From the article: Slug Control in the Garden
Slugs hid under leaves and do a lot of damage in the garden, before you even know they're there. What are your tips for getting rid of and controlling slugs in your garden? Share What's Worked
Traps
- I have found that grapefruits cut in half and the in sides scooped out (to eat), melon halves and some winter squash shells work well as traps. The slugs are attracted to them and can't get back out. Then you step on them or cut them in half or place them in water to die. Safer than beer, Slugo, etc.
- —Guest Charlie
Decollate Snails
- Allowed only in some parts of country, decollate snails work best, slowly but more perfectly. The more you set out, the quicker they work. They eat slug eggs and young (the grown ones are too fast for them to catch)and garden snails and eggs. (They're never perfect -- have to leave some to eat in a new generation). Look up decollate snails on computer. If it's illegal to let them loose in your area, there may be others under predator snails you can use. (The reasons decollate snails might be illegal is because, as in Northern California, they might destroy endangered native species, like the huge slug in that area). Once you set 'em out, don't expect to see them -- they sleep by day about an inch underground and come out at night.) I find them really, really helpful -- but it can take up to a year to get all the eggs, unless if you set out enough, even longer if you don't. And they're cute -- ungainly, fall over, then right themselves again. They're really slow for a snail!
- —Guest Mike Varady
Slug Control with Salt
- When I was a very small girl in Scotland, my uncle gave me some salt to kill slugs in his garden. If you put the salt right on their skins, they curl up & die. However, I didn't know the difference between slugs and snails at that time, and I also killed all the snails in his water garden! He was not very pleased, needless to say.
- —Guest Jacqui Jones
From the Sea
- We live near the ocean and have access to kelp which, in addition to being very beneficial to our garden, is very crunchy when dried and a great deterrent to slugs - they don't like the sharp edges or the salt.
- —Guest Moyra
With Pruners
- I use pruners to cut them in half. Each morning before I leave for work I start slicing. First it was 45 and gradually it got down to just 2 or three. The next year it was half that and the year after I rarely saw any. I dropped all the pieces in the garbage can.
- —Guest endslug
Vinegar
- I have recently done a trial on my vegetable garden to see what would work and i found that if you spray vinegar on your plants every three days it will penetrate the slugs away and if they come into contact with it there skin will burn. {Note from Marie: Vinegar is used as an herbicide, to kill plants. I wouldn't recommend using it on tender plants or on any plant for a long length of time.
- —Guest Evie
sandals vs. snails
- My wife has a special pair of sandals with hard sole for the squishing part. They pop and crunch with ease!
- —Guest TA
salt
- they won't go near the plants . I konw this from when I was a small child , my father would spread salt where ever the would be and , it's safe for your food plants.
- —Guest bonnie
salt
- did the beer thing. also took the ones i found and dropped them into a can of rock salt. a very horrible death i suspect. they appear to try to crawl out of their skins.
- —Guest jem
slugs in the garden
- I'm new to this. I feel I"d better run out and check to see if they are there. I remember a friend of mine used a cup of beer and everyday it would fill up and she would replace. That would do the trick. I 'm going to do that because it seems so simple.
- —EllenHonig
what works in removing slugs
- place pieces of flat board down here and there throughout the garden. Slugs go there for cover. go out,flip the board over and remove the slugs. I put the slugs into a container [with a tight fitting lid]containing an inch or two of used car oil. plants i want NO SLUG damage upon, I put a ring of wet beach sand around.The sand is coarse enough to deter the slugs..cuts up their underbellies..since the area has drip irrigation i need not worry about the ring being dissolved when watering. i have decolate snails in my yard..they are THE GOOD GUYS, so i do not want to use anything[ organic or not] to kill slugs or snails.
- —Guest Raychael
Try Diatomaceous Earth
- Diatomaceous earth (sold in pool companies for filtration) will cut the soft bodied slugs)(and other soft bodied animals such as insects) , If they eat it (such as when you put it on the leaves of plants ) they will die from dehydration. It is also organic and will not hurt humans or mammal pets.
- —oscarbartoni
Diatomaceous Earth
- I’ve used an organic, non-toxic product called DIATOMACEOUS EARTH. It comes in the form of pellets, the pellets are white chalk-like and is produced by the crushing of fossilized algae. I spread the pellets heavily, almost coating the ground. The slugs crawl over the pellets and it works as an abrasive to their body and eventually dries them out.
- —Guest Lyn
Copper Wire
- I have heard of people using copper wire as a deterrent. I myself have never tried this, but I’ve heard this works. For instance, you could add some copper wire at the base of the stem or around the garden boxes. I’m sure you could get artistic with it.
- —Guest Helen Lau
Iron Phosphate
- Iron Phosphate is available from several sources including Sluggo, Bonide and Ortho. Sluggo Plus with spinosad which is also a low toxicity insect control offers good control. It’s important though to realize that organic or not, these products are designed to kill a target pest. The low toxicity and natural (iron phosphate is not organic, it’s natural) nomenclature do not relieve the user of reading, understanding and following the label directions for these products. Critical issue here is simple: “Organic is not the same thing as Safe!”
- —Guest Bug Doc
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