Firstly the farmers have beed doing what the government and EU have encouraged them to do – maximise production of food (albeit with some minor concessions to environmental quality. So mass use of herbicides and pesticides. But let us not blame them, I believe the real culprits lie closer to home – take a look in the mirror – yes YOU.
I plead guilty to having used slug pellets in the past, and roundup on the drive and patio. But I have seen the error of my ways. I am thinking of making holes in the drive for plants to colonise. So slugs take some plants, but I have found that hardening the plants off before planting them out works for lots. I also tried beer traps, but think the smell attracted them from miles away! Carnage every night – and they would have a snack on plants on the way. So I guess that the only effective control is collection with a torch at night? Or just tolerating them until such time as hedgehogs and song thrushes can be enticed back to the neighbourhood.
Herbicides and fertilisers on the lawn -NOO! Leave the dead stalks from last year until new growth is replacing them and the creatures which may have overwintered are rehoused.