Discipline is key in the fight against slugs By Hans and Gaby Wieland

90 percent of all slug problems in the garden are caused by the Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris), the green, yellow and black slugs are not a problem as they feed on decaying matter, also snails are quite harmless.
In our experience the most susceptible plants are lettuce and brassicas.
Slug control takes first of all discipline, discipline and discipline and a bit of common sense. Natural predators like frogs, runner beetles, hedgehogs and birds will be on your side.

To prevent a slug problem there are a few key actions:
• Keep grass around your garden beds short.
• Tidy up any possible hiding places (pots, boards, mulch etc.).
• Water only in the morning.
• The following barriers work in our experience: 3-5cm wide copper strips, gorse twigs.
That is the discipline bit and here is the common sense approach:
• Always raise plants in modules and plant out as sturdy “teenager” plants, not as “baby”-seedlings. If slugs attack, the plant will most likely survive and you can take action.

To catch slugs:
• Identify slug hot spots
• Lay out traps for slugs like boards, sheets of plastic in problem areas and pick up in the morning.
• Torch and bucket (the Spanish slug is most active 90 minutes after sunset and one hour after sunrise)
• Beer traps (in our humble experience better than slug pellets, but rain will dilute the beer and craft beer is expensive!)

Maintenance (again discipline is important)
• Capture slugs routinely (see above methods)
• Water in the morning
• Keep grass in the garden short

So, do you have the discipline it takes?

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