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?