Slug cruelty?

[Groucho]

I had a long conversation about slugs, and whether they should be killed or not, in a pub the other night. It was late, but I'll see if I can recall the conversation.

Apparently they do feel pain; there are two types of slug. Vegetarian slugs that eat your garden and carniverous slug eating slugs that eat the slugs that eat your garden. I think these are the huge fuckers with rows of sharp teeth. I think originally the proposition was that all you needed to do was nutrture the carniverous slugs, and only kill the vegetarians. But it turned out, during the conversation that the vegetarian slugs are peace loving pacifists and the carniverous ones are militaristic imperialists. If you listen carefully you can sometimes hear them drilling and marching.

I haven't been able to hold a conversation with either type. When I look into my garden all I see are leaves. Ideally I could do with a monster ten foot slug to help me control the greenary. The only slugs I tend to see are already dead. I see a trail across the rug in my front room and follow it to a dessicated slug. The snails go no further than my kitchen.

 

[ScallyWag II]

Slugs...fucking hate the little bastards, they have chomped their greedy way through so many plants this year I've bought a bag of salt and use it with joy...take that you fuckers Found a couple in a hanging basket yesterday and picked them off. My hand was covered in goo...yuck

Snails get the airborne treatment...into the air to land on the shed roof...fuck off and don't come back

I now have a two leafed chilli plant, two basil plants that are basically stalks with a few nibbled leaves on the ends, sage and mint plants that look like swiss cheese, and the number of bedding plants that have been savaged over the last couple of months is ridiculous. I bought a broom plant this year and they have stripped it bare (((naked broom plant)))

Can't put pellets down cos of the kittens...everything they find goes in their mouths. <sobs, I hate slugs and snails sobs>

 

[pembrokestephen]

Can't put pellets down cos of the kittens...everything they find goes in their mouths. <sobs, I hate slugs and snails sobs>

Check on it, but there are ferrous chloride (I think) pellets now that are animal-friendly.

Failing that, hand-picking, and slug traps are the way to go.

 

[Fizz_gig]

Can't put pellets down cos of the kittens...everything they find goes in their mouths. <sobs, I hate slugs and snails sobs>

Bury little cups of lager around your garden. This attacts and drowns the slugs, therefore less slugs eating your plants. You may, however, end up with a drunk kitten.

I don't believe that animals which act purely on instinct and reaction can feel pain, or at least not in the same way that we do. They react as a survival instinct. Any animal that has not got the intelligence to be able to make decisions will generally not have the mental capacity for actual pain.

 

[Rohen]

Beer traps

Work a treat

 

[tufty79]

I think these are the huge fuckers with rows of sharp teeth.

slugs with teeth?

massive slug and snail phobia over in this here corner.

fuckers.

my veg are covered in salt and slug pellets and i'm not entirely sure that's good for them.

 

[T & P]

slugs with teeth?

Hadn't you heard about them before?

 

[veracity]

Hadn't you heard about them before?

Fucking 'ell, as if I'm not phobic enough about them already. Ta T&P.

 

[T & P]

The creatures in question are no slugs but mutant worms. They're only native to the Nevada desert so you're okay.

And of course it's a Hollywood creation

Sorry if I've distressed peeps though.

 

[seeformiles]

In 1985 I stayed up until the early hours watching Live Aid and, upon its conclusion, my mate said he was going home. As I led him out the front door there was the biggest slug I'd ever seen. My mate said, why don't we salt the little bastard? Both of us being pretty pissed, we went for it and I've felt guilty ever since!
Since then I've tried to find less cruel methods of dealing with our slimy brethren. The beer method works pretty well but the one that seems to work in my garden is used coffee grounds. I don't drink coffee but made a batch up specially for this purpose. I spread the grounds around my strawberries and none of them got eaten all season - apparently caffeine is poisonous to slugs and they sod off pretty quick. Mind you, we also have a lot of hedgehogs in our garden so they help as well.

Saying that, when it comes to dealing with wasps, nothing is too cruel for the little bastards......

 

[bluestreak]

nuke them from orbit, it's the ONLY way to make sure.

 

[mrs quoad]

I took a spade to one this morning

SPLAM!!!!!

 

[Flavour]

this thread has inspired me to go slug hunting, which i am going to do right now

*gets massive salt box and shoes*

 

[pembrokestephen]

Saying that, when it comes to dealing with wasps, nothing is too cruel for the little bastards......

Yeah. I don't get freaked by wasps particularly, which is probably why I was happily pottering in the shed for a good 5 minutes with an increasingly angry constellation of them flying around me - I hadn't realised that they'd set up home in there.

The upshot was me getting stung several times, twice on the leg INSIDE my trousers (I think he stung me the second time when I started bashing him flat through the material).

Two weeks later, the stings still itch like mad from time to time. When I can be arsed, I'm going back in there to commit waspicide.

 

[Cobbles]

Apparently they do feel pain;

Buy (or make) beer filled slug traps. That way, they'll die feeling no pain whatsoever. I watched once as a particularly greedy slimer got out to have a pee 6 times before finally giving in to the alcohol. As a useful by-product, the birds in my garden seem to prefer beer marinaded slugs to meal worms (cheaper than buyng meal worms as well so long as you fuel the traps with Lidl etc. generic lager rather than fine Trappist ale).

 

[guinnessdrinker]

another method is to deposit bran around the plot (not if it threatening to rain, though). they eat a bit of it, they like it, eat more of it, the dry bran expand in their wet body and they just burst as they die . fuck animal rights for slugs, they're evil.

 

[pembrokestephen]

Buy (or make) beer filled slug traps. That way, they'll die feeling no pain whatsoever. I watched once as a particularly greedy slimer got out to have a pee 6 times before finally giving in to the alcohol. As a useful by-product, the birds in my garden seem to prefer beer marinaded slugs to meal worms (cheaper than buyng meal worms as well so long as you fuel the traps with Lidl etc. generic lager rather than fine Trappist ale).

Or, even cheaper, distribute the trub from your own homebrewing efforts. All that yeasty boozy goodness seems to bring them running, and kills them very effectively.

 

[guinnessdrinker]

Or, even cheaper, distribute the trub from your own homebrewing efforts. All that yeasty boozy goodness seems to bring them running, and kills them very effectively.

*starts brewery*

 

[northernhord]

I,m off to me plotment in arfan hour and slugs will perish.

 

[seeformiles]

Yeah. I don't get freaked by wasps particularly, which is probably why I was happily pottering in the shed for a good 5 minutes with an increasingly angry constellation of them flying around me - I hadn't realised that they'd set up home in there.

The upshot was me getting stung several times, twice on the leg INSIDE my trousers (I think he stung me the second time when I started bashing him flat through the material).

Two weeks later, the stings still itch like mad from time to time. When I can be arsed, I'm going back in there to commit waspicide.

More power to your elbow Sir!

 

[guinnessdrinker]

I,m off to me plotment in arfan hour and slugs will perish.

exterminate! exterminate!

 

[veracity]

Having discussed this thread in detail with my mum tonight, we came to the conclusion that the only way forward is to specifically start getting coffee and beer for the slugs. My mum thinks this is spoiling them a bit though and is concerned that smart slugs will merely sip at the beer traps then move onto our veggies for afters, whilst their lager lout mates drown.

Having been a bit squeamish in the past (I may have glossed over the true horror of the slug experience of the weekend in my previous post), we have reached the conclusion that it is an us or them scenario and there will be no holds barred battle against the slug.

Death to slugs!

Death to slugs!

 

[Sweaty Betty]

I like slugs....poor fuckers, id eat everything in sight if i looked like that..

 

[northernhord]

exterminate! exterminate!

Done

 

[northernhord]

I like slugs....poor fuckers, id eat everything in sight if i looked like that..

lol

 

[Edie]

I can't bring myself to kill slugs or snails. It just looks so cruel

 

[guinnessdrinker]

I can't bring myself to kill slugs or snails. It just looks so cruel

veggies have got rights, you know

deth penalties to slugs now

 

[veracity]

I can't bring myself to kill slugs or snails. It just looks so cruel

They have obviously not eaten enough of your vegetables yet. Just wait 'til you've got THE RAGE!

 

[Edie]

TBF this is probably true. We have a little back2back yard, most of which is paved. And no veggies. So I have no reason for slug rage.
But the way they curl up as if in agony... it's not right, shirley

 

[Biddlybee]

Where's trashy and her scissors?