Published on 12, July, 2020
I’m at war.
I’ve been doing some gardening. My mental health team suggested it last year because, and I quote, “it’s a no stress hobby that will get you outside in the fresh air and it’ll be good for me”. They were right about the fresh air, that can’t be denied. And I was feeling better with no stress until-they came. I am of course referring to the biggest pest in anyone’s garden: snails and slugs!
Crime scene photo #6.
Seemingly overnight snails and slugs have ransacked my garden and are terrorising my flowers and strawberries. I attempted to garden last year, wanted to grow some strawberries as they’re my fav to eat and they’re also healthy. I follow this guide sheet on healthy eating as I’ve got IBS and certain foods, generally the unhealthy ones-set off digestive upset for me.
So I’m trying to do healthy eating to better manage and prevent these issues.
But even with the healthy fresh summer air the stress is mounting up! Despite my best efforts these slugs have launched a devastating attack. Strawberries are at risk, some have been eaten whole or mutilated in severe cowardly attacks. These cowardice slugs dare not strike during the day-they only come out at night when I’m asleep, too afraid to face me honourably during the day.
Don't let this cuteness fool you!
Lol! Ok it's not quite that bad but seriously is there any advice on how to best deal with these little slugs? I don’t want to get any poison pellets as I live on a mountain in a rural area and the birds might eat them, I also despite myself don’t like the idea of hurting the slugs. But I also do get extremely stressed when my strawberries are looking nearly ready for picking and then a day later they’ve been devoured. All my hard work wasted.
It’s annoying but I do like the challenge lol-although it’s embarrassing that I’m being outwitted by a slug! Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions on how to deal with these garden pests are more than welcome...
I use cheep beer, the cheepest I can find. Hair is good, cat, dog and human, I planted out some lettuce seedlings, some I put grit around, some hair and some nothing. The ones with nothing were eaten down to the ground, the one's with grit had been nibbled and the ones with hair had been untouched. I you imagine hair around a sponge and you fingers thats how it effects slug and snails. I often put straw under my strawberries, it helps keep them off the soil and the slugs and snails don't like it very much. If you can keep it dry, bran is supposed to be good, they gorge on it, then it swells and they explode.
Wow that’s fascinating! Thanks for sharing this tip. I used to have a dog-I didn’t garden then, my step mum did but we didn’t get slugs then I don’t think and our dog was always leaving her hairs everywhere-so that’s an interesting point. I could never bring myself to get another dog though. OMG bran causes slugs to explode? Though that idea is extremely tempting right now lol I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to do that...she said as she ordered some bran lol!
Thank you for all your tips and tricks everyone. ️ I really do appreciate it! When the mental health team suggested this they failed to mention the war with slugs and snails I would end up in.
This is a serious problem for us garden folk but together we will stop these dangerous greedy beasts!