Slugs

[Rocky]

My grandmother used to put plastic containers (with the bottom cut off) over her small plants and then she would go out at 10pm and hunt for slugs! We made a lot of jokes about her slug hunting hobby but all of her plants were beautiful so clearly it worked.
The beer container sounds like it is a little less labor intensive! I will have to try that!

 

[Pat]

I have used salt to kill the slugs and snails in the past. The sand around the plants also sounds like a good plan to incorporate into the garden plan this spring.

 

[Pol Bishop]

I know a great way to deal with slugs as well as worms. You just need diatomaceous earth, which is safe for pets or children, but all the worms and slugs will surely avoid it. You have to sprinkle it around your planting site.

 

[dim]

I've tried them all .... the only thing that I found to work well, are the slug pellets (the blue ones) .... you need to keep on adding them continuously during the year

I've tried the garlic spray, and that does not work either

coffee grounds is a watse of time .... they do not work at all (on the slugs/snails in the UK) ... egg shels are a waste of time

nematodes are supposed to work, but you need to water the whole garden in february, otherwise you are wasting your money

 

[Marie]

When using egg shells to deter slugs, you MUST crush them to nearly powder, if you leave them as just somewhat squashed (such as trod on or mashed with a fork), there's something in the liquidy-resin-inside-stuff (I didn't do chemistry, can you tell? ) that attracts them, rather than deter them.

I'd suggest, if you have a serious slug problem, eat sweetcorn (Corn on the cob). When you're finished, don't throw out the cobs, but leave them in the middle of your lawn or garden, amongst your veg, or wherever they are spotted most. During the night, go out with a pair of scissors (a head torch also helps), and you'll find that the slugs have all moved to the corn to feast, and all you have to do is snip them (clean in half) dead. Don't forget to check the area immediately surrounding the cobs, as there may be more slugs about.
Whilst this may seem extreme and a lot of hard work, it is very satisfying, as you know that you're catching slugs, and each one that you kill will not be eating your plants any more! If you do this every time you have sweetcorn, or possibly every night for about a week, then most of your slug problems should be gone.

Worms are good for the soil and plants etc, as they help to produce compost. I don't see why anyone would want to deter these from their gardens..? :S

 

[Twinkle]

I will certainly give many of these tips a try, as last year I came across quite a few of the slugs.

 

[LindaKay]

Salt and egg shells both work. Take it from me: I HATE those things. They just really creep and gross me out.

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

I will reiterate the beer idea - it works like a charm. I use a small plastic container (like a margarine tub) and set it into the ground so that the top is roughly at ground level. Add beer and wait. Just make sure to check the container as it can get full of slugs. On a side note - I have managed to get a few mice in the beer trap as well.

 

[zigs]

Did the mice drink themselves to death, or just fall in? Suppose it's hard to tell the difference

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

I think it was death by misadventure for the mice. The area is naturally fairly dry and there are very rarely puddles for animals to take drinks from. The beer probably looked good to them. They were floating in the tub in the morning so they probably drowned rather than dying directly from the alcohol. Maybe I should send one in for an autopsy.

 

[zigs]

We had a well on the allotment that had a hand pump, every now and again there would be a little plop as a drowned mouse got sucked thru the pump into the bucket

 

[sissy]

milky spore gets rid of slugs