If you have a serious problem with slugs and snails, you can modify your planting so that the plants in your garden are less attractive to slugs. Some plants are just slug magnets, to name a few: Hosta (obviously) (although there are some listed above which are "slug resistant" ) new Delphinium shoots, Beans, lettuce, Potato tubers, sweet peas, French Marigolds, Dahlia and Lobelia cardinalis for starters. I once had a lovely scarlet Lobelia cardinalis, gracing the edge of a pond, which disappeared overnight consumed by slugs. Slugs are also keen on shoots from a newly planted Clematis, which means when planting Clematis, if you have a slug problem, it is best to protect until the climber gets established. Not only do the slug pellets keep Slugs and Snails at bay, the pellets are also a good mix and balance for growing plants, fruit and vegetables. The pellets hold twice their own weight in water so they act as an excellent mulch, a weed suppressant, a soil conditioner and slow release fertiliser. The opening on the container isn’t quite as good though, and just like with the Doff pellets, you have to be careful not to empty too many in one place. There is no child safety lid either, so you’ll have to be careful where you store the container. You see, these worms don’t head for the lungs in humans like they do in rats. Instead, they travel up to the brain and can even burrow in there. The result is increased pressure in spinal column fluid and this causes a really bad fever. For best results, add Slug Gone in a 10cm radius around the plant, then add water to cause the fibres to bond.

All things considered, I’d have to say that for the higher price, and with having that famous name attached, I expected these pellets to be more than what they are. They do work, don’t get me wrong, just not as well as I’d hoped. Pros: For best results, apply Slug Gone as a 10cm band around the plant and ensure there are no gaps. To prevent slugs reaching the plants ensure no leaves or stems overhang the pot’s perimeter, stand next to containers which do not have Slug Gone protection, or place next to walls where slugs can drop onto the plant. Slugs have a keen sense of smell, but some scents really put them off. Plants like rosemary, lavender, anise, and wormwood, are all good for repelling slugs and snails, but there are a lot more. Some keep slugs away by their smell, some have foliage that is uncomfortable to slither on, and some even have leaves that are toxic to slugs. So, do your homework and figure out a few natural defences. Make the area around your plants difficult or uncomfortable for them to crawl around on There seems to be some misunderstanding of what ‘pet safe’ means too. These pellets are chemical poison and are definitely not safe for pets and wildlife in large doses. However, they won’t harm your plants. To deter slugs and other gastropods, simply lay the pellets around the stems of plants. For best results, add Slug Gone in a 10cm radius around the plant, then add water to cause the fibres to bond. The swollen wool pellets form a felt which makes it difficult for slugs to travel across. The wool pellet mat also contains abrasive particles which irritate the slug’s foot, physically deterring the slug and creating a 100% natural barrier.

Salt will kill slugs, and it is tempting just to sprinkle the stuff everywhere. However, plants can be damaged by excessive salt, so you have to be careful where you use it, and how much you are using. Copper really bothers slugs and snails Make your garden less of a haven for them After using these pellets, you might find that you get mould spores all over the ground. This is completely normal and natural, and is just the remnants of the pellets being broken down, even if it doesn’t look great. The main active chemical in these Neudorff slug pellets is ferric phosphate, which isn’t as harmful to humans and animals as some other commonly used poisons found in insecticides, but it still isn’t 100% harmless and you should wear gloves and wash your hands thoroughly after handling the pellets, and clean any vegetables before eating them. Nematodes are an effective way of getting rid of slugs and snails, and it is an organic method of killing slugs. Slug nematodes live in the soil after watering in and are microscopic transparent worms which feed and multiply inside the slug. An infected slug stops feeding within 3 to 5 days and the nematodes multiply inside the slug. When it decomposes, a new generation of nematodes emerges. Where they were effective, the pellets had to be replaced quite often and this could get expensive if you have a large area to treat. However, overall, I would say this is an effective product that delivers on what it promises. Pros:

Slug Gone is the natural, organic way to keep slugs and snails away from plants. Popular amongst environmentally-conscious and organic gardeners, Slug Gone is 100% natural and derived from British wool. In fact, after getting a bit of a soaking, these Doff slug pellets did what most of these products do, and started to be covered in mould as they broke down. I don’t know if this put the slugs off eating them, or if it was just a coincidence, but I didn’t find as many dead slugs around this time as I had before. Dobies strives to ensure that all its plants are delivered to you in the perfect condition for planting. While the majority of our nursery plants cope well with slight delays in intransit, sadly, the time it takes to deliver to certain locations in the UK means that we can't guarantee this for some of our smaller plug products and tender bedding and vegetable lines, which do not respond well to the extra journey time. So regretfully while we offer the majority of our live plant offering nationwide, we are unable to ship plugs, begging plants and tender vegetable plants to the following areas: HS, IV41-IV49, IV51, IV55-56, KW15-KW17, PA34, PA41-48, PA60-PA78, PA80, PH40-PH44, TR21-TR24, ZE1-ZE3. As soon as spring arrives, so do the slugs and snails. Nasty creatures which can shred a Hosta or tender Delphinium overnight. During the spring and summer slugs emerge, especially during spells of wet and warm weather which will draw them out. Slugs and snails are the No 1 Garden Enemy, with an ability to consume a vast amount of tender plant growth disproportionate to their modest size. They are a problem in the garden and veg plot, how they just love lettuce. It's a war with the slimy creatures. It may be hard to believe, but as well as the smell of rotting animal flesh, slugs are also quite partial to the smell of beer. This lust for lager can be used against them, in the form of a beer trap. This is a particularly cheap method if you’re into home brew beer!If you garden organically, slug pellets have had a bad press and if you are growing vegetables, the fewer chemicals, the better. Traditional Slug pellets contain 3% metaldehyde. Like Neudorff, Rentokil have chosen to do away with the highly toxic metaldehyde in favour of ferric phosphate as it is comparatively safer to use. Again though, don’t mistake this as being completely pet and child safe, as it can still cause problems if ingested. They might not be the most intelligent of creatures, but slugs won’t just slither over and start eating poison, so these pellets also contain ingredients that attract the slugs. In fact, these attractants can make the slugs believe they’re getting a tasty meal as they eat themselves to their demise.

Now, there are few ways that you can prevent slugs infesting your garden, and we’ll go into that in this article, but one of the simplest, and most effective, means of getting rid of slugs is to use slug pellets.

Value Plugs

Slugs can be harmful to humans through the spread of diseases. One of the most dangerous is rat lungworm, which can cause horrendous problems in humans, including brain damage.

A great thing to think about is how you can make your garden more welcoming to the natural predators of slugs and snails," Hayley explains. "Provide food and water for birds, and install a 'hedgehog highway' hole if you don't have one already. A pond is a great wildlife-friendly addition to a garden, and will attract frogs and toads that will help keep your slug numbers down." These questions, and more, will all be answered in this article, and we will also provide you with the information you need on the best slug pellets in the UK, so you can save yourself a lot of time searching through the endless swamp of products out there.Another thing they don’t like is sharp or overly rough surfaces. Common techniques include using coarse sand or broken egg shells, but there are plenty of other natural leaves and such that slugs don’t like to traverse. This person just used a piece of old skirting, but I would have made the surface a bit rougher, personally- Slugs aren’t exactly the fastest things alive, and this makes it easy to create barriers that they won’t like to travel through. Using oil or some kind of lubricant on the outside of your flower pots and containers can prevent the slugs from climbing up for a nibble on your plants. Slug Gone is applied to the soil below the plant to create a irritating, absorbent mat that works as a natural slug repellent. The price of Protect garden’s slug killer pellets is competitive, and you can get a 700g container for less than eight quid at the time of writing this article. This puts it around the same price as the Doff pellets, which isn’t bad at all. Pros: Safe to use around children and pets, Slug Gone can also be used to protect against cabbage root fly.