The Exotic Garden Blog

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New Video: How to protect your Hostas from slugs and snails

Posted on | April 26, 2010 | 5 Comments

Have a look at our latest video for growing Hostas in containers, and protecting them against slugs and snails to get a fantastic show this summer.

Category: Blog Posts, Exotic Plants
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Comments

5 Responses to “New Video: How to protect your Hostas from slugs and snails”

  1. James Chapman
    April 27th, 2010 @ 7:24 am

    Hi Will, have you had any success with copper rings around hostas to prevent slugs?

  2. Victoria
    April 27th, 2010 @ 6:46 pm

    Brilliant! I’d never heard that tip about Vaseline before – I shall try it. I use copper tape, which works quite well, but I can never get it to go round the pot in a straight line. Looking round the garden at a lot of pots with wonky copper lines round them slightly irritates me, so I shall have to invest in yet more copper tape and put MORE wonky lines round them and pretend I’m being artistic.

  3. Oguz Daver
    April 28th, 2010 @ 8:33 am

    Do you put liquid Vaseline or creme? How do you protect the Vaseline from the rain? Silly questions I know, but I will try this tip, brilliant idea. It’s much better than the bier who attracs the snails even from my neigbour, or my hedghog who only eats the tender, young snails.

  4. Will
    April 28th, 2010 @ 6:09 pm

    James – I’ve never tried copper strips.

    Victoria – Vaseline, it’s good for everything as well as around the base of your flowerpots. About 2ins will make slugs and snail’s slither and slide until they give up! Unfortunately it doesn’t catch the flying ones though! As for copper strips – I have never tried those and of course as pot sides are at an angle, they will never go round in a straight line – this is never mentioned on the packet, so being artistic is the only answer!

    There is a biological control using nematodes though I don’t know how successful they are at stopping them munching their way through you prized possessions…

    Oguz – In the UK Vaseline (a trademarked brand of petroleum jelly) is a gooey substance in a jar which doesn’t dissolve in water or at least slowly, so works well on a pots and containers. You still have to make sure that your pots do not touch any other plants or a wall as the slugs will still be able to get to your wonderful plants that way.

  5. Oguz Daver
    April 29th, 2010 @ 5:47 am

    Dear Will,
    I’m sorry about my bizarre questions. I’m a medical doctor; in medicine there are two type of Vaseline:jelly and liquide. Anyway we are talking about the same substance. Thank you for the answers…

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