What's the best natural remedy for slugs in the garden?

Question

I've heard that copper sheeting works...does anyone have any experience with this? Is there anything else that's non-toxic? (Read environmentally friendly, organic)

Answer 1

Yes, a two inch strip of copper flashing material is an effective slug barrier. It carries a very mild electrical charge which is stimulated by contact with the slug’s slimy mucus. While humans can't detect it, slugs can, and they're repelled. (1)

Other remedies:
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.
Flour: When slugs get 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.
Trap slugs with beer or other fermented material.

Galic spray is great for getting rid of slugs, cutworms, wireworms, & whiteflies:
In a blender mix 4 cloves of garlic with 1 chopped onion. Place this mixture in a large glass jar and add 2 cups of water. Add 2 teaspoons of bottled hot pepper sauce, stir ingredients together and steep for 2 days. Strain the mixture and add one tablespoon Ivory liquid soap. Then dilute with 5 cups of water. Do not use in full sun or high temperatures because that's when they can burn or stress plants. (2)

Surround your plants with one of these: wood ash, sharp sand, crushed egg shells, lava rock, diatamaceous earth, cedar, oak bark chips or gravel chips. These will cut & dehydrate the slugs, & eliminate them.

Answer 2

The problem with salt is that some plants won't tolerate much of it, and you can end up killing the plant with the slug.

The trick with beer in a shallow soup dish or saucer is one that works for me...many of them will crawl in and drown, they like beer for some reason, works better than sugar water or koolaid (I've tried both).

Farmers can get Ferramol (ferric phosphate, toxic only to molluscs) or Nemaslug, which is pelleted parasitic nematodes, again, fatal only to slugs and snails. Don't know whether individual gardeners can get hold of that stuff.

Answer 3

Hedgehogs

Answer 4

Salt.

Answer 5

Salt.You can use pelleted lime but since it's in the garden I wouldn't recommend it.

Answer 6

we used empty cans from soup and vegetables, poured some cheap beer inside and they went into the cans, why it works I do not know

Answer 7

good ole table salt generosly spread around where u dont want them

Answer 8

I agree.. salt. It has always worked and it's cheap.
.

Answer 9

Use table salt on them... it kills them immediately and then dries them out.

Answer 10

salt