes won't stop the adult Slugs... so if they're already cutting about like they own the place, then all can do is slugnap them and chuck em into the woods for the birds. But I feel your pain.... I know they're part of nature etc but, they just destroy everything. Soul destroying when you've worked so hard.
Hello, Eli. I’ve been very fortunate. No slugs-although I assumed they were attacking my peas, earlier in the season (turned out to be insects and finches). I did scatter some iron pellets around just to be sure, however. The heat has been my worst enemy, and I have a mole, who has been messing with my strawberries lately.
First time gardener and greenhouse owner, proudly nurtured 12 runner beans from seed to seedling as my grandad always had a fantastic runner bean row, planted outside in to a raised and now I have 2 that were sat on by my 8 month old puppy who finds the planter the best place to sleep, 8 that look like they were modelled off of doilies having been ate by slugs and the lucky 2 that have yet to succumb to a gruesome fate of either being eaten of sat on 🤦🏻♀️🤨
Our shady garden in our old Edinburgh tenement was slug heaven and I was ALWAYS fighting with them! Beer traps worked a little bit, but give me the claggy boak (ugh the sliiiiiiiiiiime!), ground up eggshells worked a bit but seemed to invite other issues (we just couldn't get through enough eggs for it to be feasible), coffee grounds never seemed to work at all (and change the pH of the soil in large doses). I planted some sacrificial plants to try and deter them to where I didn't mind them munching away (they took the sacrificial plants as a kind of amuse bouche to their main meal of whatever plant I was trying to protect!). The copper tape worked on pots but in the beds there was nothing for it other than going out at night with a torch and a sharp BBQ skewer and making a kind of slimy slug kebab out of them and then dumping them in the compost at the far end of the garden. It was just too damp there and with too many places for them to hide, with no predators (hedgehogs, ducks etc) to keep them at a reasonable number. We've got more of a snail population in our new place but so far they don't seem too bad, but I've waited until plants are a bit bigger before putting them out in the ground so that might be helpful, too. Not doing much direct sowing seems to be doing the trick.
Tons of slugs in my garden this year - I’ve lost 2 varieties of sunflower, three of lettuce & one of pepper, as well as a nibble on most of my other seedlings. The rings look like a great option!
I live in the states in the Pacific Northwest. Tons of slugs. I have been defending my tender plants with beer traps. I use the tins from my cat food and only use cheap light beer. I added more defense by first putting a ring of crumbled egg shell around the plant followed by a ring of coffee grounds. Then a few tins of beer. It does work, just not the prettiest and you have to be on top of it. I will be searching for the rings now.
I'd live to get some of those. I sowed some aubergine seeds in March and being a bit impatient (not good for a gardener 😬) when nothing came up I decided to buy a couple from the garden centre instead. But, low and behold, two weeks later one seed out of 4 germinated and I was really chuffed with myself. I nurtured it, chatted to it and even sang to it and it developed beautifully. Then in May, I transplanted all three aubergines into their final space in the greenhouse and although my little one was smaller than the other two, I was very proud of it and if anyone came around I would boast that I had grown it from seed 😊 and then ....... 😲😯😯😯 DISASTER!!!! Early one morning, whilst watering, I noticed that my little one was completely gone 😕☹😟😭 WHHHHYYYY The blasted slugs/snails could have had a much bigger meal, IF ONLY they had eaten the shop bought ones 😤 I did get my own back on the culprits though and popped a few slug pellets down (I don't like using them, but didn't have anything else) and hey presto, the next morning 2 fat slugs and 1 snail lay dead next to my other two aubergines. Whahaha, revenge is so sweet sometimes.
I planted out hunners of wee French marigolds and slugs got every single one overnight I’ve spent hours collecting then in evenings but left the leopard skin ones and now I don’t get much bother except my sunflowers 😀love you ❤
I find slug collars marvellous for protecting my young plants and can even grow lettuce these days. Going to try on young sunflowers this year and fingers crossed.
We had alot of dead grass round the edge of our grass patch so we decided to cut it away and make a wee flower bed border. The sunny part we planted our first dahlias we had grown from seed. However they are now no more as the slugs had a feast!!
I use nematodes and although it doesn't work on snails it does work on slugs quite well. You have to treat every six weeks but it's worth it for slugs. It doesn't harm animals or any other wild life. I have a huge slug/snail problem, I regularly collect 30+ snails in the evening and chuck them across the road into the forest.
I have a problem with snails and slugs I used nematodes for the slugs but like others say it doesn't kill the snails.Just like yourself i have had sunflowers eaten by these critters :( good luck with the rings
Slugs. Even the word makes my skin crawl (or slither!) with embarrassment. When I was a novice gardener, with very few plants in the garden, I actually thought slugs and snails were a good thing for the soil, like worms are. I created a slug friendly area in the garden with long grass and would put leaves of young plants and wood pieces in there for them to have shelter from birds and sun. Any slug or snail I found elsewhere was granted entry. It wasn't until my son did a school project on snails that I realised my mistake. He told the teacher about my little piece of slug/ snail heaven.....the embarrassment! This was in the 80's before the internet could warn me!
I just plant more and expect a few loses, not for everyone I know. At the allotment I have a row of lettuce that are half the size as the rest as they come out the weeds and munch them haha Egg shells I use alot, when the plants are small, works and doesn't work. Although did find a frog on the allotment yesterday that should help!
OMG it is Slug War this year for me. At the allotment the slimy things have munched through 3 sowings of carrots and parsnips. 7 spaghetti squash, 3 rows of Arctic lettuce, all of my kohlrabi and 2 sunflowers. In my garden they have eaten my bellis daisies, gaillardias, numerous salvias and the marigolds. Last year I put bear traps down in the garden, they caught a few snails but the resident foxes drank the bear.
Sounds a good idea I am growing all my veg in flower buckets I got more of a chance to deal with any slug I find as they are either under the rim of the buckets of under the buckets of even in the soil as I found out the hard way I couldn't understand how my lettuce got eaten after I check the usual places so now I even check my soil around them as well
Here is San Antonio, Texas I see damage from what I suspect are slugs, but I’ve never seen any, even very late at night. I’d be more than willing to use the copper rings and I’ll bet that would take care of my issues. Love your videos!
Slugs crawled over my copper tape! Now I check under nearby wood, remove, (I put them in my weed bin, garden waste collected bu Glasgow CC) and leave low growing leaves as sacrifice plants.
Tricky little sods. Yeah I've heard of other folk finding copper tape isn't enough if a deterrent, it seems to be because some companies skimp on the actual amount of copper they use. I was lucky that the tape I bought was good stuff... Pure dumb luck.
Biggest slug fail is them eating all my BEAUTIFUL little livingston daisies - they always seem to love them!! I think its because they're quite a low down plant and succulent like - must be extra juicy for them!
Slugs are my enemy! 😂 your copper rings might be my solution. Every morning I’m looking for them in the garden! I have actually used the cut bottles with the copper tape (green beans, courgettes and squash) and water the garden in the morning instead of evening. It has worked but then again it hasn’t rained for a while so let’s see by the end of the week.
What a fantastic idea, they would be so handy! I'm pretty new to gardening, so I don't really have any slug stories, however.. literally today I was standing in the garden thinking about what I was doing next. Suddenly I felt a cold sensation on my leg. I was wearing a long skirt, so lifted it up to see why and had the BIGGEST fright as I looked down to see a large snail suctioned onto my leg!! I jumped around in a craze screaming and my mum ran for her life too because she was over by the fence and thought I'd seen a rat! hahaha How the hell it got on my leg, I have no idea!
I was wondering about that pretty tape on your pots. Excited to see if I can get some to try since I found slugs for the first time in 10 years on my peas.
First year gardening last year. The slimy beasties ate potatoes, lettuce and this year they’re nibbling dahlias. Put some wool pellets down, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Xxx
The slugs are driving me crazy, Im up in the Highlands and they everywhere, I go out every night and shout at them, they dont go away but makes me feel better😂
I lost all my first ever crop of lettuce - they ate every one! Learnt to start them in pots now so the stalks are too big for them to get their sluggy mouths round! My best deterrent is hand picking them off things … it’s gross but very satisfying- then leave them for the birds to eat… yuk!
It’s petunias for me! They love munching on them! I used the slug wool in a pot and removed them all and they are back in there! 😡 I thought I removed them all before putting the wool down but maybe not. I’ll keep a eye to see if they work. I love the copper tape and use it everywhere but these look really good especially for pots !
I have such a huge problem with slugs and snails eating my dahlias that this year I've planted sacrificial dahlias to compensate! My theory is that they can only eat so many and usually the ones on the outside. Of course this may backfire on me by the little blighters inviting all their friends over for a huge dahlia feast! 🤔 We'll see!
My garden is a bomb site! Big work in progress, my decking area is my planting sanctuary though, everything I plant gets mullered 😫 especially my peas this year, I've had nothing work but I'm a novice gardener, I've never heard of using copper tape/rings! Every evening after dark I go out 2/3 times and pick all the slugs and snails off! I have 2 big pots with Pansys in and they have eaten all the petals off them 😫 You're videos are so helpful to me as a novice, I'm hoping next year I can have a bit more of a veg patch 🤞🏼
The horrible little buggers and their associated snails have ruined my hosta's.Tried crushed egg shells but naa the sods come back. I've had some the size of ping pong balls..Think I'll try the copper.❤️
It’s a nightmare…. I E tried all the recommended things and none of it made a difference for me. The copper at least reduced it… doesn’t stop it but it reduces it
I bought copper tape after seeing it on your pots, so far so good although some of it is already wrinkling in the hot sun. Last year slugs devoured a whole marigold overnight 😠
I label my seedlings with coloured stickers and a written key in my notebook. So red1 = Shirley poppies. Red2=love in the mist, etc etc. All well and good until I left my notebook outside overnight and the lovely slugs ate the key!!!
These look so good, especially in beds. I’ve been finding slugs under pots, which I just throw to the field behind my house. I’ve just planted out zinnias which I’m hoping the slugs won’t get them. 🤞🏻 They’ve already tried to have a go at them in the greenhouse. 🙈 🪴
I hate them suckers. Last year I end up in tears when I planted my pumpkins out and they were all gone the next day. I will try some copper tape this year. 😢
Decided this year that I would not be beaten by the slimy blighters! Got myself prepared with some plastic bag type slug traps that you put beer in. Placed several around the veggie plot and went to bed feeling smug that the battle had started and I held the advantage with Guinness in the traps. I was certain that the slugs would love it. I woke the following morning and could not wait to go to the plot and count the bodies............so much for over confidence! Not one and not even a half dead or dying one! Bitterly disappointed I returned to the house to ponder the reasons for this failure. It did not take long for me to work out what had happened. The trails of silvery gunk were on the carpet, up the cupboard doors and on the handles at my eye level! The war had moved from the plot to my kitchen. AAAAArrrrggghhhh gross! I now have Guinness traps all over the house, and nightmares of a slug over my face suffocating me. Those slug rings look great. I could put one over my head as well as around my ankles to deter the slithering monsters. I must save myself before moving on to the plants.
Thanks for the advice on beer....I will no longer be using Guinness. Sadly it is such a waste as I can't bring myself to suck it out of the useless beer traps.....just in case a slithery slimy thing slips down my throat! Now there's a thought Uggh!
My wife has tried everything copperthen beer traps (special brew Yuk) Latest is garlic and salt spray doing better with that but London slugs are hardy and wiley little blighters
I sowed Dahlia seeds For the first time, kept potting them on, watered and fed my little babies till they were big enough to be planted outside. That night they got massacred by those pesky critters and the next day was just chewed down stalks, absolutely gutted!!!!!!
Hi Ellie. About the slug and snail problem, I suppose you will have tried the beer traps. I heard a tip from a fellow hotbiner, he puts the in his hotbin. Hope this helps. Personally I use slug pellets, I know not very environmentaly friendly. Yes, an awesome price. Best wishes Geoff Maddison
I have.... I've tried all the old gardener's remedies over the years and in all honesty, not a single one has "worked" the way they have been praised too :D. I think a lot of what works is down to your garden, environment, weather, plants etc etc etc like all gardening :D
@@eliandkate my grass needs work but rest of the garden first then the grass in my plan as the grass will always get wear and tear having 4 chickens (in a run) and two dogs who love to destroy with there pee already lost a rodi to them
You joke about having all your plants eaten overnight this year is my second year trying to grow stuff properly and full on I’ve gone all out this year as last year was my first time trying so I tried the easier stuff so I have babies my cauliflower and cabbage plants planted all 20 out thinking some might get ate to go out the next mor I guess to have the whole veg patch decimated nothing left apart from my onion plants which have been out weeks not the birds as I netted the lot pesky slugs ahaha. Love your channel I have learn so many nifty little things and tips and tricks
@@eliandkate it did shows how we can all have issues when growing I’ll get some more and try again once I have some slug deterrents hears whit vinegar in a mix can be good
Hi elli love the copper rings them nasty slimy critters are eating their way though my young plants would love to be in for a chance of winning these rings . Also I read on your link thing lol that you said winners would be notified on the 14 March 2021 was that meant to be 14th of next month :-) thanks elli for a brilliant video as always
Hi guys the slug rings look great I have a nightmare with the shimmy critters on my brassicas. Well almost everything really but I think they are worse this year. I'd love to try these rings can you tell me where I can but some from please. Cheers gaynor
These slug rings look amazing ... sadly I grew my cabbage plants lovingly from seed, only to have watched each one be munched to death in my garden since 😢. Would love to win a pack of these rings!
Sorry for double comment, been meaning to ask where you bought your chairs they look so comfy, look like Amish style you see most american gardens. I'd love to buy some Amish made products but don't think we have such stuff uk.
:D They are called adirondack chairs. It's a particular style. We got ours online. The original ones we have were so badly rotted that Kate actually fell through one a few months ago so we've replaced them recently. I'll see if Kate can find the link to where she bought them :D
just a tad expensive :D thanks for that - downside to trying to share things - there's always at least one company with some sort of weird glitch happening. I'll pop in and delete the link
Great video, my slug probably last autumn nearly stopped me vegetable gardening all together as overnight cabbage and pak choi would practically disappear. I got nemaslug from gardening naturally this spring and boy what a difference. I haven't used it on my whole garden just my veg section which is separate but this summer I intend to do a few flower beds with my second purchase. On my hoster pots I have used garden centre tape without success and I saw youtube experimental video and guy recommended guitar amp copper tape as the content it higher and I found this brilliant, check out Matt Pesketts videos. Have good week Eli 👍
Yep that's spot on and i think I've mentioned it a couple of times too. The cheaper tapes have a lower copper percentage, which obviously lowers their effectiveness. It stings paying over a tenner for a roll of tape but I figure it's cheaper than replacing all my plants :D
Would be fab to have hedgehogs here (a favourite of mine) but it's far to open. The houses on the other side of the street back onto a big wild area so they get all the interesting wildlife
Slugs are a complete menace in my garden. It used to be snails but after years of picking them off and feeding them to my chickens, they seem to be under control....pity my hens dont like the slugs!
I already know that we have a problem with slugs in our front garden which hasn't really been established yet so I will be looking at using the copper tape for any of my planters but I would be curious to use the rings.
the rings are basically the same as copper tape, just that you can use them in ground whereas copper tape is only useful for things like pots. One thing with the copper tape... you need to use the high percentage copper stuff (which is the expensive stuff) and it needs to be over 2 inches wide (either one strip or multiples)
Ohhhh ok here we go best slug story my daughter used to pick them up and lick the bottom of them god knows why and when we tell her about it now she never believes us toooooooo funny peace peace ✌️
When I first started gardening I cleared a large area and planted out several trays of fresh bedding plants only to find slugs devoured them almost overnight 🤬 Rookie mistake I thought.... So I bought new plants but this time I put in slug defences 😎 We had young children and a dog so slug pellets couldn’t be used, instead I used SALT 🧐. Yes I actually went out at night and basically covered my whole flower bed with a very generous layer of salt 🤯 Needless to say I killed the slugs and my plants almost instantaneously 😳
Hey Paul, just drop your comment below the video with your slug story. On Saturday morning we'll choose one at random from all the stories and announce it in the Sunday video :D
We have decided to allow all volunteer sunflowers to have free reign in our garden this year, so the slugs don't stand a chance here, they are out numbered😁
some even live underground and I think all lay their eggs at the very least under the surface :D Not all slugs are a worry to new plants either It's a very wide and really interesting subject
That's the giveaway now closed.
I'll post details of the winner tomorrow - Sunday 20th June.
I have been watching your vids for a while now and I wanted to say thank you, this is exactly what my parents need! All the best.
Glad it was useful 🙂
After the horrific wet spring we’ve all had this year, the first sign of warmth and sun I was super excited and got busy planting out. Unfortunately my eagerness to plant out runner beans was short lived and within two days every single little plant was nommed to death. Dam slugs 🤣🤣 I need copper rings Kate!
Oh no!!!!! We do seem to have a particular problem with them this year :(
True snail story: when I was a kid, one day my mother was doing some gardening, tossing snails onto the hot patio pavement when she spotted one wearing a bandage sliming nearby. Startled she looked up and saw my sister administering first aid and putting them back in the garden. You see, she had just finished reading a kiddie’s bio of Florence Nightingale and was looking for patients.
In re: copper. It works outdoors when it is clean, but dirt and dust coating on the ring can provide a way in for the little beasties. Check them now and then to make sure soil has not splashed up on them from watering.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 oh that gave us both a chuckle
Our biggest slug fail definitely has to be when we planted out flowers in our very first year of gardening….. they were in two days and we came home from a weekend away to no leaves left on the plants…. At all!!! Every single leaf gone!!! We’ve not been able to find a deterrent that works so far so definitely want to give these a try! 😍
I'm pretty sure everyone is fighting with slugs and snails right now. How are you fairing?
I bought a roll of copper soft mesh. It enabled me to stuff it along the borders, wrap around the legs of my planter boxes, etc. I’m impressed.
Oh hope it works
I’m a copper tape and copper ring aficionado now
My 1st year of vegetable gardening, thank goodness you explain things for us beginners. I have a slug problem (I shiver even typing the word, I have a phobia with the 2 S’s). Thanks for video I will have a go at using copper in garden.
Glad to help!
Hi Eli, I use copper tape also when planting in containers. So far slugs have eating 20 sunflowers, 6 peas, runner beans, dwarf beans and 3 broad beans and numerous other flower plants. So all I am left with now is potatoes and nothing else. I have sown more peas and beans but they have not germinated yet. If the slugs don’t eat my seedling, I now have to contend with pigeons destroying my plants. It’s a nightmare, feel like giving up lol. Have a nice day.
Oh no 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I bought some of the copper tape that you recommended to put around my hanging baskets. Unfortunately, those wily slimy things used the automatic irrigation pipes to access the plants! I've replanted now, and put some tape on the pipes and the basket brackets too - seems to be working so far! For my borders and lawn I use Nemaslug nematodes, which are very effective against slugs if applied every 6 weeks or so.
Criminal masterminds!! I'm sure there's one in my garden stroking a white cat!!!!
Love your vids Eli, always cheer me up. My Hostas.... I've a shady bit to the garden and so I planted tonnes of hostas and used bark mulch... wee sluggery buggers set up camp under the bark mulch, and baisicaly had an Empty.... they moved in, Gorged on all the hostas and partied and frolicked with eachother and had loads of wee babies had a jolly good time... my hostas were decimated. This year I'm trying Strulch. Its a wheat based mulch and apparently the slugs hate it, so, Bark cleared away, Nematode troops sent in to try and get shot of any grubs under the soil... then a massive soak with water and Strulch on top. I pray to God it works as I'm up in the Highlands, postage for Strulch was crazy...I've noticed a massive reduction in damage this year so far and all hostas are looking 👌 those Rings look fab too.... Will invest.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 had an empty
now the thing is... if this works, how will you know if it was the nematodes or the strulch?
Also I use straw mulch and it didn't make any difference - the little gits still got my strawberries :D
@@eliandkate well, I'm glad you said that because I only had enough Strulch for one bit of the garden.... but... I had plenty Nematodes so, I'm leaving the un strulched bit alone with just Nematodes and ill plant 2 sacrificial hostas in there with the Dahlia thats in there to see if there is a difference. ( split a hosta in half) Again....the cost of getting Strulch delivered up here is steep, so.... we shall see. There is damage on un strulched bit but not as bad as previous years... thing is, Nematodes won't stop the adult Slugs... so if they're already cutting about like they own the place, then all can do is slugnap them and chuck em into the woods for the birds. But I feel your pain.... I know they're part of nature etc but, they just destroy everything. Soul destroying when you've worked so hard.
Hello, Eli. I’ve been very fortunate. No slugs-although I assumed they were attacking my peas, earlier in the season (turned out to be insects and finches). I did scatter some iron pellets around just to be sure, however.
The heat has been my worst enemy, and I have a mole, who has been messing with my strawberries lately.
I suspect the heat is just as bad 😬
First time gardener and greenhouse owner, proudly nurtured 12 runner beans from seed to seedling as my grandad always had a fantastic runner bean row, planted outside in to a raised and now I have 2 that were sat on by my 8 month old puppy who finds the planter the best place to sleep, 8 that look like they were modelled off of doilies having been ate by slugs and the lucky 2 that have yet to succumb to a gruesome fate of either being eaten of sat on 🤦🏻♀️🤨
ha ha ha you can rely on puppies to sleep on anything!!!!
Our shady garden in our old Edinburgh tenement was slug heaven and I was ALWAYS fighting with them! Beer traps worked a little bit, but give me the claggy boak (ugh the sliiiiiiiiiiime!), ground up eggshells worked a bit but seemed to invite other issues (we just couldn't get through enough eggs for it to be feasible), coffee grounds never seemed to work at all (and change the pH of the soil in large doses). I planted some sacrificial plants to try and deter them to where I didn't mind them munching away (they took the sacrificial plants as a kind of amuse bouche to their main meal of whatever plant I was trying to protect!). The copper tape worked on pots but in the beds there was nothing for it other than going out at night with a torch and a sharp BBQ skewer and making a kind of slimy slug kebab out of them and then dumping them in the compost at the far end of the garden. It was just too damp there and with too many places for them to hide, with no predators (hedgehogs, ducks etc) to keep them at a reasonable number. We've got more of a snail population in our new place but so far they don't seem too bad, but I've waited until plants are a bit bigger before putting them out in the ground so that might be helpful, too. Not doing much direct sowing seems to be doing the trick.
Yeah we've found the same.... None of the tradition gardener's remedies really made much difference at all. 😢
Hi Eli and Kate, They look good, Let's hope they work well, Take care.
So far its all positive 🙂🙂🙂
Tons of slugs in my garden this year - I’ve lost 2 varieties of sunflower, three of lettuce & one of pepper, as well as a nibble on most of my other seedlings. The rings look like a great option!
I've been lucky this year... got to it early. Last year I lost almost all my sunflowers and all my petunias in one container
I live in the states in the Pacific Northwest. Tons of slugs. I have been defending my tender plants with beer traps. I use the tins from my cat food and only use cheap light beer. I added more defense by first putting a ring of crumbled egg shell around the plant followed by a ring of coffee grounds. Then a few tins of beer. It does work, just not the prettiest and you have to be on top of it. I will be searching for the rings now.
that eternal battle... efficient versus attractive garden. I know it so well.
I'd live to get some of those.
I sowed some aubergine seeds in March and being a bit impatient (not good for a gardener 😬) when nothing came up I decided to buy a couple from the garden centre instead. But, low and behold, two weeks later one seed out of 4 germinated and I was really chuffed with myself. I nurtured it, chatted to it and even sang to it and it developed beautifully. Then in May, I transplanted all three aubergines into their final space in the greenhouse and although my little one was smaller than the other two, I was very proud of it and if anyone came around I would boast that I had grown it from seed 😊 and then .......
😲😯😯😯 DISASTER!!!!
Early one morning, whilst watering, I noticed that my little one was completely gone
😕☹😟😭 WHHHHYYYY
The blasted slugs/snails could have had a much bigger meal, IF ONLY they had eaten the shop bought ones 😤
I did get my own back on the culprits though and popped a few slug pellets down (I don't like using them, but didn't have anything else) and hey presto, the next morning 2 fat slugs and 1 snail lay dead next to my other two aubergines.
Whahaha, revenge is so sweet sometimes.
your poor wee aubergine. I know that feeling of growing a wee guy from seed for the first time. I was more proud of that than anything else :D
I planted out hunners of wee French marigolds and slugs got every single one overnight I’ve spent hours collecting then in evenings but left the leopard skin ones and now I don’t get much bother except my sunflowers 😀love you ❤
I find slug collars marvellous for protecting my young plants and can even grow lettuce these days. Going to try on young sunflowers this year and fingers crossed.
We had alot of dead grass round the edge of our grass patch so we decided to cut it away and make a wee flower bed border. The sunny part we planted our first dahlias we had grown from seed. However they are now no more as the slugs had a feast!!
Little sods
I use nematodes and although it doesn't work on snails it does work on slugs quite well. You have to treat every six weeks but it's worth it for slugs. It doesn't harm animals or any other wild life. I have a huge slug/snail problem, I regularly collect 30+ snails in the evening and chuck them across the road into the forest.
That seems to be a popular method
I have a problem with snails and slugs I used nematodes for the slugs but like others say it doesn't kill the snails.Just like yourself i have had sunflowers eaten by these critters :( good luck with the rings
Slugs. Even the word makes my skin crawl (or slither!) with embarrassment.
When I was a novice gardener, with very few plants in the garden, I actually thought slugs and snails were a good thing for the soil, like worms are. I created a slug friendly area in the garden with long grass and would put leaves of young plants and wood pieces in there for them to have shelter from birds and sun. Any slug or snail I found elsewhere was granted entry.
It wasn't until my son did a school project on snails that I realised my mistake. He told the teacher about my little piece of slug/ snail heaven.....the embarrassment! This was in the 80's before the internet could warn me!
Oh Dawn!!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I know!!! I was well ashamed 😳
❤️❤️❤️
I just plant more and expect a few loses, not for everyone I know. At the allotment I have a row of lettuce that are half the size as the rest as they come out the weeds and munch them haha
Egg shells I use alot, when the plants are small, works and doesn't work.
Although did find a frog on the allotment yesterday that should help!
Free frog!!!!!!
OMG it is Slug War this year for me. At the allotment the slimy things have munched through 3 sowings of carrots and parsnips. 7 spaghetti squash, 3 rows of Arctic lettuce, all of my kohlrabi and 2 sunflowers. In my garden they have eaten my bellis daisies, gaillardias, numerous salvias and the marigolds. Last year I put bear traps down in the garden, they caught a few snails but the resident foxes drank the bear.
Drunk foxes partying at yours 🤣🤣🤣
Sounds a good idea I am growing all my veg in flower buckets I got more of a chance to deal with any slug I find as they are either under the rim of the buckets of under the buckets of even in the soil as I found out the hard way I couldn't understand how my lettuce got eaten after I check the usual places so now I even check my soil around them as well
Here is San Antonio, Texas I see damage from what I suspect are slugs, but I’ve never seen any, even very late at night. I’d be more than willing to use the copper rings and I’ll bet that would take care of my issues. Love your videos!
I must confess.... I'm far too lazy to go out at night to look for them.
Slugs crawled over my copper tape! Now I check under nearby wood, remove, (I put them in my weed bin, garden waste collected bu Glasgow CC) and leave low growing leaves as sacrifice plants.
Tricky little sods. Yeah I've heard of other folk finding copper tape isn't enough if a deterrent, it seems to be because some companies skimp on the actual amount of copper they use. I was lucky that the tape I bought was good stuff... Pure dumb luck.
Biggest slug fail is them eating all my BEAUTIFUL little livingston daisies - they always seem to love them!! I think its because they're quite a low down plant and succulent like - must be extra juicy for them!
they always seem to know the plants that are your favourites and go straight for them!
Slugs are my enemy! 😂 your copper rings might be my solution.
Every morning I’m looking for them in the garden! I have actually used the cut bottles with the copper tape (green beans, courgettes and squash) and water the garden in the morning instead of evening. It has worked but then again it hasn’t rained for a while so let’s see by the end of the week.
I'm with you!!!!!
i put copper tape round my pots with Hosta in them work fab
oh fab... hostas are a particular fav of slugs and smails
What a fantastic idea, they would be so handy!
I'm pretty new to gardening, so I don't really have any slug stories, however.. literally today I was standing in the garden thinking about what I was doing next. Suddenly I felt a cold sensation on my leg. I was wearing a long skirt, so lifted it up to see why and had the BIGGEST fright as I looked down to see a large snail suctioned onto my leg!!
I jumped around in a craze screaming and my mum ran for her life too because she was over by the fence and thought I'd seen a rat! hahaha How the hell it got on my leg, I have no idea!
eeeeeewwwwwww 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Thanks for sharing 👍👍👍
🙂🙂
Ive taken to planting my lettuce in 3ft high raised beds on the patio. So far its worked! Still has to pigeon proof though...
thats why I have nets over my beds 😂
I was wondering about that pretty tape on your pots. Excited to see if I can get some to try since I found slugs for the first time in 10 years on my peas.
Oh I've never had issues with my peas .... Off to check ....
First year gardening last year. The slimy beasties ate potatoes, lettuce and this year they’re nibbling dahlias. Put some wool pellets down, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Xxx
grrrrrrrrrrrrr
The slugs are driving me crazy, Im up in the Highlands and they everywhere, I go out every night and shout at them, they dont go away but makes me feel better😂
Ha ha ha ok I'm totally picturing this now 🤣🤣🤣
I lost all my first ever crop of lettuce - they ate every one! Learnt to start them in pots now so the stalks are too big for them to get their sluggy mouths round! My best deterrent is hand picking them off things … it’s gross but very satisfying- then leave them for the birds to eat… yuk!
Yuk indeed 😬😬😬😬
It’s petunias for me! They love munching on them! I used the slug wool in a pot and removed them all and they are back in there! 😡 I thought I removed them all before putting the wool down but maybe not. I’ll keep a eye to see if they work.
I love the copper tape and use it everywhere but these look really good especially for pots !
Sneaky wee sods....
@@eliandkate haha they are indeed
I have such a huge problem with slugs and snails eating my dahlias that this year I've planted sacrificial dahlias to compensate! My theory is that they can only eat so many and usually the ones on the outside. Of course this may backfire on me by the little blighters inviting all their friends over for a huge dahlia feast! 🤔 We'll see!
you can only try :D
My garden is a bomb site! Big work in progress, my decking area is my planting sanctuary though, everything I plant gets mullered 😫 especially my peas this year, I've had nothing work but I'm a novice gardener, I've never heard of using copper tape/rings! Every evening after dark I go out 2/3 times and pick all the slugs and snails off! I have 2 big pots with Pansys in and they have eaten all the petals off them 😫
You're videos are so helpful to me as a novice, I'm hoping next year I can have a bit more of a veg patch 🤞🏼
we'll keep our fingers crossed for you :D
The horrible little buggers and their associated snails have ruined my hosta's.Tried crushed egg shells but naa the sods come back. I've had some the size of ping pong balls..Think I'll try the copper.❤️
It’s a nightmare…. I E tried all the recommended things and none of it made a difference for me.
The copper at least reduced it… doesn’t stop it but it reduces it
Just been told by my Thai neighbour to buy some cheap copper pan scrubbers ,unravel them and put around pots and nail to fences. Works for her.❤️
I bought copper tape after seeing it on your pots, so far so good although some of it is already wrinkling in the hot sun. Last year slugs devoured a whole marigold overnight 😠
I label my seedlings with coloured stickers and a written key in my notebook. So red1 = Shirley poppies. Red2=love in the mist, etc etc. All well and good until I left my notebook outside overnight and the lovely slugs ate the key!!!
they ate your notebook?
@@eliandkate yes they ate the page I had written all the varieties and all the matching stickers. So now I don't know what I'm planting where.
I have posted a photo of what is left of the notebook in the comments of your Facebook page. I am truly gutted. I didn't make a copy.
No salt for the tatties! I've been going round my pots and beds like it's an exorcism 😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Those are so cool! Thanks for sharing!
These look so good, especially in beds. I’ve been finding slugs under pots, which I just throw to the field behind my house. I’ve just planted out zinnias which I’m hoping the slugs won’t get them. 🤞🏻 They’ve already tried to have a go at them in the greenhouse. 🙈 🪴
with the amount of throwing out of the garden, I've developed the most amazing over arm throwing powers 😂😂😂
would love to try these lots of slugs in my garden
Worth a try
Love that idea glad I watched it 😊 I am new so got no stories 😊
🙂🙂🙂
I hate them suckers. Last year I end up in tears when I planted my pumpkins out and they were all gone the next day. I will try some copper tape this year. 😢
they've gone for my sunflowers again this year Denise
... all the ones in the poly greenhouse hardening off :(
Decided this year that I would not be beaten by the slimy blighters! Got myself prepared with some plastic bag type slug traps that you put beer in. Placed several around the veggie plot and went to bed feeling smug that the battle had started and I held the advantage with Guinness in the traps. I was certain that the slugs would love it. I woke the following morning and could not wait to go to the plot and count the bodies............so much for over confidence! Not one and not even a half dead or dying one! Bitterly disappointed I returned to the house to ponder the reasons for this failure. It did not take long for me to work out what had happened. The trails of silvery gunk were on the carpet, up the cupboard doors and on the handles at my eye level! The war had moved from the plot to my kitchen. AAAAArrrrggghhhh gross! I now have Guinness traps all over the house, and nightmares of a slug over my face suffocating me. Those slug rings look great. I could put one over my head as well as around my ankles to deter the slithering monsters. I must save myself before moving on to the plants.
I wouldn't waste the Guinness
I've actually found that the cheapest most disgusting lager works best.... slugs do not have good taste in beer
Thanks for the advice on beer....I will no longer be using Guinness. Sadly it is such a waste as I can't bring myself to suck it out of the useless beer traps.....just in case a slithery slimy thing slips down my throat! Now there's a thought Uggh!
My wife has tried everything copperthen beer traps (special brew Yuk)
Latest is garlic and salt spray doing better with that but London slugs are hardy and wiley little blighters
I strangely found that the cheapest nastiest lager worked the best... slugs clearly have no taste
I sowed Dahlia seeds For the first time, kept potting them on, watered and fed my little babies till they were big enough to be planted outside. That night they got massacred by those pesky critters and the next day was just chewed down stalks, absolutely gutted!!!!!!
noooooo!!!!
It is absolutely gutting isn't it!!!!
Hi Ellie. About the slug and snail problem, I suppose you will have tried the beer traps. I heard a tip from a fellow hotbiner, he puts the in his hotbin. Hope this helps. Personally I use slug pellets, I know not very environmentaly friendly. Yes, an awesome price. Best wishes Geoff Maddison
I have.... I've tried all the old gardener's remedies over the years and in all honesty, not a single one has "worked" the way they have been praised too :D. I think a lot of what works is down to your garden, environment, weather, plants etc etc etc like all gardening :D
God I love the grass just in front of the green house it's full and lush
I was wandering around in my bare feet today.... Lovely
@@eliandkate my grass needs work but rest of the garden first then the grass in my plan as the grass will always get wear and tear having 4 chickens (in a run) and two dogs who love to destroy with there pee already lost a rodi to them
You joke about having all your plants eaten overnight this year is my second year trying to grow stuff properly and full on I’ve gone all out this year as last year was my first time trying so I tried the easier stuff so I have babies my cauliflower and cabbage plants planted all 20 out thinking some might get ate to go out the next mor I guess to have the whole veg patch decimated nothing left apart from my onion plants which have been out weeks not the birds as I netted the lot pesky slugs ahaha. Love your channel I have learn so many nifty little things and tips and tricks
Oh no, that's horrible.
Did today's video on my carrot disaster make you feel any better?
@@eliandkate it did shows how we can all have issues when growing I’ll get some more and try again once I have some slug deterrents hears whit vinegar in a mix can be good
Hi elli love the copper rings them nasty slimy critters are eating their way though my young plants would love to be in for a chance of winning these rings . Also I read on your link thing lol that you said winners would be notified on the 14 March 2021 was that meant to be 14th of next month :-) thanks elli for a brilliant video as always
Doh!!!! Good spot thank you.March would be a heck of a wait
Hi guys the slug rings look great I have a nightmare with the shimmy critters on my brassicas. Well almost everything really but I think they are worse this year. I'd love to try these rings can you tell me where I can but some from please.
Cheers gaynor
They are from a company called slug rings. There is a link in the description to their website 😉
These slug rings look amazing ... sadly I grew my cabbage plants lovingly from seed, only to have watched each one be munched to death in my garden since 😢. Would love to win a pack of these rings!
Noooooooo 😭😭😭😭😭 poor cabbage
Sorry for double comment, been meaning to ask where you bought your chairs they look so comfy, look like Amish style you see most american gardens. I'd love to buy some Amish made products but don't think we have such stuff uk.
:D They are called adirondack chairs. It's a particular style. We got ours online. The original ones we have were so badly rotted that Kate actually fell through one a few months ago so we've replaced them recently.
I'll see if Kate can find the link to where she bought them :D
here you go :D
www.tectake.co.uk/janis-garden-chair-800814-403792
Thanks for your video.
From time to time check your Amazon links cos the copper tape is coming up as £98
just a tad expensive :D
thanks for that - downside to trying to share things - there's always at least one company with some sort of weird glitch happening. I'll pop in and delete the link
Great video, my slug probably last autumn nearly stopped me vegetable gardening all together as overnight cabbage and pak choi would practically disappear. I got nemaslug from gardening naturally this spring and boy what a difference. I haven't used it on my whole garden just my veg section which is separate but this summer I intend to do a few flower beds with my second purchase. On my hoster pots I have used garden centre tape without success and I saw youtube experimental video and guy recommended guitar amp copper tape as the content it higher and I found this brilliant, check out Matt Pesketts videos. Have good week Eli 👍
Yep that's spot on and i think I've mentioned it a couple of times too. The cheaper tapes have a lower copper percentage, which obviously lowers their effectiveness. It stings paying over a tenner for a roll of tape but I figure it's cheaper than replacing all my plants :D
Hedgehogs, I've a s mall garden but the hedgehog uses a few gardens to get enough slugs to sustain him\her.
Would be fab to have hedgehogs here (a favourite of mine) but it's far to open. The houses on the other side of the street back onto a big wild area so they get all the interesting wildlife
Slugs are a complete menace in my garden. It used to be snails but after years of picking them off and feeding them to my chickens, they seem to be under control....pity my hens dont like the slugs!
I've heard ducks are a fantastic slug control 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I already know that we have a problem with slugs in our front garden which hasn't really been established yet so I will be looking at using the copper tape for any of my planters but I would be curious to use the rings.
the rings are basically the same as copper tape, just that you can use them in ground whereas copper tape is only useful for things like pots.
One thing with the copper tape... you need to use the high percentage copper stuff (which is the expensive stuff) and it needs to be over 2 inches wide (either one strip or multiples)
@@eliandkate Thanks for the tip!
Ohhhh ok here we go best slug story my daughter used to pick them up and lick the bottom of them god knows why and when we tell her about it now she never believes us toooooooo funny peace peace ✌️
Oh brilliant!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
When I first started gardening I cleared a large area and planted out several trays of fresh bedding plants only to find slugs devoured them almost overnight 🤬 Rookie mistake I thought.... So I bought new plants but this time I put in slug defences 😎 We had young children and a dog so slug pellets couldn’t be used, instead I used SALT 🧐.
Yes I actually went out at night and basically covered my whole flower bed with a very generous layer of salt 🤯
Needless to say I killed the slugs and my plants almost instantaneously 😳
Ohhhh nooooooo!
How long did it take for your soil to recover?
Slugs ate all my Zinnia plants! So frustrating. Also how do you get your grass soooo green?!
:D Grass is like everything else, needs regular feeding and watering. Your lawn is thousands of individual little plants... treat it that way :D
They are just so smart they copper rings. Must see if I can find them in Denmark 🐌🐌
They were such a brilliant find this year. I was at my wits end
@@eliandkate Yes I understand that really well! They are super cool. Of course I can only find some in plastic with copper but I'm looking further.
Have you tried emery tape along with or instead of copper tape. Or sandpaper in the greenhouse?
No the copper tape has worked brilliantly for years, very happy with it
@@eliandkate So 100%?
Of?
@@eliandkate Slugtasticness?
@Bob-bo8ik ha ha ha I’m 100% happy 😆 and I’m sure
Eli, i don't see any link to enter the competition! I see a lot of links, but none for the prize draw.
Hey Paul,
just drop your comment below the video with your slug story.
On Saturday morning we'll choose one at random from all the stories and announce it in the Sunday video :D
@@eliandkate ,sounds good, thanks.
We have decided to allow all volunteer sunflowers to have free reign in our garden this year, so the slugs don't stand a chance here, they are out numbered😁
🤣🤣🤣 perfect
SLUGS - they love my sunflowers 💀- I hate slugs ☠️
the cry of all gardeners :D
Sorry just noticed, my stupid typo......
I'd LOVE to get some of those ....
not LIVE to get some of those
🙄😂
The only problem is, slugs burrow underground!
some even live underground and I think all lay their eggs at the very least under the surface :D
Not all slugs are a worry to new plants either
It's a very wide and really interesting subject
Wait for all the American's asking what chuffed means. 🤣
nah they are all getting pretty good with Eli speak now :D
You should see how often sitooterie gets mentioned on facebook :D
Is Kate hard at work in the background with the saw?
I’ve no idea, this was a few years ago
Slugs have destroyed my pepper plants 🫑 😭
they are a nightmare