A fort knox for slug vulnerable seedlings?

Evening all,

It seems that the flowers (marigolds, cosmos etc) I have sown in seed trays in an attempt to attract beneficial wildlife always seem to get totally bull dozed by the slugs and snails.

And so I was thinking of creating a fort knox seed area underneath my two squared metre cloches where I can simply put seeds sown in seed trays and hope that the following measures will stop the slugs in their tracks:

1. laying the seed trays on a bed of sharp sand(?) or a similar product to help make slugging over it difficult.
2. using organic slug pellets sprinkled within and around the area
3. having a few beer traps within the IPZ (intensive protection zone) LOL.

This area will be reserved only for plants which I keep losing to those slimy critters.

Any ideas if this will work/any suggestions?

Many thanks,

Samuel

Beer traps work. But because of the yeast smell, not the alcohol. Yeasty sourdough starter painted on some rotting wood works almost as well.

Chicory is also a slug magnet, yet the plant shows few ill effects. In the mornings, I pull a few chicory leaves, complete with resident slugs and throw them in the chicken pen.

Halved citrus shells also work. A grapefruit half (minus the part you had for breakfast) can easily pull in a dozen slugs.

is there an organic slug pellet?

Slugs and snails won't cross copper tape- I keep my seedlings in trays on a table with a bit of copper tape around each table leg.