I like to think that every living creature has a right to be alive. However, that right evaporates the minute you start turning my squash into little piles of green lace.
Sorry sluggies, but I want to eat homegrown butternut squash, and whatever is supposed to keep you in check in the garden isn't doing its job (I blame my mum for feeding the birds and making them lazy) so I'm going to have to step in. I'm a firm believer in keeping chemicals out of the garden as much as possible, and while I've tried "organic" slug pellets before, they're expensive and I'm poor. Hence why this foul liquid is my new best friend:
It's 98p for four cans. It should come with a label stating that it's not fit for human consumption, because it's vile. But slugs have no taste when it comes to beer. If you want to make your own slug traps, you'll need the cheapest beer you can get your hands on. If you're in the USA, a forty will probably do.
You also need a container at least 3cm deep. I recommend the trays that mac and cheese ready meals come in, but you can also try large yoghurt pots, or even ice cream tubs. Bury your tub in the ground and fill it with beer. Don't worry about the beer spilling over, any other beer around will lure slugs in from further afield.
Seeing the weather forecast for no rain overnight, I set up two of these around my big remaining squash plant. This morning I went down to have a look. It was pretty disgusting.
There you see the result of a wet summer. Gross! I was expecting maybe 5 slugs in each container, but I think overall there's at least 25 there.
Hopefully I'll be seeing much less damage over the next week. I hope these guys didn't have much in the way of family...
In other, less disgusting gardening new, my back up peas in the greenhouse have nearly all germinated, and here's a crap photo to prove it.
I've got my fingers crossed for a long summer to make up for its sodden start, so hopefully a crop of mange tout by September. If not, I'll just eat the delicious pea shoots instead. Mmmmm
Sorry sluggies, but I want to eat homegrown butternut squash, and whatever is supposed to keep you in check in the garden isn't doing its job (I blame my mum for feeding the birds and making them lazy) so I'm going to have to step in. I'm a firm believer in keeping chemicals out of the garden as much as possible, and while I've tried "organic" slug pellets before, they're expensive and I'm poor. Hence why this foul liquid is my new best friend:
You also need a container at least 3cm deep. I recommend the trays that mac and cheese ready meals come in, but you can also try large yoghurt pots, or even ice cream tubs. Bury your tub in the ground and fill it with beer. Don't worry about the beer spilling over, any other beer around will lure slugs in from further afield.
Seeing the weather forecast for no rain overnight, I set up two of these around my big remaining squash plant. This morning I went down to have a look. It was pretty disgusting.
Hopefully I'll be seeing much less damage over the next week. I hope these guys didn't have much in the way of family...
In other, less disgusting gardening new, my back up peas in the greenhouse have nearly all germinated, and here's a crap photo to prove it.
I've got my fingers crossed for a long summer to make up for its sodden start, so hopefully a crop of mange tout by September. If not, I'll just eat the delicious pea shoots instead. Mmmmm
So gross - yet oddly SO COOL! I don't think I have ever seen a slug in real life though I also don't have a garden so maybe if I do (I want to try for one next year), I can try this!
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