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...
Try to encourage as much wildlife as you can who may eat them. Some birds like robins eat the small slugs. Ponds encourage wildlife that eat them too.
We always put glass jars over ripening strawberries when I was young which stops birds eating them too. Not sure if that would make any difference to slugs and snails. Where I live now woodlice eat strawberries.
Thanks for the tips-interestingly I do get birds in my garden but they don't really eat anything I think they just use the garden as a pit stop. I am in thy middle of putting in a pond though-but had to stop because the weather's been so atrocious! It's like 76% completed.
I've got 2 strawberries left now but I love the idea of the jars which I'm going to put in to action today-should work unless they tunnel under them-which I wouldn't put it past them!
I'm sorry to hear woodlice are eating your strawberries. I haven’t had any woodlice go at mine yet-the slugs probably ate them too! I hope you can find a way of defending your garden against them x.