Moth Catcher, Slugs and Saved Plants

This pathetic little cardoon is what's left of my stately one after the slugs got to it this year. 

This is the most extraordinary year for slugs. I've always had snails, which are easy to see and deal with. But this year's slugs are extraordinary. There must be about three different kinds, all small, and devastating to plants. I go out three times a day and look under bricks, in leaves and  anywhere else I can think of and I get about 30 each time. 

The catch this morning - about 50

Four under a brick

15 under a small tub 

If I forget to put my gloves on, my fingers get  covered in a sticky goo which is really difficult to remove. 

I have had to move some plants back into pots or they would have been eaten to death. These include the Brunnera 'Jack Frost'. which has recovered very quickly and actually produced some flowers. 

Brunnera 'Jack Frost' 

The cardoon, usually grows to way taller than me, but has been eaten so badly I have had to pull most of its leaves off and it is now producing flowers at about half the usual  height. Normally it attracts big snails but this year it's been covered in slugs as well (see top picture).

I always put out traps to catch the moths that deal with apples. Luckily, although I have three apple  trees, the garden is small enough that I only need one, hanging on the cooking apple, and it takes care of them all. The codling moth trap catches the females so the males can't get them.