The Good Slug Guide

‘Impressive… brimming with facts’‘Intriguing, persuasive, excellent.’‘Prepare to rethink your slug strategies with Jo Kirby’s handy guide’‘A heady mix of scientific rigour, history and humour’‘This is a very, very good book.’ – Mark Avery, Conservationist‘Worth a place on every grower’s bookshelves’A ‘timely guide’‘Full of simple, practical advice’‘This informative and fascinating new book is a must-read for any gardener.’ – Editor Steve Ott‘Your book is what we gardeners have all been waiting for’‘Prepare to be surprised… and amazed!’‘A fantastic read and really useful resource for gardeners’‘The perfect gift’‘Surely THE definitive guide to [these] garden pests.’ – Brian Johnson-Thomas‘Traditional slug-beating advice is turned on its head.’

Jo Kirby is a retired academic and lifelong gardener who is passionate about the environment. His family were commercial growers who used pesticides and other grim methods of pest control routinely. By the 1990s it was clear that chemical use in horticulture and agriculture was causing a decline in flora and fauna, polluting the planet and harming a whole range of species, not just the intended victims. At college, Jo became interested in environmental toxicology and went on to do post-doctoral research in the ecology of decomposing plant matter before returning to the family business. Jo has undertaken a 30-year quest to understand the ecological processes at work in gardens, and how they might be adapted and used to help create beautiful places in which pests could never become a major issue.