Been neglecting the blogs, my excuse is that it has been wet and miserable and it didn't seem worthwhile posting results every time but here are the results so far:

Carpet - had a high level of slug interest initially (about 20 each day to start with as got damp quicker than other tests) however long term the slugs didn't settle here however the snails did in abundance (maybe snails and slugs don't mix!?) so this is a worthwhile trap (and it also got a lot of earthworms which I like to put into new raised beds).

Conc Slab - This was much dry than the rest and would always have a few slugs but only a few. Ants took advantage of it though! so far not worth it, maybe as things rot underneath it might work so I'll keep it going.

Surprise result - Accidently left some plastic seed trays outside. Picked it up and found a fair few snails under it. Snails appear to like going under something that provides cover but is off the ground and I have found this in various part of the garden with other items. so I'm going to set up a covered shelter in parts of the garden I can easily inspect.

Piece of wood - Again, like slab, only a few slugs

Surprise result - I use old palates to construct my 1m x 1m compost bins and some of the very first I made got abandoned and left to rot for a couple of years. I had a clean up where the old compost bins were and threw the rotted palate wood on part of a lawn to separate it for collection later to take it to the recycling centre. A couple of days later I got round to bagging it and to my surprise this small pile became crowded with slugs, so the conclusion thus far would be that rotted or rotting wood will make the best decoy trap for slugs - start with such rather than new/in tact wood.

Beer trap - I started with a self made beer trap made out of plastic tubs filled with yeast waste covered with an old ridge tile. This when into a lumpy gunge, probably my fault for doing the mix wrong. However with all the rain the slugs were starting to take over so desperate measures were called for so I went out and bought pre made slug traps from a garden centre and used an old can of Fosters. The results were instant and very impressive. Next day each little pot had 30-40 'drunk to death' slugs in them, the same result next day (which was today!).

Pre-made slug trap from garden centre, £4 for 3 - worth every penny!

I have also been out hand picking them off plants, best results seem to be after a rainfall or at dusk. It's labour intensive but you can really relieve an area, say a raised bed but a couple of sessions of this and see the plants get noticeably healthier for it.

Second results

29th April 2012 - late afternoon after extremely heavy rain (3 to 4cm)
Yeast mixture 3 slugs
Carpet - 71 slugs
Piece of Wood - 7 slugs
Conc slab - 7 slugs

Soggy wet carpet seem the place to be if you're a slug ...well until I find them. The yeast mix is obvious rubbish will have to get some real beer slops ...umm? research needed :-)

First results

6:30pm after a lot of rain, temp cool maybe 10 degrees - 24 hours after first placing down
Concrete slab - 2 slugs
Yeast waste - 3 slugs
carpet - 20 slugs
Piece of wood - 7 slugs

Carpet by a distance!! It was much damper underneath than the others. The yeast thing was disappointing but I think it is due to it being stored for a while and turning all lumpy. I shall try out soon with proper beer dregs. Also the wood looks like it was tempting them but it is considerably smaller than the carpet (less than one half size) so will equal out next visit
Interesting but this is only the first day I want to see the result through the whole growing season. I expect some variation with weather changes - i.e. the conc slab is sitting on green grass so I reckon once the grass has rotted and given it might well retain moisture better in drier times this could do better in the peak of summer.

The first traps ...umm? Slug enticements, Slime hotels (that sounds nicer and greener) have been set out. I have set them next to the open raised beds. These are beds with no wooden plank surround enclosures but just humped up double dug mounds approx 1.8 x 6m in area – there are about 20 of them in this rabbit fenced plot. I followed the guidelines of Bob Flowerdew's organic bible where he feels wood enclosures, while looking nice and creating order and neatness, might seap the wood preservatives (like arsenic) into the soil and actually aid the likes of slugs and snails in that they had a place to hide. The paths between the beds are grassed and this takes a fair bit of mowing and keeping back off the raised beds.

Over the last few years we have suffered slug attacks. While Cornwall has more and stronger sunshine than any other part of the UK it can be very damp at times (50% more rain then central UK). Grass has no problem growing like it was on steroids (and we get a lot of thistles, docks, dandelions, buttercups, nettles in amongst that too). Keeping on top of it it all is a great source of biomass for the compost heap but not on top of it then it can choke the plants, take half the soil with it when eventually weeding and make excellent refuge from me and more natural predators for the slugs. This year I'm going to try and keep on top of it like never before ...umm? Didn't I say that every year?

So to the slug hotels I have just installed

First up the old bit of carpet. This will provide easy refuge and good dampness in rainy periods but could it dry out easily in a dry period?

Old carpet over grass path between beds

Second up and old bit of wood. Will the retained dampness with the added delight of rotting timber be a 'must go to' for the slugs?

Bit of wood

Third up a concrete paving slab. The hard rain will keep off but maybe dampness will be retained better under here than the others

Concrete paving slab

and forth up...booze! A slug trap made from a mixture of yeast dregs from home brewing (thank you Chris!), water and sugar (to get it fermenting). I have dug this into the ground so the top is flush, put in a stick to aid garden friendly black beetles to get out if fallen in and then covered it with an old roof ridge tile to keep the rains off; which would dilute/ruin this scrumptious cocktail.

Yeast dregs/water/sugar mix

Old ridge tile and a rain cover

I shall be checking at regular intervals on the performance of each and be adding in a few variations. This may also mean I just have to go out purchase lots of different beers, sample them of course, and keep a few dregs to see which type of brew attracts them the most – larger louts or real ale freaks? The results may be tainted at first as many of the raised beds still have a geotextile cover, so slugs may be at home here, enjoying the rotting green manure, and not be looking for a new des-res right now but that should give time for the covers test areas to rot a little bit first and be nicely prepared for the late spring/summer season slug fest!

OK then, as the nation waits with baited breath - bets are invited! ...or other ideas welcome.

15th April 2012
Slugs ...arrrghhh! While I appreciate their right to life etc etc don't do it on my veg patches please, there is plenty of other wildlife patches for them to run/crawl/slide around on ..so keep off. The slugs got the upper hand last year, mainly wiping out seedlings planted out, so this year one of my 'research' projects is to, in a non-chemical, organic friendly way, out-wit the slug! ...but do I have the brain power?
My first thoughts on a plan of action are:
1) One thing that was very bad last year was not keeping on top of the maintenance. The grass and weeds got out of control in places. this gave the slugs hiding ground and thus the birds couldn't get at them. This year the grass is going to be kept short (and this should generate much more compost as well)
2) Slug traps - I have a friend well into home brewing so I have a great source of reject yeast gunge. Add water and sugar and it should ferment away for ages and get those slugs out on a fatal binge drinking session
3) Set up controlled places around the garden to attract the slugs. like a paving slab, a damp old carpet and inspect regularly and deal with them.
4) Do more to encourage natural predators. To be honest we do this well anyway and have lots of Slow-worms and toads. Maybe a small pond will attract more frogs.
5) The midnight run. Go out every now and then with a flash light and an arsenal of weaponry and catch them red handed.Pretty labour intensive and slimy but can make a big impact on the local population.


....OK anyone think of anything else I can be doing?