I have been trying for the last couple of years to control the number of slugs (and snails) in my garden, using various methods (https://wordpress.com/post/rhslevel2studies.home.blog/553.) They seem to have virtually no natural predators at all in this built-up suburban area and when they start eating supposedly slug-proof plants, you know you have a problem.
The methods have been quite orthodox so far, but now I’ve tried something a little more alternative. I read about the homeopathic treatment Helix tosta online and thought it sounded like a bad joke – it’s made from roasted snail shells, so it’s Helix toaster – get it??!
Anyway, I thought it would be worth a try. I mean, I’ve tried all these other methods so why stop there? I ordered a bottle of 12C strength and it soon arrived with the little round pills looking like slug eggs!
There were no instructions with the stuff, so I dissolved 5 pills in 1 litre of water. They don’t seem to want to dissolve at first, but I find that just leaving them for about 5 minutes they completely disappear. I think that some people recommend stirring clockwise only to dissolve the pills (like concocting a potion!)- I didn’t do that. I just put the pills in a bottle of 1 litre capacity and put the lid on. Then I shook it, left it to stand for a few minutes and shook it again and checked the pills had dissolved.
There were various recommendations online – spraying the leaves, marking out a line which slugs wouldn’t cross etc. I just used the mixture to water the plants which had been under slug attack. The solution is supposed to be taken up by the plant and the slugs and snails are supposed to think “hmm, this plant smells like death. Maybe I’ll just stay away”. At least, that’s the theory. I discussed it with a friend who has studied homeopathy who commented that she thought it would be more likely to attract the slugs rather than repel them…..
So, does it work? No, but also yes. It’s a bit strange. Let me explain.
I watered the solution in to a couple of pepper plants which had been badly attacked, with the top section totally eaten away. After watering, the plants were still being eaten, but a few days later, the eating had stopped. I’m not sure whether that is because it took some time for the solution to be taken up by the plant or if the slugs causing the damage had been removed (I have found that individual slugs can be responsible for damage on one plant. So if I go out in the evening and find the particular slug on the plant and remove it, no futher damage occurs until another slug finds this plant to its liking but this can take weeks or months. ) I have not removed any slugs from these pepper plants but it is possible that I caught them elsewhere or just on their way to their favourite dinner spot.
To try to find out definitively whether this stuff works, I tried watering it in around some seedlings that I have just put out and so far, they have survived! I’ve also planted some bean seeds direct in the ground (something I would never normally do as it’s just asking for them to be eaten) and used the Helix tosta to water them in.
I’m going to keep using Helix tosta – mainly because I still have the rest of the bottle to use – but it does seem to do something. I think it will be another method of control, alongside the physical barriers and distraction controls. As there are no single solutions to the problem, perhaps having a range of measures is just as well.
It is supposed to last through rain and to give protection for a few months, so we’ll see whether that’s true, but I have to admit that I’m surprised and pleased by the results so far.
Gardening studies 