[Archived] Slugs And Cats

[MCMC1875]

The garden centre on Haslingden Road, Oswaldtwistle is the place for me, if only for the banter with the locals.

First the slugs. Me granny always used half a grapefruit skin and she had the best Hydrangeas on her street. Like all old wives tales, they always work but you never know why. Never been keen on grapefruit though, so bought the biggest tub of blue pellets they had. Job done but not before the entire plant stock resembled the cheese counter at Asda after the mice had been in all night.

Next the cats. The rest of the garden was beginning to resemble the Iraqi desert littered with used shells thanks to the local feline population using the place as a litter tray. So a couple of weeks later, I paid another visit to the green fingered folk of Ossy and asked what they had, other than a dog or a shotgun, to discourage cats. I was expecting the usual pepper stuff but the good lady said it was not much good and showed me some infra-red high-pitched sound emitting gizmos (batteries included) but I had reservations about the device interfering with the tv signal or the burglar alarm or toaster, etc. Next she offered a large box of pellets, best solution in her opinion but advised on using gloves and washing hands afterwards. Decided to give it a go and handed over £6.49 English pounds. Back home, reading the packet it said made from genuine lion's p1ss - you couldn't make it up! When I eventually opened the outer bag and inner bag, they were clearly telling the truth, the whiff put me off safaris for life. I put the stuff on the garden and it seems to have worked.

Just hope the predicted plague of spiders doesn't scoff the slug and cat pellets.....

Roll on the next home game.

[DanLad]

Next the cats. she offered a large box of pellets, best solution in her opinion but advised on using gloves and washing hands afterwards. Decided to give it a go and handed over £6.49 English pounds. Back home, reading the packet it said made from genuine lion's p1ss - you couldn't make it up! When I eventually opened the outer bag and inner bag, they were clearly telling the truth, the whiff put me off safaris for life. I put the stuff on the garden and it seems to have worked.

I'm having bother with cats.

How long does each 'dose' last?

How long does the smell persist (to the human nose) once applied?

Thanks!

[MCMC1875]

I'm having bother with cats.

How long does each 'dose' last?

How long does the smell persist (to the human nose) once applied?

Thanks!

The lady said to put some more down a second time if needed but once they've found somewhere else, they shouldn't come back.

And the garden smells fine!

[cletus]

I had a problem with a cat (or cats) coming into my backyard & using my border plantpots as a toilet. I found that home-made punji-sticks made from sharpened garden canes did the trick

[bob fleming]

I had problems with slugs a couple of years ago. I gambled and introduced the Squirrel to the Fernhurst Farm estate. The rest, shall we say, is history.

I still have problems with those ducks though. And cats. Come to think of it those slugs have come back again recently as well. In fact the whole thing has been an absolute disaster.

[SouthAussieRover]

Re cats...hope no one from the RSPCA is reading...nah you'd better PM for the solution.

[3rdpillar]

the lion stuff is called silent roar, you can get it on line

www.sortoutyourgarden.com

yeah it works , but like all garden related solutions is pricy, so ive gone back to shoveling the S*** back over the fence into nextdoors where the cats live.

hate it when cat poo get on the blades of the lawnmower....then stench lingers in the garded for hours / days

[colin]

The cats deterrent is easy & cheap. They don't like the smell of citrus so go get yourself some cheap lemon juice from ASDA and squirt it round your garden. Don't over-do it or you'll make the garden acidic.

Probably cheaper than lion poo (which interestingly enough Dutch anarchists used many years ago to spook the ceremonial horses at their Queens wedding.)

Slug pellets actually attract the @#/?s, so you need to sprinkle them quite thinly round the edge of your garden so that the @#/?s go away from the centre. The only problem is that they then attract the slugs from next door, but at least they die before they get your veg.

An alternative is to sink jam jars half full of beer (it's OK they're not CAMRA members so any old cheap rubbish will do.) They like it, they go for a drink, get rat-arsed and fall in and drown. Seems pretty humane to me.

The high-tech solution is nematode worms which is a bit expensive but works a treat. The thought that they eat the slugs brains cheers me up no end.

[Wolverine]

Cats: Tried the following:

Throwing stones near them. They just looked at me blankly as if to say "either you are a crap shot or you won't actually hit us on purpouse" and continued their business"

Half bottles of water. They just laughed. Which I thought was impossible for cats.

A hosereel: Was fun for a while but they just waited til I went to bed.

Bark chippings: Was told they wouldn't use it as they couldn't dig it properly. They dug it properly.

Planted a scaredy cat plant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleus_canina - it died very quickly and the cats used that spot for a while just to wind me up.

Got a cat: Apparently as they are territorial they wont use another cats 'area'. This worked a treat for a while, but now he appears to be sleeping with most of the cats in the neighbourhood and uses my garden for toilet parties.

Still considering what to do next. As for slugs, get slug pellets and put them everywhere - not just near plants. Worked for me as it wiped out wherever they were breeding.

[Flopsy]

Do your squirells look like this?

[ABBEY]

slugs burn em with a blow torch

cats shoot em

dogs eat em

[Timmy]

best things for slugs...hedgehogs (they love 'em)

[ewoodblue]

Do your squirells look like this?

Awwwwwwww,the squirrel soldier is lovely.

Long live squirrels.

I still don't know what's wrong with zebras.

[ABBEY]

best things for slugs...hedgehogs (they love 'em)

not as much as salt

[Flopsy]

Awwwwwwww,the squirrel soldier is lovely.

Long live squirrels.

I still don't know what's wrong with zebras.

cant handle the weapons

[RoversFanUSA]

You should just get a ninja squirrel! There great! They´ll kill your slugs and ninja-fye any cats that you might have rolling around your garden. I got one for my mom and she just loves him. You shold get one, you wont be sorry!

[Alan75]

Leave slugs alone, how would you like to be a homeless snail.

[MCMC1875]

the lion stuff is called silent roar, you can get it on line

www.sortoutyourgarden.com

yeah it works , but like all garden related solutions is pricy, so ive gone back to shoveling the S*** back over the fence into nextdoors where the cats live.

hate it when cat poo get on the blades of the lawnmower....then stench lingers in the garded for hours / days

It doesn't work.

Suggestions welcome.

[bob fleming]

I'm struggling with the little blighters an all. I'm telling them right now, if any are reading, I've had enough. The (gardening) gloves are off. You've sneaked in (somehow) through my front door at night and left your cowardly silver trail on the carpet once too often. I'm off to Asda in a minute to by a large amount of salt. Yes SALT. Not so ###### funny now is it you dirty @#/?s.

[cletus]

best things for slugs...hedgehogs (they love 'em)

....as do frogs (not the Eddie sort). If you have room in your garden a little pond with frogs in will help keep the slug population down........apparently

[DanLad]

....as do frogs (not the Eddie sort). If you have room in your garden a little pond with frogs in will help keep the slug population down........apparently

I used to have a pond, but the number of snails knocking about was too much! Maybe I should have got some frogs in!

[Claytons Left Boot]

Just read this thread for the first time! Brilliant and much cheaper than buying Viz.

PS - I hate cats or sh!t machines as I prefer to call them.

[cletus]

I like cats, just don`t like the stuff that comes out their bottoms.

[Alan75]

Maybe I should have got some frogs in!

Nooooooo you wouldnt want frogs in your garden, they make loads of noise at night and if you step on one they dont half make a squelchie noise and they are more slimey than slugs.

Plus they eat worms that are good for the garden.

Get a duck, they eat snails and slugs plus provide eggs. They would also make pate out of the cats.

Heck the neighbourhood would like some foreign resturaunt, full escargo and duckfilledpatepuss

[James No. 7]

not as much as salt