How can I kill the slugs that are eating my flowers?

Question

I have a small city garden with various flowerss. The marigolds were already devoured by slugs and sowbugs and I don't want them to get the other and new flowers I planted to replace them. The problem is that I have a small dog who would love to eat the slug poison from Home Depot. Also, I've read that wood ashes spread about can work, but, as I said, I live in the city and have no access to wood ashes. Any sugestions?

Answer 1

Scatter oat bran on the soil to kill slugs and snails.

Coffee poured directly on slugs kills them.
Spread coffee grounds around base of plants.

Sprinkle flour on dampened plants.When slugs are coated with the flour, they suffocate & drop off.

The roots of quack grass are more toxic to the slugs than the leaves! Use no more than 2 ounces of dried quack grass per 10 square feet. Too much could inhibit the growth of your plants ( use on established perrenials). Quack grass does have some herbicidal properties to it.

Sprinkle Chili pepper on slugs & on & around the plants .

Galic spray is great for getting rid of slugs, cutworms, wireworms, & whiteflies:
Blend well 1garlic bulb & 1 onion add 1Tbsp cayenne pepper & 1 quart water. Steep ingredients for 1 hr, then strain & add 1 Tbsp Ivory soap and your non-toxic spray is ready. Do not use in full sun or high temperatures because that's when they can burn or stress plants.

Once you get rid of slugs, keep them out by using repellent mulches: Geranium leaves, Horseradish roots(ground up), Mints, Tansy, Lemon Balm, dried Mullein (Verbacsum) leaves,Wormwood, prostrate Rosemary, Basil, Rue, Acacia bark, and Oak leaves are disliked by snails. Pine needles, hydrated lime, wood ash, sharp sand, crushed egg shells, lava rock, diatamaceous earth, cedar, oak bark chips or gravel chips will irritate and dehydrate them.

Use a barrier of hair to entangle slugs. It'll supply some nitrogen to your plants, too.

Place boards on ground & dispose of the snails when they gather on the underside. Sink shallow containers into the ground and filled with beer or other fermenting substances such as sour milk, or even a mixture of water and bakers yeast.

Answer 2

Do Slugs Eat Flowers

Answer 3

That's a tough one because the slugs, although slow, can travel from neighbor's yards over the course of the evening (when they are active).

I have tried diatomacious earth (sp?), slug bait, and beer with little success.

A salt shaker is usually a sure way to kill many slugs....

At night fall, I grab a flashlight and shine it at the plants most offen targeted by slugs. The light helps the slug slime sparkle, it's easier to see...Douse them with a litle shake or two of the salt...

I once killed 500 (yes, I counted) in a single night! With beer, the tally was only 9. I never did manage to kill all the slugs....they seemed to reproduce faster than I could kill them, inspite of my high kill numbers.


The only sure thing was to start planting more of whatever they didn't like to eat.



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Answer 4

If you eat a lot of grapefruit, put the empty half grapefruit rind around the plants... cut side down. The slugs will crawl under it, but the absorbic acid in the rind will kill them... it's also easy to grab the rind, and kind of scoop up the little corpses...

Beer, in a mayonaise jar lid works too. put it out at night and dump it in the morning... I don't recommend salt, as any spilled salt can and probably will kill the plants.

You can make a barrier around the plants with crushed egg shells, it won't kill the slugs, but they won't crawl over it...

Answer 5

There are now slug pellets made that are safe for wildlife and pets, by a co. called 'Growing Success'. They also make other anti-slug products, including mulches that they won't crawl over. Here's their web site, where it's made. http://www.growingsuccess.org.uk/detail.asp?ID=Advanced%2BSlug%2BKiller&cat=Slug_Control
I'd contact them to see your local stockists, or order from a suppliers site. I find their stuff really effective, and have tons of wildlife, birds, frogs etc, as well as my pets, that are not affected by them.

I used to get coffee grindings free from Starbucks, but never had an awful lot of success with them, as the typically stay wet and didn't seem much of a deterrent, when I found my plants eaten again.

Answer 6

The salt theory works well as others suggests. Make a trough around the planter area fill with water and shake salt into the trough. Use plenty of salt. The dog will not be harmed for one taste and he will not go near it again.
REMEMBER to use a metal trough so that the salt will not contaminate the flowers.
Spartawo...

Answer 7

When my mother was a little girl in England, her father ran a butcher shop and it was her job to kill the slugs in the shop. She would go in with a candle (this was before electricity) and a fireplace poker, find them and beat them to death with the poker. Probably not much help to you, but a good story all the same.

Answer 8

put a small container of beer outside. The slugs like the smell, climb up into it and perish (drown) If you are worried about your dog, get a soup can, with lid still on. pour out contents and then put a couple of fair sized holes (quarter size) i/4 of the way up, fill with beer and presto........slug killer but save for dog!!!

Answer 9

Have you tried salt? Just regular table salt. It dehydrates the little boogers. I did this as a hobby when I was a child.. Sad I know but it was cool..lol

Also stole a can of my dads beer it also kills them. Dog might drink it but I doubt it would have much effect on him if its just in a mayo lid

Answer 10

Put a plate of sorts full of beer in the garden, This will attract them and they will drown. That is if you do not mind sharing your beer with the slugs