How do I stop slugs and snails in damp, shady corners and plant debris?

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how do I stop slugs?

This is probably one of the most common questions I am asked, especially as visitors to Toddington Manor admire the unspoilt leaves of hosta's lining the 100m long walk.

Slugs and snails both prefer to reside in damp, shady corners, especially amongst plant debris, under pots and beneath stones during the winter. This means keep your garden tidy!

It takes the gardeners here 5 months to clear the leaves and debris from the beds during the winter, as we remove every leaf and any decaying shoots, to prevent the population building up.

Any slug or snail we see is removed along with any eggs spotted - these are laid in groups and are small, spherical and translucent. At the same time we dig over the soil, which helps the birds find any that we have missed.

After the wet year we have just had, there are more slugs around than usual, which makes it all the more important to carry out this task.

We do not use slug pellets at all. Some other ways to help reduce the number in your garden are;

Encourage the local birds, frogs, toads, newts, shrews and hedgehogs into your garden - by turning the soil over in the coldest months you are guaranteed to have a friendly robin by your side.

Continue to turn over the soil year round - especially in the spring when the warm humid weather speeds up the activity of slugs and snails.

Use slow release fertilisers, as these do not produce soft growth - which is more attractive to slugs.

Use a biological control to control numbers, especially effective for killing small slugs that live under the soil. The name of the microscopic nematodes is Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, these are watered onto the ground and will have to be reapplied every 6 weeks.

Good luck!

Linette Applegate.