Welcome to our very own battle against one of the garden's oldest enemy's - the dreaded slug and snail. To guide you through this battle we have published the works of one of our very own members - Jo Palmer - read through her online booklet and see if you can use her findings to banish slugs and snails from your garden.

I became interested in gardening in my late 40's when I moved into a cottage in Cornwall. A few house moves later I ended up in Woolfardisworthy (Woolsery), North Devon. I found myself in an idyllic setting - peace and quiet, the village Church over the Hawthorn hedge, a garden drenched in sun (or rain!), and where wildlife abounded.

The first thing we did that February/March was to start urgently digging out a garden pond - I had left behind 46 fish and numerous frogs which the new owners of our previous house did not want. Suffice to say that the pond was dug as quickly as possible - albeit with a pick axe into frozen, stony ground - and livestock and plants duly transferred (I think they're getting used to being moved around in dustbins!).

My garden varies from 21' - 40' wide, is 90' long, and of irregular shape! I soon discovered that the soil was clay (ideal for slugs and snails!) - I sloshed across the grass when it had rained, and avoided the large cracks which appeared in the Summer! Apart from one small border under the kitchen window, and a weeping willow, the 'garden' had hardly been touched by human hands for 20 years! (I'm still clearing 'field' grass years later!).

My interest in gardening grew as I attempted various planting schemes - all haphazard and most supplying nouveau cuisine for the slug/snail population! As I gradually filled the garden with flowers, shrubs, vegetables, and more pond plants (and learned about bindweed and couch grass!) I noticed an increase in the wildlife population! But I soon learned that all the frogs, toads, slow worms, and hedgehogs in the area were not a match for the ever-increasing population of slugs and snails!!

Slug pellets were out of the question ( by now I was becoming more ecologically aware) and I have a Jack Russell/Chihuahua, a Westie (who eats anything!), and 2 cats. I turned to alternative methods to rid myself of my slimy, uninvited guests: collecting them by torchlight in the dead of night (into a bucket of salty water!), cutting them in half (yuk!) and leaving them for the birds, beer traps (do they die happy?), and disposing of them ½ a mile away (they come back!). But I just knew they were living in the safety of the Churchyard by day - and romping through the hedge into my garden by night - with devastating results!

So I started to grow Fuchsias (they did not touch them I noticed!), and instead of trying to protect the plants I liked (and so did they!) I began to fill my garden with plants they did not eat. This book is the result!! My plant directory listing can be found at the bottom of this page, but before you go rushing off to see them, here is some more information that you should understand about the battle against slugs and snails:

Be warned - if you are trying to eradicate slugs and snails from your garden forever you will never do it - and this book is not for you! Accept that, like a bad penny, they will keep turning up - but eventually some of them may get the message that your garden is not the best dinner table, and will move on to 'greener' pastures!

For the purposes of this booklet, there's no difference between a slug and a snail - both basically decimate anything they take a fancy to! NEVER underestimate the damage they can do!

Slugs: Any of various terrestrial gastropod molluscs of the family Limacidae and other genera, having an elongated body with no shell (Snails: any of ???. with a shell). They come in all sizes and colours (mainly black, orange and grey), and leave a trail of 'silver slime' in their wake.

They lay their eggs in dark, damp places (under logs, bricks, bark etc.). The eggs then hatch in 6 - 8 weeks. Slugs can live for 8 - 10 years!!

They use a special tongue which has a rasping edge. Their teeth vary in number from 16 to several thousand! They don't usually emerge from hibernation until the temperature has warmed up. Their eggs are found in clutches of 20 - 50 and look like shiny, cream-coloured balls approximately 2mm diameter - my advice, if you find any, is to squash them (although I must say that my pond fish love to eat them!)

I'm sure you all know what slugs and snails look like - so I don't think photos of the gruesome creatures is necessary - but just in case, here is a nice shot of one tucking into a juicy seedling!

Keep your garden clear of rubbish. Water your garden (soil rather than plants) as early in the day as possible as watering in the evening encourages slugs and snails to overnight grazing! Check cold frames and greenhouses regularly. Slugs and snails love 'young', 'tender' growth, so grow plants larger and harden off well before transplanting. Mulches (and bark chippings!) attract them by providing food and shelter!!

You will not find exact varieties i.e. Hebe x andersonii 'Argenteavariegata'. These would be far too numerous to list - and you would miss all the fun and pleasure of 'hunting out' suitable plants in garden centres (along with afternoon tea and chocolate cake!). Remember to check if a plant is 'Hardy' (will survive frost), or needs protection.

a) Common Names, Latin Names
b) Plant type: Annual, Perennial, Biennial, Semi/Evergreen, Deciduous.
c) Flowering time: Where I state Spring - Autumn this does not mean that one plant will flower for that long (although some do)!.
It means that varieties of this plant can be obtained which will give Spring - Autumn flowering (but note that where you live also makes a difference: milder areas produce flowers earlier than colder areas).
d) Colours: the various colours which can be obtained.

A = Annual - complete its life-cycle within a single season
B = Biennials - lives for 2 seasons producing only foliage in the 1st season, then flowering, fruiting (seeding), and dying in the 2nd
P = Perennials - lives for several seasons, flowering annually once mature
E = Evergreen - retains its foliage all year round
D = Deciduous - loses its foliage in Winter
SE = Semi-evergreen - retains some of its foliage all year round

As well as the 'common name' of a plant, I shall also give the 'Latin name' of all plants. In some horticultural/gardening books it is just not possible to look up a plant and its characteristics under the 'common name' - and therefore if you don't know the Latin name you're confounded before you even start! My suggestion would be to buy The Royal Horticultural Society's A-Z Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants. It is indispensable, and tells you everything you will ever need to know about a plant including: propagation, pruning, care under glass, outdoor cultivation, environment, soil, colour, flowering times etc. etc. This book is my 'bible'!

WHERE SLUGS AND SNAILS LIVE AND HIDE
Slugs and snails live in damp, shady places, among plants, and plant debris (like compost heaps!). They spend the daytime and dry times under sheds, stones, pots, plastic, etc. To reduce slug and snail numbers:
* keep your garden tidy - don?t leave pots and trays lying around the garden
* reduce garden shade if possible
* put compost heaps away from growing areas
* regularly inspect the underside of benches, pots, trays, plastic, water hoses, and in cold frames and greenhouses

BARRIERS TO PROTECT PLANTS

Around beds or individual plants:

* bare soil in dry weather (water plants early morning only)
* fresh dry soot, soot/cinder and dry ashes (renew after rain)
* sharp sand, or grit
* sharp leaves like holly, thistles
* crushed egg shells (baked hard in an oven)
* chopped hair (including human hair)
* cotton wool e.g. tied around individual stems
* large clear lemonade/water bottles without top or bottom (i.e. an mini-individual cloche)

Around plants in pots outside:
* wind a piece of copper wire around the pot (slugs/snails are repelled by a small electric shock)
* spray the outside of the pot with WD40
* stand pots on a sharp gravel bed

COMPANION PLANTING

These can repel slugs and snails:
Garlic, Lavender, Wormwood, all Thymes, Common Sage, Hyssop, Stinging Nettles, Borage.

TRAPS

As well as buying commercial plastic traps, you can make your own:
* Shallow dishes/containers full of beer, or a weak sugar solution
* Hollow out half an orange or grapefruit skin, potato or turnip nd place on ground hollow side down, or use large cabbage, lettuce or rhubarb leaves (then dispose of the live slugs/snails!!)

COLLECTING AND HAND-PICKING

This is not a job for the faint-hearted - I know, I?ve done it!
Get a torch (a fishing torch that straps around your head is ideal!), a bucket of water, a pair of tongs or gardening gloves, and go hunting! Drop slugs/snails in bucket of water and leave overnight. Empty resulting mixture onto a compost heap, but beware - it can smell awful!

TRY TO ENCOURAGE NATURAL PREDATORS

The main natural predators of slugs/snails are:
FROGS - SONG THRUSHES - GROUND BEETLES - CENTIPEDES - COMMON SHREW - SLOW WORMS - COMMON NEWT

PLEASE, PLEASE - TRY NOT TO USE METALDEHYDE BAITS

- they poison birds, cats, dogs, hedgehogs, etc. AND CHILDREN
- predators can receive huge doses of poison when they eat slugs/snails killed by metaldehyde bait
- BE AWARE: Pets can become addicted to metaldhyde

This book is not definitive, it is a guide of what to try growing to minimise slug and snail damage - and is a combination of research and observation. Just because a plant is not listed it does not mean it is/is not susceptible to slugs/snails. It simply means that I have not chosen it to be in this booklet!

ANY COMMENTS/QUESTIONS?

email me at: jojopee@ntlworld.com or jojopee@hotmail.com

Happy gardening! Jo Palmer, Devon.