Killing the little blighters

I am not fond of killing every bug in sight.  It is common sense that most things are here for a reason and if you kill something in enough numbers in your garden you will break the 'chain'.  Birds and other bugs and other critters need each other for food and should be left well alone to get on with it.

If you live with the maxim of planting one for the birds, one for bugs and one for you that will probably be the truth of it.

Now having done all that fuzzy, huggy stuff, let me say I take great pleasure in killing slugs and snails!  Yes, they do eat all the rotting debris and there are nice ones and nasty ones and pellets don't distinguish BUT, believe me, my garden is overrun with them even after mass slaughter.

friendly pellets

These are everything-friendly pellets unless you are a slug or snail.  They are organic, do not harm fish, fowl, pets or children and are for use on veggie plots.  They cost only a very few pence more than the nasty ones.  Doesn't have to be this particular one - again go for cheapest but just check it is not a pellet containing metaldehyde and that they say they are food safe etc.

If I understand it correctly any slug pellet will only reduce your slug population by about 10% they are no where near as efficient as they claim to be BUT if you are very, very good and keep going at it (every week,rain permitting) you will see a difference.

Ordinary pellets contain metaldehyde and are to be avoided as it isn't something which breaks down easily and the poisoned slugs can go on to poison birds or frogs etc.  It is also pretty useless if wet, so with the joys of British weather, again the organic ones do better.

The organic ones contain Iron (Ferric) Phosphate and will break down safely in soil.

Neither should be used in massive quantities; indeed they do a worse job if there is a load of them.  They are 'bait' and most of the pellet is slug food (yeast etc) to attract the slug who would normally avoid the poison component of the bait but can't smell it surround by a ton of food.  If you chuck a load down they can then 'smell' the poison and won't take them.  I know it sounds daft but I was told one of those little blue pellets every six inches is fine - you are trying to attract them with food not bombard them to death.

Begin on Valentine's Day - nice easy date to remember - Hearts and Slugs.  (Hole in the greetings card market?)  Carry on each week until end of October. You can then have three months off.

In the main other than slug pellets I don't use bug killer.  I did, however get an attack of the dreaded red lily beetle a couple of years ago - they eat a lot more than lilies!!  This is my all round killer of choice.

Provado

This time, sadly, you have to pay proper money for it but it probably saves in the long run if you end up buying tons of different cheaper things trying to find a solution to a problem.  Pretty much if it creeps or crawls this will nobble it.

It works systemically - that means it is taken into the plant and when things eat the plant they die.  That is much more efficient than trying to hit a bug with spray which some fly sprays and greenfly sprays depend on.  Often in your garden you will never see the critter that is doing the most damage to your plants.  Also, it works for about six weeks.