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June started off with yet more continual rain. Although
saving me the chore of having to water everything several times a day, it meant
slugs and snails were out in force. I watched on several occasions, as slugs
especially, crossed the Slug Stoppa barriers with complete impunity.
Sunflowers and Cosmea that had been newly planted out,
were scythed down overnight and previously sown annuals and perennials in the
same seed beds disappeared without trace. I harvested a few lettuces and found
dozens of slugs or snails hiding in the foliage. These are growing in a plot
that was completely devoid of slugs, snails and their eggs last year so I can
only conclude that they have crossed the barrier to get there despite regular
top-ups of the Slug Stoppa.
I also had to plant out a new set of courgettes on
the compost heap as there were only two plants (out of nine) that survived the
initial onslaughts.
The worst damage so far, has been to the French Beans, with
only one out of forty plants making it to the four leaf stage. I have had to
completely re-sow the entire patch. Peas alongside have been savaged with equal
relish, as have the sweet peas on an adjacent plot.
Towards the end of the month, we enjoyed some gloriously
sunny days with high night-time temperatures. This exacerbated problems further.
On a special evening opening, in aid of the National Garden Scheme, I filled a
bucket to the brim with snails and slugs. They
came from between the sleepers and hurdle edging in their
droves and completely ignored the slug stoppa. Suffice to say, they were not too
pleased to be dunked in another bucket of salt water.
At the start of the trial, I had high hopes for the slug
stoppa. At the moment though, it is proving totally ineffective at keeping our
number one foe away.
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