Does sheep’s fleece work as a slug deterrent?

Having run a charity plant sale for the last 6 odd weeks I have met a great number of gardeners, some beginners and others knowledgeable. During a conversation about Hostas of which I grow a large number a person told me that putting sheep’s fleece around Hostas works well as a slug/ snail deterrent. They kindly returned with a bag of fleece for me to try. I am certainly going to give it a go but wondered if anybody had already tried this and was it effective? The look is not going to be the best certainly with regard to the smaller Hostas but if it stops the bu….s munching then it is worth a go.

 

It works for some but objective testing of it against other repellents gives it quite a low ranking.

 

It's one thing I've never tried (and, believe me, I'm tried most of the available options), so I will be interested to hear how you get on with it. I don't think it will look more unsightly than the slug collars, egg shells, copper tape, etc, my garden is littered with.

 

This year I'm using Strulch, so far so good. I bought a 100L which I think will last quite a few seasons.

 

Will do @JWK, mine is definitely au naturelle, complete with a pretty strong “ perfume”! That might do the trick but doubt it.

 

I have used it. I use at the base of my sweet peas and anything else a bit tasty. It’s not slug proof but it certainly helps. Having said that, you only need one slug to cause havoc!

 

I've tried with sheeps fleece in the past. Didn't get slugs, but the sheep ate the plants!

 

We have a dog that's hairier than most sheep and I tired some of her hair because I'd seen wool mentioned as a deterrent. It didn't seem to work in the slightest and was covered in slug trails from the first night.

I do see more plants being sold with what looks like wool collars around the plant so it might have some effect but I've also seen lots of slime trails all over wool that's been shed on the mountains. If it's free I would give it ago and you can also add fleece to the compost heap.

 

I gathered a fair bit on a hill day, and brought it home .
Didn't make a blind bit of difference.

 

In my experience no. We used to keep sheep, so had an unlimited supply of it. Even laid out in long, thick strips to make a total barrier, the slugs were not deterred in the slightest.

 

The mulch that I'm acquiring now by the trailer-load seems to be very effective. Although you're supposed to put wet mulch on damp ground, no chance with this stuff as it's made of shredded trees and cow manure composted together and is very, very dry and dusty. Water seems to leach through it OK but the surface stays dry. Not seen a slug or snail anywhere near my hostas or clematis since they've been surrounded by it.
So if you can track down a local source of something similar it might be worth a try. It also provides an element of fertiliser, so good all round!