What is the best way to control slugs?

Question

Hi,

we have a real problem with slugs eating my beautiful plants! Anyone got any good solutions that are pet safe? I have used slug pellets that are safe for cats and it appears slugs too!

Thanks

Answer 1

Hostas and lettuce are two of their favorite foods. But they will happily chow down on just about any plant in your garden. One year, I found them in the tassels of my sweet corn—a good seven feet off the ground! Unfortunately, the existing beneficial nematodes used with great success against fleas and grubs can’t help here, because slugs are above ground pests. And the ‘new’ slug-eating nematode we mentioned last year will probably not be made available in the US, due to fears it may prey on earthworms as well. But don’t worry—there are many other non-toxic ways to subdue these slimy sons of snot!

1) Beer. Yes, it really does work. It’s also the best non-personal way to confirm that overnight damage is due to the slimy beasts. Just don’t use the often-cited “stale beer”, which slugs like about as much as you and I do. Place commercial traps or old margarine tubs on top of the soil close to the damaged plants, wait until dusk and then fill them with the cheapest—but freshest—beer you can find. The next morning, they should be filled with dead drunken slugs. Dump this defeated debris nearby (where it will attract their cannibalistic pals) and repeat every evening.
2) Coffee. New research has found caffeine to be very effective at dispatching slugs. Save your dregs and spray them full strength directly on the beasts in the evening. Surround plants under attack with a mulch of used coffee grounds to deter slugs and feed the plants.
3) Iron phosphate. Turns out that iron is very bad for a slug’s digestion. Like deadly bad. So a new generation of products with brand names like “Sluggo” and “Escar-Go!” wrap iron in a slug-attracting bait. You simply scatter the pellets around plants in peril to wipe out the pests without poisons. (And a little extra iron is good for your garden soil.)
4) Copper. Slugs get shocked when they touch this shiny metal. You can buy ready-made copper plant guards or just adorn your raised bed frames with copper flashing. Hot-glue rings of pennies around the tops of your containers. Drop captured slugs into a jar of pennies and watch ‘em spark!
5) Diatomaceous earth. Available at garden centers, ‘DE’ is the mined fossilized remains of dinosaur-era, sea-going creatures called diatoms. It looks like white flour, but is incredibly sharp on a microscopic level, dehydrating slugs on contact. Surround plants under attack with protective rings of DE (be sure to wear a dust mask); freshen them up if they get wet.
6) Boards. Lay some old planks between your garden beds. The vampiric slugs will crawl underneath to hide from the sun. Come morning, lift the boards and scrape the slugs into a bucket with a flat piece of metal. Then do with them what you will. Hey—got any pennies?
7) Human hair. Surround your plants with a protective barrier of hair. The slugs will get all tangled up in it and strangle (hey—it was them or the hostas!); and the hair will eventually add plant-feeding nitrogen to the soil.
8) Citrus. Leave lemon, orange and grapefruit rinds out overnight near slug prone plants, and then collect and trash them—covered with slugs—first thing the next morning. Old lettuce leaves work well too.
9) Vinegar. A spray bottle filled with plain white vinegar is a great cure for slugs that aren’t on plants. An extremely effective mollusk dissolver, vinegar is also an herbicide—so don’t spritz the salvia.
10) Toads. Avoid all pesticides, provide water low to the ground and a damp shady spot for them to hide during the heat of the day, and these wonderful nocturnal predators will eat lots of slugs for you.
11) Rove beetles. These big black bugs don’t bother plants, but do eat LOTS of slugs and their eggs. So don’t hurt them!
12) Lightning bugs. The larval form of these summertime entertainers, the fascinating “glowworm,” eats slugs and their eggs. To encourage adults to breed nearby, turn off outdoor lights at night, allow a small area of your garden to stay moist and a little weedy, and don’t use pesticides.
13) Ducks! Just turn a few loose in the garden—these feathered friends (and natural fertilizer providers) are among nature’s FINEST slug-eaters! And all together now: “We can always use the eggs”. Thank you.

Answer 2

The bad news is that there are all sorts of remedies to repel slugs, many of them listed by flymetothemo, but there is no one surefire thing, guaranteed to work in all conditions.

The basic principles though are simple: either use a barrier, to physically keep them away from the plants (grit, gravel, sand, copper), or a poison (salt, coffee, beer, slug pellets) or a predator (toads, parasitic worms, birds, hedgehogs).


A couple of catches with salt, which works but has two problems: one, it seeps into the soil, and some plants don't like salty soil. Two, if you only put a narrow band of salt around the plants, slugs can arch their way over it (- don't laugh, I've seen them do it). So the more salt you put down, the more effective it will be against slugs - but the worse it will be for your soil. The same is true to a much lesser degree with coffee grounds.

My choice would be to try different kinds of slug pellets.

Answer 3

It is a little known fact that slugs are very musical creatures.

I suggest that you go out into the garden in the moonligt and sing them a lullabye. They will be so enchanted by this that they will fall asleep for a hundred years.

.....But seriously, I do empathise. I too have a beautiful garden, children, pets - and slugs.

My elderly next door neighbour swears by Beer. You can put it in any container (eg old plastic coke bottles cut in half) submerge in the soil (so it doesn't spoil the aesthetic perfection of your garden too much) fill with beer.

During the night, your slugs will discover this treat, and will not be able to resist drinking themselves into a silent stupor.

You could always try singing to them too.....

Answer 4

I always used water resistant pellets, no pets have gotten sick, for slugs and snails. Also, If you'd rather stay away from chemicals, traps are available, usually you put bear in them and they can't crawl out, but hten you have to get rid of them, still alive! Salt will srivel them up!
Or at night, get a flash light out and start looking under things, and sqwuoish as many as you find, not very effective, but can help conmtrol a bad problem!

Or try avoiding having damp areas for them to thrive!

Answer 5

I don't know that you can control slugs. I don't think they can be tamed. I've tried getting the slugs in my garden to do back flips and jump through hoops but unfortunately they haven't responded to any of my training techniques :-(

Answer 6

Collect egg shells (outside because they will stink) and allow them to dry out. Crush them and sprinkle them all around your plants. Not only do they deter slugs and snails, but they are great for bulb plants!

Answer 7

Listen to everyone who says salt. When I get them I sprinkle salt on them. The shrivel up an d leave a slimy mess but its better than having them eat your plants.

Answer 8

flymetothemo... i asume that's moon... had the best answer, covers most of it, there's a place called the green gardener it's a mail order you can get nemoworms they kill slugs and snails and it's ecologicaly sound. also eggshells.. the eat these but they don't like walking over them if they're crushed up...

Answer 9

Salt. Thats the only solution. It turns thir innards inside out. You could also put a can of beer in the ground and they love it and will drown in it too.Dont pity the blighters they dont have pity on our gardens and plants!!!!

Answer 10

Definately Punch Buggy!!