Cowslips

Oh Nelliemoster how can you throw out the excess .....give them away I can’t bear to throw out any plant I m even loath to throw out pretty weeds ( I do though just)

We have loads of compliments this year on our front lawn which had a huge mass of lovely cowslips spreading all over the lawn. I think we only planted a couple a few years ago.

Cowslips are tough like Primroses. Mine were lovely in the spring. I could not stop admiring them.

I do what Tanith does and freecyled a swap of primroses for Cowslips and some other plants.
Or I just throw out the excess.

I pour salt on them. Hate the slimy devils.

I am ruthless and kill them in salty water then bury them. Found loads today. They like hiding under smooth black plastic.

Haha I love the idea of blue snails returning home
I just find them greedy little buggers I have done the beer thing in the past but no one here to drink it now so I ll have to go out and buy a bottle at least they ll die ha ha hic happy

Mark snail shells with Tippex and yes they do come back!

Greengran I truly believe snails are 'homing' beasts. Someone did once, on a gardening forum of some sorts, put a dab of blue paint on the shell of the snails she threw over the wall - some of them returned to her garden more than once! Must be like frogs going back to their spawning ground!

Re. cowslips, if you want them to retain their integrity so to speak, don't plant them too near your gaily-coloured primulas as they will be cross-pollinated by helpful insects and you'll find some pink and red cowslips next spring.

Re. slugs, I heard someone recently saying she tramps round the garden at night with a torch and gathers them up before they can feast on her hostas. I think I'll just continue with the pellets....

Beer traps!

You can get them ready made in garden centres/Amazon, or the internet is full of easy cheap tips to make your own.

They work really well!

tug tub

I can't kill anything. I collect snails & slugs (hate the stripey Spanish ones) and store them in plastic tug (punch holes in lid). My DH then takes them when he goes walking and releases them in a suitable place. Done this for many years but they keep coming. When we lived in our old house I thought it would be a good idea to release some 'the other side of the river' as we set off on holiday. However, they were forgotten until we got 200m away (Oxfordshire) so had to set them down on a grassy verge there (sorry for historic increase in your problem if you live in that county).

Slugs and snails will not cross over a holly leaf, free and safe deterrents.

Lager in a saucer. They can't resist and drown in it. What a way to go though ! ?

I have a big area of common land just across the road from my house. I’m a big softy when it comes to killing things. I even rescue stranded worms from the pavement when I see them. My slugs and snails are all repatriated to the Common, but I have a feeling that some of them sneak back again. Does anyone know a way to put an identification mark on them, to check my theory?

I've never managed to train a slug or snail, Tessa, or get my dog to do it, think you're on the wrong thread!

Yes pesky slugs are every gardener's headache. I find a mix of flour and water in a dish half buried in the border works a treat. They are drawn to the yeast, its safe to other wildlife/dogs/cats, just needs replacing every couple of days. Really cheap as well.

They are like young children suddenly all the training fits into place. Always remember dogs love to please there master so you can keep teaching them different things through most of there life.

If you don't want to hurt them - Maybe if you feed them enough corn and bird seed, they won't eat your plants?!!

I am outside first thing in the morning with an old tweezers, some kitchen roll and a polythene sandwich bag. Snails and slugs get picked up with the tweezers, put in the kitchen roll, into the plastic bag and into the domestic waste bin. No mercy! Through the next couple of weeks the amount collected will get less and less if previous years are anything to go by. I do put slug pellets down when I first plant up the borders but by collecting the menaces I rarely need to put a second lot down unless it rains. Hope that helps.

I came close to a very nasty accident via a snail a few days ago. I have a steep front doorstep with a lip, so you can't see what is directly underneath. I stepped down into invisible snail slime which is incredibly slippery, and felt myself sliding, feet forward and the rest of me backwards. Just managed to right myself, but scary.

I second all the advice already proffered here. Cowslips are lovely, as they've seeded themselves and are a native wild flower I'd imagine they'd be pretty hardy and they'll probably thrive.

It is isn’t it Springy, when Jane said she found 10 I think I find that in one pot! They are the bane of my gardening life ( those and pooing neighbours cats ) I must have the wrong plants I think

It's a constant battle with snails here. I even put slug pellets on the clipped box bushes and hoards of snails have come out to eat them. Many sails live in shrubs. I step on every snail I can find, no mercy.