Slugs and snails are my worst enemies in the vegetable garden. Much as I am happy to share some of my produce with the local wild-life there is a limit to how much I can afford to donate. The slugs and snails have voracious appetites for the same sort of things that I eat.
There are many methods of defeating them. And they have all been tried over the years. Beer traps, egg shells, nematodes and copper rings have all been given a go. Oh, and the catapult. Yet as fast as I fling the blighters out of my garden they parachute back in again. Quite inexplicable!
Cook Jenny has put a stop to the beer-trap method. The raucous intoxicated gastropod chorus has kept her awake in the past. And the last gardener to venture out in the middle of the night to round up slugs under planks of wood had the dogs set on him.
Enter the Slug Bell! Michael Messina of www.slugbell.com produces a hand-made painted bell on a spike. A mesh cage nestles under the bell. The slug pellets, either organic or conventional, are placed in the cage out of the way of children, pets or wildlife. The bell prevents the pellets from being washed by the rain into the soil and hence into the water-course. The slugs and snails are attracted by the odour of the pellets and climb up the spike to their doom.
I received my complementary bell this morning. They come in all sorts of attractive colours. I wondered which they would send to a rough-and-tough macho gardener like myself. I got the pink one.
Unfortunately I am unable to give you a performance report. My resident gastropods are still on their winter hols, basking no doubt on some Bermudan beach, lounging on deck-chairs and toasting my good health, the cheeky blighters.
But my Slug Bell is now an attractive addition to my garden waiting for their return. And vengeance will be mine!
The slug bell may be purchased from the attractive and user-friendly website: www.slugbell.com
Not sure about the decor, but sounds like a great idea – will await a performance report with great interest!
hello Janet, i will report as soon as possible…
What an interesting concept – like Janet I shall look forward to a performance review – I am wondering how many slugs can fit in a slug bell? Given that I have hords of the little blighters.
Mine are not on holiday in Bermuda or wherever as soon as the ligularia pokes a first tentative leaf above the ground there are there – or rather here!
K
hello Karen, to be honest I have not seen a single slug or snail for ages although I expect they will be here soon…
They look good but I thought if you put out more than a few slug pellets in one place they repelled slugs. The smell of lots puts them off! I look forward to hearing how you get on and how effective they are on snails. Don’t understand why you don’t have any slugs (or snails), there is plenty in my garden in Dorset.
Best wishes Sylvia
Hello Sylvia, certainly putting lots of pellets is a waste when just a few will do just as good. No sign of gastropods in our garden yet but it is only a matter of time and rain…
Dear Michael, I have rarely been known to be lost for words but the slugbell…….and a pink slugbell to boot…….I shall stay with my tried and trusted ash from the fire routine!
Hello Edith, the subject of slugs is such a divisive one and we all have our favourite remedies. For me the ash routine never works but if in your garden….
Hope it works but wonder if it isn’t just a little too outstandingly decorative. Does it ring when a slug slinks in? I think all it needs is the addition of a gnome!
Hello Laura, I reckon it will mellow with age and they do look attractive and come in many colours. Have not heard it ring yet! And what, young lady, is wrong with garden gnomes?????
I emailed them because I am unsure how safe they can be and where you can find pellets for an organic, wildlife garden…anxious to hear how they perform
Hello Donna, that is a difficult and complicated question to answer. The research done on how toxic various types of slug pellets can be on wildlife changes all the time. if you want to be ultra-safe then I suggest the plank of wood left on the ground which gathers slugs at an alarming rate if do not mind disposing of the slugs in salt. If you do use slug pellets then buy as organically as you can. The types on the market are changing all the time. This slug bell would help in terms of keeping the pellets off the ground but you would have to clear the dead slugs from around the base on a regualar basis to avoid birds eating them. I am afraid that there are no easy answers to slug or snail control, we each have to make our own decisions the best we can. If you do use pellets then this bell would be worthwhile. I hope this helps.