Slugs and snails
Large, irregular holes in leaves, seedlings eaten off and shiny slime trails. You mostly see slugs and snails in the evening and after rain.
They thrive in damp weather and hide during the day under boards, stones, mulch and dense growth.
What can you do?
- Collect them by torchlight in the evening or early morning and take them well away.
- Lay boards or upturned pots between the plants as hiding places and remove the slugs from under them during the day.
- Protect young plants with a collar or a cut-off plastic bottle, and water in the morning rather than the evening.
- As a last resort, scatter slug pellets based on ferric phosphate sparingly; they are less harmful to hedgehogs and birds.
Prevention
Welcome hedgehogs, toads, ground beetles and thrushes into your garden: they eat lots of slugs. Sow or plant on time so plants are sturdy when slugs are plentiful, and raise vulnerable plants in pots first.
When to watch out: March–June and September–October