When we bought our new home and started gardening in ground and in raised beds. I thought I would be dealing with slugs and I did. Trapped many with the ol' beer traps. In our super humid environment of coastal Florida I figured I knew what dealing with slugs was all about. I thought I was fighting the great war till last October when we spent a month in England. I saw slugs that absolutely struck fear in my soul! Your slugs are ENOURMOUS brother!! T-Rexes of the slug world!! And dear Lord there are so many everywhere! I think some of them could even total a bike or electric scooter! 😮😯😲😳🥺😦😧 Love the video, though! Great job as always Tony @simplifygardening ! I had to watch it twice! 🤩🤩
@@bowtielife I built raised beads out of cinder building blocks with bare copper wire wrapped around them the same as you would the tape. Copper wire is much less expensive than tape and I used small turnbuckles to tension them tight. You can use any type of battery. It doesn't have to be 9 volts. I used an old dead lawnmower battery that I measured at 3 volts. It worked like a charm. The slugs would crawl over the first wire and then touch the second wire and recoil back. It was 100% effective.
Hi Tony 👋 Hedgehogs only eat slugs as a last resort as they can make them ill with a parasite from the slugs. Trevor our plot rescue hedgehog was really poorly due to this. I learnt this from someone who rescues hedgehogs who works closely with a vet. The rest of your slug video is fab. I was thinking of doing a slug video myself, the Feel Good Garden way 😂 Enjoy the rest of your weekend ❤️ x
I’ve gotten rid of hundreds of slugs by going into the garden when the sun starts to go down. Put on plastic gloves and grab a pail with some soap water. At this time the slugs are starting to move out from hiding crossing over the lawn from one bed to the next, easy catchings. Lots of times they will pair and that means 2 sometimes 3 together
I’ve tried a few of your tips like beer traps but last year was horrendous , also so much rain and grey skies the attacks were endless, I was repeat filling the beer traps so often my husband thought I’d become an alcoholic nicking all his beer. I still lost more than I harvested I was becoming phobic I just hate the horrible slimy things, but I’ll gather my strength and prepare to do battle again this year , I just hope it’s hotter and dryer than last year. Thanks for the tips Tony always so practical
Hey Tony. I went out last summer at the home poly, 12:30pm, torch in hand and first night, 42 slugs. 2nd night 36. 3rd night, 5! So defo the best thing that worked for me. But dodgy walking round the plot at that time of night where I live 😂 so will try the beer traps. I also got into the habit of lifting things up in about October and removed clumps of eggs. Found a few! Sourdough starter waste works a treat too. Great video! Saved up favourites 🙌🏽👩🏼🌾🌻 Rach
I do the sunken beer in jar, but I add a margarine container with some openings cut in it. This stops rain from filling up the jar 👍👍. I’ll be out today now gently tilling the soil to expose the eggs to our minus 6c nights. Great update Tony, hope your safe, Ali 🥶🥶🇨🇦
Just an observation on my allotment here in Bolton, Lancashire. Our original, old greenhouse was blown over in the storms about 3 years ago, sending glass across a couple of plots and pathways. We had to clean it all up so we used a blue plastic drum to get as much as possible. Once in the drum, we smashed a lot of big pieces into smaller ones so we could get more in. We stored this drum on our plot for months, filled with broken glass, nothing else. After a few months, I noticed slugs!. All living and thriving in this drum of glass!. They seemed to enjoy the contents... A tip I have often used is a concoction of salt water, salt and flour with added food colouring to disguise it. We painted this around the shed, beds and other wooden structures. It is really affective. Nice tips by the way and all effective.
The tip would certainly kill slugs but be mindful how much salt you put on your ground it will kill all the beneficial bacteria, fungi and prob alter the ph of your soil
Great tips, did most of these last year and I was just outnumbered 😩 head torch at night is always a good one and beer traps combined - most definitely will be ON IT this year! Slugs are my gardens nemesis 🐌 ❌
I use the beer trap in conjunction with a shallow cardboard box or large flattened out cardboard box as a perfect place for them to stay out of the sunlight and moist. They gravitate to both the traps and boxes which increases my slug yield immensely.
Great video Tony. Being smarter than everyone else I decided to try my own decoy method. I divided up some hostas and planted the divisions in pots to overwinter in the greenhouse. When all my young seedlings were coming up in springtime I set the hosta plants nearby as everyone knows slugs love hosta .Next morning the seedlings were decimated but the hostas were totally untouched. Meanwhile back in the flowebeds the hostas were under attack as usual .
Brilliant! Last year I collected about 50 slugs from a about a metre around my raised beds, at night with a torch. I'll now try more of your suggestions. Thank you
Be careful with the oats around plants. I tried this last year around squash plants and it attracted rats onto my plot and lost loads of squash by rats nibbling them 🤮 my sweetcorn was also decimated. Never had a problem with rats before and I did see them running down the side of my plot 😢 great video though
Great tip about the 9v battery trick Tony. But be careful you don't make the same cock up I did. I put 2 parallel copper wires around the edge of my raised bed and connected up to a 9v battery. Brilliant, I thought. But of course I trapped the slugs inside my raised bed and they devoured all my lettuces. Live and learn, that's what gardening's all about.
Yeah there is that as well which is why i harped on about other methids in combination. DE over the soil would finish those in the bed and the wre prevent more coming. its not just a one thing deal don kind of battle
Hello Tony, I am going to get the ultimate slug hunter in my garden this spring, namely runner ducks, they eat all slugs available and give manure for the garden, and some nice eggs as well. The chickens are also helping in that they will rotate the ground and eat weed seeds and insects too.... So this year I hope to get on top of the slug problem.
Not being a fan of chemicals I started going out before bed time to do a slug check removing those that I see. I have had a couple good years now ( I may be wrong ) but believe the constant watch for slug in the previous years has helped for the future. I do find during rainy periods the slugs seem more plentiful for sure.I do not a great area for snakes which is what I wish to have.
Cheers Carl. I put 2 weeks of my life into this video the edit along was nearly 3 days. wont be a regular I don't think as atm its only just doing as well as others in fact its only 5/10 so the 10 times more work I put in doesn't seem to be worth it at this point. Maybe it will move later only time will tell
Good video. Slugs feast on our rutabaga leaves every year. Copper tape on strawberry supports around the plant help but the leaves are huge and droop over the platform. Trying to keep rutabaga leaves off the soil is a problem. We have tried to beer traps but did not catch much. As soon as it rains we have to dump and refill, expensive.
Another banger video Tony, I get copper pipe off cuts from plumbing friend and place 3 inch pipes under my planters and potato buckets and I saw far less slug damage with those with pipes than without and also the copper pipe pot scrubbers placed around brassica and high value plants had a reduction for me..
Ok beer traps you may as well just open a bar for the slugs as they come from all over to have a pint ive used pipes in the ground keeping the ground as dry as possible just watering roots after 50 odd years that is my best tip happy gardening Richardx
Thanks for the tips tony. I usually purchase slug bait. It's supposed to be natural but oatmeal/cormeal is more natural and probably cheaper. Never heard of using that for bait.
I have also tried catching the slugs in a container with a lid and keeping them there for an extended period as some have parasitic enemies on/in them which infect the whole lot then you can add water, sieve into a watering can and spray it around as a biological slugicide (a word I may trademark)!
Hi , I am going to try something else this year . I have contacted the local chimney sweep to trial soot for my roses which suffer from black spot , however I have also read up on using soot in the garden which also has benefits to control slugs and snails , however need to watch out and not overdo it
Yeah and ensure the chimneys which the soot came from that the owners were only burning clean wood. A lot of people burn all sorts of rubbish which could contaminate the soot.
Good video, and the like button was stuck on the bad omen number 66b , so you got a like from me. Not religious but seemed like another good reason to like the video.
I'm amazed nobody sells a solar powered slug barrier for raised beds. So simple, maybe use copper wire, clip them on and connect + and - from small solar panel to the wire. Not rocket science but effective it could have a small battery that charges during the day, much like solar powered sensor lights. There's a project for my plot before spring starts.
Hi I put my grow lights up and doing great. I have great neigjbours that gave the lights to me. Ive been lucky no slugs last year but a hedgehog who is fat as butter lol tfs sylvi🎉🎉🎉
Great video as always. Is there a reason you have not put the growing nematodes method in this video( I know its in the other video that you have referenced) We have also found that putting a mix of flour, yeast and water ( uncured bread dough) out on flat stones just before dusk causes the slugs to congregate round it ready for picking up shortly after dusk. We removed 5061 slugs from half plot last year with this method ( obviously also with a flashlight) and had a relatively low level of slug damage. Im adding the nematode growing into our strategies this year.
O yes , I shall also be trying copper wiring I have plenty of coil wire from power cable which i shall strip down and strategically place around my plants and flowers
Wow for a starters think yourself lucky they are festering in the bucket. throw them in to the compost bin and allow those nutrients to go back to the soil
A sheet of black plastic left laying out by accident ended up with lots of slugs clinging underneath. Easy trappings. I've also heard of people using bread yeast and yeast extract like Marmite instead of beer. Shops own brands of yeast extract might work out cheaper than beer but I don't know how much needs to be dissolved in the water.
Copper tape is better if it's in contact with steel or iron. This creates a circuit of electricity. I used the tape and made sure it contacted the braces on the corners of my raised bed. On pot, two nails pushed under the tape on opposite sides will do the same thing. I went out just after sunset and looked for slugs, or just before sunrise, then put any slugs in a tin with sharp edges until the birds appeared then dumped the slugs near the bird feeder.
I would imagine that if you substitute one of the strips of copper metal for something like zinc, it would work without needing the battery as metals naturally act as batteries when connected by a moist substance with salts in it (slug slime) so it would get a shock anyway.
Hi Tony, welcome to 2025, I'm declaring it anti slug year. Mind you I do that every year. One thing I found very effective on an anti slug night patrol is a good bright head torch, which keeps a hand free for moving foliage & a 1 liter spray bottle, set on jet spray containing dilute Dettol. 10 to15 % mix ratio with tap water. Most people in the UK and Ireland know it as a very efficient antiseptic. I don't know where else it or similar might be available. I was spraying down my dog run one evening and hit an early hours slug. It just rolled over and started frothing up. It seems to destroy their slime barrier and they just die quickly. I think the birds must take my spoils of war in the dawn. The dew probably washes any remaining solution away. It scent would deter birds if it was still there. Very satisfying not to have to go about picking them up, good on snails too. Remember its them or us and our veg, no quarter given. Another tip I was given was to get a cheap instant coffee, the stuff you wouldn't drink yourself . A 4 oz or 100 gram jar mixed with water and used with a watering can or pressure sprayer applied to the soil around plants and beds. Apply every two weeks, it kills the eggs allegedly and the slugs don't like it so they tend to stay away. I used this system last year and I did notice a huge reduction in slugs. It caused no issue to my plants and veg that I noticed, It also deters ants which as we know farm the aphids. Neem oil helps with them. Give it a go. I do the companion planting too to attract bees and hover fly's, even had some lacewings last year.
I firmly believe to protect the crops your growing to eat. there are other areas for slugs but wander where you shouldnt and your fair game. Ive not heard of detol for slugs i wonder what it does to soil ph or life but worth looking into. Thanks
Many thanks Tony for useful ways to control slugs. I didnt know frogs ate slugs. I love frogs since I was a small girl. Bath time my mother knew I had frogs in my pockets. And she would asked me gently if I had any frogs. I had to take them outside again. 😆🤪 I have a few big ones in the garden and in the house.
I hunt slugs and snails in my garden in a very different way. Especially after evening rain, I take a head torch and a small single hole salt shaker. Just a tiny amount of salt sprinkled on a slug or snail will dispatch them within a minute or so and their numbers are diminishing very fast. Therefore, it works for me. The slug pellets I have used before where never as effective.
Hi, I do agree with your comment but I only use minute quantity in my small garden. If my dream comes true and I get much bigger, producing garden then I will definitely follow your advice.
Sheep's wool moat around your beds and ridge tiles randomly placed around the edge of beds. They don't like climbing over wool as the get stuck and they hide under the ridge tiles at night. During the day turn over the tiles and gather up slugs and dispose
They definitely destroyed my flowers and crops. But at the same time they’re so cute with their little antennas. I feel guilty trying to off them. I already set those fly traps with the liquid and it made me feel like I was a serial killer of insects. I mean I guess I am. It trapped a lot of flies. I tried these slug repellent pellets but they are completely useless.
The birds in my garden apparently have a taste for broccoli leaves. They have pecked and eaten all the upper leaves while pooping on the lower ones...😂
@simplifygardening Yes, it was still helpful. 👍🏻 That's what I do. I know slugs can travel long distances to get back home but I do my best. I'm just hoping 2025 isn't another slugmageddon!
I am amazed that the most important slug control method keeps getting missed, including by Gardener's World. Leopard slugs eat other slugs in the UK. Knowing what they look like is important. If people do hack #11 and kill leopard slugs after finding them, then that's just ignorant. The 2 slugs in the orange peel trap @ 8:23 look like leopard slugs.
@@simplifygardening If you google search: 'do leopard slugs eat plants' - of the first dozen references, only one says they eat living plants. All the rest say they eat dead and rotting plants, fungi, and other slugs, but not living plants.
Hello fella can you tell us all where you buy your potato seeds and your onion sets from. Can you also say what food do you use to feed your potatoes. Cheers matey.
I use blood fish and bone meal and vitax potato feed for the potatoes, both organic. When I buy seed spuds I get from JBA or My local garden center called Pughs
Thanks for the video! I must ad, however, that here the nasturtiums serve as magnificent hidingplaces for slugs. Especially the smaller ones love them. Sorry! 🫣
When we bought our new home and started gardening in ground and in raised beds. I thought I would be dealing with slugs and I did. Trapped many with the ol' beer traps. In our super humid environment of coastal Florida I figured I knew what dealing with slugs was all about. I thought I was fighting the great war till last October when we spent a month in England. I saw slugs that absolutely struck fear in my soul! Your slugs are ENOURMOUS brother!! T-Rexes of the slug world!! And dear Lord there are so many everywhere! I think some of them could even total a bike or electric scooter! 😮😯😲😳🥺😦😧
Love the video, though! Great job as always Tony @simplifygardening ! I had to watch it twice! 🤩🤩
Yeah we have a real battle with them Dave. its why videos like this will be helpful for new gardeners too
@@simplifygardening agreed!👍 I want to experiment with the whole 9 volt battery with two copper ribbons. That’s just cool!
@@bowtielife I built raised beads out of cinder building blocks with bare copper wire wrapped around them the same as you would the tape. Copper wire is much less expensive than tape and I used small turnbuckles to tension them tight. You can use any type of battery. It doesn't have to be 9 volts. I used an old dead lawnmower battery that I measured at 3 volts. It worked like a charm. The slugs would crawl over the first wire and then touch the second wire and recoil back. It was 100% effective.
@@tonyt.3757 that is so cool!
Hi Tony 👋
Hedgehogs only eat slugs as a last resort as they can make them ill with a parasite from the slugs. Trevor our plot rescue hedgehog was really poorly due to this. I learnt this from someone who rescues hedgehogs who works closely with a vet.
The rest of your slug video is fab. I was thinking of doing a slug video myself, the Feel Good Garden way 😂
Enjoy the rest of your weekend ❤️ x
Hi linda. They tend to eat the grey slugs which are way smaller and mostly unseen by us gardeners but the ones that do the most damage
I’ve gotten rid of hundreds of slugs by going into the garden when the sun starts to go down. Put on plastic gloves and grab a pail with some soap water. At this time the slugs are starting to move out from hiding crossing over the lawn from one bed to the next, easy catchings. Lots of times they will pair and that means 2 sometimes 3 together
I’ve tried a few of your tips like beer traps but last year was horrendous , also so much rain and grey skies the attacks were endless, I was repeat filling the beer traps so often my husband thought I’d become an alcoholic nicking all his beer. I still lost more than I harvested I was becoming phobic I just hate the horrible slimy things, but I’ll gather my strength and prepare to do battle again this year , I just hope it’s hotter and dryer than last year. Thanks for the tips Tony always so practical
if you struggled nematodes are your answer I show you more detail in the two linked videos in this videos description
Beer attracts more slugs
Always great tips thanks Tony
Thanks David appreciate it
Hey Tony. I went out last summer at the home poly, 12:30pm, torch in hand and first night, 42 slugs. 2nd night 36. 3rd night, 5! So defo the best thing that worked for me.
But dodgy walking round the plot at that time of night where I live 😂 so will try the beer traps.
I also got into the habit of lifting things up in about October and removed clumps of eggs. Found a few!
Sourdough starter waste works a treat too.
Great video! Saved up favourites 🙌🏽👩🏼🌾🌻
Rach
That drastically reduced the numbers of them and breeding adults
@ it did! I never saw any after that.
Just got to keep on top if it 👍🏽
I do the sunken beer in jar, but I add a margarine container with some openings cut in it. This stops rain from filling up the jar 👍👍. I’ll be out today now gently tilling the soil to expose the eggs to our minus 6c nights. Great update Tony, hope your safe, Ali 🥶🥶🇨🇦
All good Ali thanks. and those are excellent tips, thanks for adding them
Just an observation on my allotment here in Bolton, Lancashire. Our original, old greenhouse was blown over in the storms about 3 years ago, sending glass across a couple of plots and pathways. We had to clean it all up so we used a blue plastic drum to get as much as possible. Once in the drum, we smashed a lot of big pieces into smaller ones so we could get more in. We stored this drum on our plot for months, filled with broken glass, nothing else. After a few months, I noticed slugs!. All living and thriving in this drum of glass!. They seemed to enjoy the contents...
A tip I have often used is a concoction of salt water, salt and flour with added food colouring to disguise it. We painted this around the shed, beds and other wooden structures. It is really affective. Nice tips by the way and all effective.
The tip would certainly kill slugs but be mindful how much salt you put on your ground it will kill all the beneficial bacteria, fungi and prob alter the ph of your soil
Brilliant slug video, mate! While I don't have a slug problem, you cover everything I've learned to control them.
Good to hear! the other videos linked cover the rest . Cheers Scott
Thank you for posting this! Great information.
Thanks I am glad you enjoyed it
Great tips, did most of these last year and I was just outnumbered 😩 head torch at night is always a good one and beer traps combined - most definitely will be ON IT this year! Slugs are my gardens nemesis 🐌 ❌
Yea the torch really helps
I use the beer trap in conjunction with a shallow cardboard box or large flattened out cardboard box as a perfect place for them to stay out of the sunlight and moist. They gravitate to both the traps and boxes which increases my slug yield immensely.
Excellent. knocking the numbers is key for following months
Thank for sharing
Thank you
Great video Tony.
Being smarter than everyone else I decided to try my own decoy method. I divided up some hostas and planted the divisions in pots to overwinter in the greenhouse. When all my young seedlings were coming up in springtime I set the hosta plants nearby as everyone knows slugs love hosta .Next morning the seedlings were decimated but the hostas were totally untouched. Meanwhile back in the flowebeds the hostas were under attack as usual .
lol they like hosta but love seedlings it’s like offering kids water or coke
As always great information on your videos.
Glad you like them!
Hi Tony, great video with very useful tips. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊
Thanks, you too! Glad you enjoyed it.
Brilliant! Last year I collected about 50 slugs from a about a metre around my raised beds, at night with a torch. I'll now try more of your suggestions. Thank you
Its amazing just how many you will see at night
Be careful with the oats around plants. I tried this last year around squash plants and it attracted rats onto my plot and lost loads of squash by rats nibbling them 🤮 my sweetcorn was also decimated. Never had a problem with rats before and I did see them running down the side of my plot 😢 great video though
yeah it could be an issue but if they are coming for oats they are already there
Awesome suggestions, thank you
You are so welcome!
Great tip about the 9v battery trick Tony. But be careful you don't make the same cock up I did. I put 2 parallel copper wires around the edge of my raised bed and connected up to a 9v battery. Brilliant, I thought. But of course I trapped the slugs inside my raised bed and they devoured all my lettuces. Live and learn, that's what gardening's all about.
Yeah there is that as well which is why i harped on about other methids in combination. DE over the soil would finish those in the bed and the wre prevent more coming. its not just a one thing deal don kind of battle
brilliant work cheers
Thank you! Cheers!
Great video packed with useful tips once more. Thanks.
Thanks so much. means a lot you folks are enjoying it
@@simplifygardening particularly liked the copper tape with the battery, genius idea.
Hi Tony, really useful tips, I'm definitely going to have a slug party this year, hopefuly you can make it! Great video 😊
Have fun! I'll be busy :D
Short, to the point, packed full of information!! Great vid Tony🙏🏼
Glad you liked it Thanks
Hello Tony, I am going to get the ultimate slug hunter in my garden this spring, namely runner ducks, they eat all slugs available and give manure for the garden, and some nice eggs as well. The chickens are also helping in that they will rotate the ground and eat weed seeds and insects too.... So this year I hope to get on top of the slug problem.
Yeah I cover ducks in one of the linked videos in the description, which is why they werent in this one
Thank you Tone
Thank you too Bob
Not being a fan of chemicals I started going out before bed time to do a slug check removing those that I see. I have had a couple good years now ( I may be wrong ) but believe the constant watch for slug in the previous years has helped for the future. I do find during rainy periods the slugs seem more plentiful for sure.I do not a great area for snakes which is what I wish to have.
Thank you Tony that was well worth watching
Im very glad after a 3 day edit lol but thanks its appreciated
Absolutely loved this one and will be putting a few of these into practice …. Thank you buddy very much appreciated 🎉
Cheers Carl. I put 2 weeks of my life into this video the edit along was nearly 3 days. wont be a regular I don't think as atm its only just doing as well as others in fact its only 5/10 so the 10 times more work I put in doesn't seem to be worth it at this point. Maybe it will move later only time will tell
Good video. Slugs feast on our rutabaga leaves every year. Copper tape on strawberry supports around the plant help but the leaves are huge and droop over the platform. Trying to keep rutabaga leaves off the soil is a problem. We have tried to beer traps but did not catch much. As soon as it rains we have to dump and refill, expensive.
Try Nematodes there is a link to 2 other videos I swear by them and show you how to make them at home too
Thanks for the top tips, I need to be more proactive this year with slugs
Now is the time get searching for them
@simplifygardening thanks I'll start searching for them
Another banger video Tony, I get copper pipe off cuts from plumbing friend and place 3 inch pipes under my planters and potato buckets and I saw far less slug damage with those with pipes than without and also the copper pipe pot scrubbers placed around brassica and high value plants had a reduction for me..
Thats a great tip thanks for sharing it with the community
@@simplifygardening Everything little bit helps when it comes to those pesky slugs.
Some great tips Tony bird boxes is a great shout. I like the bug hotel idea too
Glad you enjoyed it Emma
Excellent as always
Thank you Lizzie
@@simplifygardening I don’t always catch your channel but it is such a pleasure when I do
i bought a four pack tonight , 3 for me one to fill the lures! haha best thing in my opinion its just a keep up job emptying and refilling etc x
Yeah certainly keeps the numbers down
Ok beer traps you may as well just open a bar for the slugs as they come from all over to have a pint ive used pipes in the ground keeping the ground as dry as possible just watering roots after 50 odd years that is my best tip happy gardening Richardx
The beer works very well. Pipes would be perfect as a trap as well dark and cool
Thanks for the tips tony. I usually purchase slug bait. It's supposed to be natural but oatmeal/cormeal is more natural and probably cheaper. Never heard of using that for bait.
one comment added here is also to put some in jars laid on their side so the weather doesnt turn it wet.
I have also tried catching the slugs in a container with a lid and keeping them there for an extended period as some have parasitic enemies on/in them which infect the whole lot then you can add water, sieve into a watering can and spray it around as a biological slugicide (a word I may trademark)!
Yes i speak about nematodes in the video in the endscreen
Tony I have seen the slow worms in my garden eating slugs. They are another beneficial predator.
Brilliant if you have them in garden as well. Another great predator
Hi , I am going to try something else this year . I have contacted the local chimney sweep to trial soot for my roses which suffer from black spot , however I have also read up on using soot in the garden which also has benefits to control slugs and snails , however need to watch out and not overdo it
Yeah and ensure the chimneys which the soot came from that the owners were only burning clean wood. A lot of people burn all sorts of rubbish which could contaminate the soot.
My kind of video! ❤
Cheers glad you enjoyed it
Good video, and the like button was stuck on the bad omen number 66b , so you got a like from me. Not religious but seemed like another good reason to like the video.
I thank you kindly not leaving it on that lol
I'm amazed nobody sells a solar powered slug barrier for raised beds. So simple, maybe use copper wire, clip them on and connect + and - from small solar panel to the wire. Not rocket science but effective it could have a small battery that charges during the day, much like solar powered sensor lights. There's a project for my plot before spring starts.
A new venture for you lol
Simple things like a nail at each end generates a current.
It won't work. Nice try but...... nope
Thanks Tony, could you do a similar video on Rat deterrence please?
Yeah I will do one for you over the next few months
Hi I put my grow lights up and doing great. I have great neigjbours that gave the lights to me. Ive been lucky no slugs last year but a hedgehog who is fat as butter lol tfs sylvi🎉🎉🎉
The hedgehog who was obviously eating well have done a great job for you. Nice neighbour to give you some grow lights right at the prefect time
Great video as always. Is there a reason you have not put the growing nematodes method in this video( I know its in the other video that you have referenced) We have also found that putting a mix of flour, yeast and water ( uncured bread dough) out on flat stones just before dusk causes the slugs to congregate round it ready for picking up shortly after dusk. We removed 5061 slugs from half plot last year with this method ( obviously also with a flashlight) and had a relatively low level of slug damage. Im adding the nematode growing into our strategies this year.
Because I have it in other videos that were in the cards and end screen and description. including one where I show you how to make your own
@@simplifygardening sorry I badly phrased my question. I guess I was wondering whether nematode farming/growing should have been in the top 10 hacks
Slugs hate iron, even though our soil has tons of it, sap test show our plants our in need, get it right and they will leave ❤, thanks for sharing
Yeah thats a great point
@simplifygardening thanks, my
O yes , I shall also be trying copper wiring I have plenty of coil wire from power cable which i shall strip down and strategically place around my plants and flowers
Let me know how it does
I am now wondering what to do with the 2 gallon bucket full of dead slugs that is sat festering behind my greenhouse.
Wow for a starters think yourself lucky they are festering in the bucket. throw them in to the compost bin and allow those nutrients to go back to the soil
A sheet of black plastic left laying out by accident ended up with lots of slugs clinging underneath. Easy trappings. I've also heard of people using bread yeast and yeast extract like Marmite instead of beer. Shops own brands of yeast extract might work out cheaper than beer but I don't know how much needs to be dissolved in the water.
Yeah its a great ti and works extremely well
Copper tape is better if it's in contact with steel or iron. This creates a circuit of electricity. I used the tape and made sure it contacted the braces on the corners of my raised bed. On pot, two nails pushed under the tape on opposite sides will do the same thing.
I went out just after sunset and looked for slugs, or just before sunrise, then put any slugs in a tin with sharp edges until the birds appeared then dumped the slugs near the bird feeder.
Thanks for point that out for everyone to learn
I would imagine that if you substitute one of the strips of copper metal for something like zinc, it would work without needing the battery as metals naturally act as batteries when connected by a moist substance with salts in it (slug slime) so it would get a shock anyway.
Hmm thats somethiing i havent thought about or tried
Hi Tony, welcome to 2025, I'm declaring it anti slug year. Mind you I do that every year. One thing I found very effective on an anti slug night patrol is a good bright head torch, which keeps a hand free for moving foliage & a 1 liter spray bottle, set on jet spray containing dilute Dettol. 10 to15 % mix ratio with tap water. Most people in the UK and Ireland know it as a very efficient antiseptic. I don't know where else it or similar might be available.
I was spraying down my dog run one evening and hit an early hours slug. It just rolled over and started frothing up. It seems to destroy their slime barrier and they just die quickly. I think the birds must take my spoils of war in the dawn. The dew probably washes any remaining solution away. It scent would deter birds if it was still there. Very satisfying not to have to go about picking them up, good on snails too. Remember its them or us and our veg, no quarter given. Another tip I was given was to get a cheap instant coffee, the stuff you wouldn't drink yourself . A 4 oz or 100 gram jar mixed with water and used with a watering can or pressure sprayer applied to the soil around plants and beds. Apply every two weeks, it kills the eggs allegedly and the slugs don't like it so they tend to stay away. I used this system last year and I did notice a huge reduction in slugs. It caused no issue to my plants and veg that I noticed, It also deters ants which as we know farm the aphids. Neem oil helps with them. Give it a go. I do the companion planting too to attract bees and hover fly's, even had some lacewings last year.
I firmly believe to protect the crops your growing to eat. there are other areas for slugs but wander where you shouldnt and your fair game. Ive not heard of detol for slugs i wonder what it does to soil ph or life but worth looking into. Thanks
Slug rights and peace ✊
There will be peace when they move out
@simplifygardening where would we be without them ? Up to our necks in **it 🤣🤣🤣
Tiger slugs eat dead plants and other slugs. Try not to kill these large slugs
Yes they do, however, they have also been known to eat live plants too, So consider the removal rather than killing options
Many thanks Tony for useful ways to control slugs.
I didnt know frogs ate slugs.
I love frogs since I was a small girl. Bath time my mother knew I had frogs in my pockets. And she would asked me gently if I had any frogs.
I had to take them outside again. 😆🤪
I have a few big ones in the garden and in the house.
Frog toads newts they will all eat slugs
What a lovely story!❤️
@Fizzy-u9b YES! Lovely memories that have stayed locked in my mind to this day. 🌿💚🌿
Some slug baits are sold as “ suitable for organic gardening “ . Aren’t they any use ?
Yeah you could use organic baits too
I hunt slugs and snails in my garden in a very different way. Especially after evening rain, I take a head torch and a small single hole salt shaker.
Just a tiny amount of salt sprinkled on a slug or snail will dispatch them within a minute or so and their numbers are diminishing very fast. Therefore, it works for me.
The slug pellets I have used before where never as effective.
Yeah that works but salt alter the soil PH and can also cause a host of other issues this is why i dont use it, but it def works
Hi, I do agree with your comment but I only use minute quantity in my small garden. If my dream comes true and I get much bigger, producing garden then I will definitely follow your advice.
Sheep's wool moat around your beds and ridge tiles randomly placed around the edge of beds. They don't like climbing over wool as the get stuck and they hide under the ridge tiles at night. During the day turn over the tiles and gather up slugs and dispose
Sheeps wool another great tip
Put the oats inside a jar on its side to keep it dry. The Americans use maize (?) flour in the same way.
A great tip for the community, thanks for taking the time to add it for others to benefit
Do you guys have anything to use against mice in your garden?
There are traps that we catch and release mice but rats is different those are not live caught
I wish we had hedgehogs and those big ground beatles in Canada. Unfortunately, we don't.
@JS-jl1yj They are nothing short of ADORABLE, too!! 😍
Plenty of other ways and the end card video has some more real good ways to deal with them
@@bowtielife Yes. We had them back home.
They definitely destroyed my flowers and crops.
But at the same time they’re so cute with their little antennas. I feel guilty trying to off them.
I already set those fly traps with the liquid and it made me feel like I was a serial killer of insects.
I mean I guess I am. It trapped a lot of flies.
I tried these slug repellent pellets but they are completely useless.
Even if you only trap and remove them to somewhere away from your garden a lot of the tips will help
Wish we had hedgehogs in Northwest USA
I wonder what other wildlife you have that eat them?
Horrendous up the alottment last year, not really nice but i pick them off and stand on them 😢
All the wet weather we had just allowed them to breed so much
Abut Yeast with a bit of sugar.
yes that will work fine
The birds in my garden apparently have a taste for broccoli leaves. They have pecked and eaten all the upper leaves while pooping on the lower ones...😂
Pigeon's ?
@simplifygardening Orange breasted thrushes.
@@simplifygardening orange breasted thrushes
The trouble is, I can't kill or harm any creature in any way. Leaves me with very few options. 😢
There are a ton of alternatives in this video you could collect and remove instead of killing them
@simplifygardening Yes, it was still helpful. 👍🏻 That's what I do. I know slugs can travel long distances to get back home but I do my best. I'm just hoping 2025 isn't another slugmageddon!
I am amazed that the most important slug control method keeps getting missed, including by Gardener's World. Leopard slugs eat other slugs in the UK. Knowing what they look like is important. If people do hack #11 and kill leopard slugs after finding them, then that's just ignorant. The 2 slugs in the orange peel trap @ 8:23 look like leopard slugs.
Leopard slugs do eat other slugs but only as a last resort. they also will still eat living plants
@@simplifygardening If you google search: 'do leopard slugs eat plants' - of the first dozen references, only one says they eat living plants. All the rest say they eat dead and rotting plants, fungi, and other slugs, but not living plants.
Do leopard slugs eat cat food. I think I have some of these slugs I never see them on plants. But I have plenty of bad slugs as well.
I don’t have a slug problem, I do have a snail problem.
Same thing so treat exactly the same they like all the same stuff and hide the same too so these tasks will also help
Non of the slug repellents are any good anymore otherwise i would use pellets on some of my plants ie. Salvia
No they basically do nothing now
Those dlugs are like jooz.
lol
Never thought you could annotate dummy😂
Yeah now you know different
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Hello fella can you tell us all where you buy your potato seeds and your onion sets from. Can you also say what food do you use to feed your potatoes.
Cheers matey.
I use blood fish and bone meal and vitax potato feed for the potatoes, both organic. When I buy seed spuds I get from JBA or My local garden center called Pughs
Thanks for all that.
Thanks for the video!
I must ad, however, that here the nasturtiums serve as magnificent hidingplaces for slugs.
Especially the smaller ones love them.
Sorry! 🫣
So use them as a bait area
Thanks Tony great video as always
Glad you enjoyed it thanks