Green Talk®

Whole Body, Healthy Home, and Sustainable Garden Inspiration

 Get Inspired.  Sign Up for Our Free Newsletter

Help! Slugs in my Garden are Ruining My Life!

By: 123 Comments

slugs
Photo by Andrew Larsen

I Hate Slugs!

Why do I hate Slugs? They are vile, ugly, slimy, gross, disgusting.   Did I say vile?  I wrote this article last August and put it away since it did not seem as pertinent at the end of summer.

Guess what?  Baby slugs have returned this June.  AND you know what that means? Giant zombie slugs by summer’s end! They were at least 4 inches last summer. I swear.

Slugs. Even the name is not pretty, and nor is the creature. Slugs like moist environments. Being a younger gardener, I have never heard of them. The master gardeners warned me that all that straw I was using as mulch would attract them.  Being defiant I wanted to keep my straw.

Every organic book I read talked about using 6 to 8 inches of straw as mulch. I decided those master gardeners were not “organic” enough. They obviously didn’t know about Ruth Stout, the mulch queen, who used straw.

I just blew off their comments.

Slugs in the Garden.

Last August, one night, my husband was down in the garden and saw a brown spotted slimy thing on the wall. Of course, he did not remove it. When I went down, it was gone. I figured that it left or was eaten by something. Nothing to worry about, I thought.

slugs
Photo by Melanie Burger

Well, the proverbial shoe dropped, and my luck ran out.

One late night,  as I was checking something in the garden, I reached my hand into the strawberry patch.  I touched something so disgusting, I just shudder when I think of it. I hate to wear gardening gloves since I can’t feel as easy with them on.

Not even thinking, I instinct grabbed “it” with my bare hands and threw it on the ground. I let out a shriek that I can’t believe no one heard me.

There it was on the ground.  The MOST disgusting creature I have ever seen. Long, spotted, slimy, and no redeeming features PLUS I had slime all over my hands. (Take a look at the picture above, and tell me if I am being a Drama Queen.)

Since I am a kind soul, I put on my gloves and scooped it up and took it far away from my garden.  I just did not have the heart to kill it. For fifteen minute, I struggled to remove the slime off my hands.  Just to get the picture, anything your kids have done that you have cleaned up, just does not compare to this slime.

The next day I did some research about slugs to find out that they appear, when they mate and  how they mate. (You really do not want to read about this because it is just plain disgusting),  In fact, a single slug can produce 300 eggs. I was doomed. My garden is surrounded by boulders, with cracks and crevices for the slugs to hide in.

Slug Hunting Begins

That night my husband and I were armed with flash lights and started combing the garden. All we were missing was camouflage gear and paint. Why? Slugs come out at night.  I thought I would find just a few.

Oh no, we found at least 20 of them with probably an army hiding in the rocks near my garden.

Everywhere we turned there was a slug. The first few we gingerly carried into the woods, hoping the slugs would be someone’s meal just as nature intended.  After the second trip to the woods, we decided this was silly.

I remember reading that you can kill them by drowning them in soapy water. My husband fetched a pail and dumped our organic dishwashing soap into the bucket.  All of my “nature intended these creatures to live” sensibilities went out the window when it was me against them and they were sucking the juices out of my strawberries.

We started picking up these creatures and dumping them into the pail.  They would stay there for awhile and then TRY TO CRAWL OUT.  I was even more GROSSED Out when I had to knock them back into the water.

Was it our organic soap? Was it too mild?  So much for lack of chemicals.

We dumped more soap into the pail and continue the hunt for the slime ones with our flashlights. Every time I saw one, I would shriek at the top of my voice, “One at ten o’clock! I found one at ten o’clock!”

My husband would calmly tell me to pick it up and put it in the pail. This continued for at least five sightings where I got more and more disgusted. Finally he turned to me exasperated, and said, “the whole neighborhood can hear you screaming. Just pick it up and put it in the pail!”

I was psychotic by that time. They were still coming out of the pail.We kept dumping more and more organic soap into the pail. We contemplated bleach thinking that would really kill them. (If I am thinking bleach, you know how crazed I was.)

This adventure ranks up there with the scene in the movie, Willard, when all the rats would come out of nowhere and attack. I became obsessed with these slugs. They were on the brick walls, under bushes, and in plain sight. After three hours and 25 slugs, he said it was late, and time to go to bed.  I could not stop until there were no visible slugs around.  I finished around 12:30 that night.

I winched when I ate French fries the next day remembering the awful last night.

I donned by slug gear, and went out again without my hunter partner and picked up 6 more slugs.

Slug Deterrent.

The next day I did some research on how to kill and/or deter these slugs? I felt like I had an angel on one shoulder, saying “don’t kill them. Nature created these creatures as part of its cycle.”   And a devil on the other shoulder saying, “they are disgusting, what are waiting for. They are vile.”

Sluggo, Escar-Go!, and beer traps  kills slugs. I could buy these products, but isn’t there some type of companion plant that deters them?

I questioned everyone looking for the perfect slug remedy.

While talking with Dr. Hepperly of the Rodale Institute about the benefits of coffee grounds in the garden, our conversation turned to slugs. (I told you I was obsessed. No perhaps, deranged by that point.)

He was “googling” and found that rosemary was a companion plant that discourages slugs. The thought of planting rosemary all around my large garden was not encouraging.

He also suggested ducks. Can you rent a duck?  This would be the most natural way to get rid of them.  Do ducks go out at night?  What a cheap date that would be?

Some people suggested use coffee around the plants since they don’t like it. I found a research study that spoke about how 2% caffeine solution acting as a repellent and toxicant with slugs and snails. It further noted, “Caffeine solutions as low as 0.01% applied to cabbage significantly reduced slug feeding.”

Eileen from the Rodale Institute told me to use sand around the rocks where they hide since they don’t like to cross over gritty surfaces.

I even ran across a “Slug and Snail” website. (Sometimes, a girl has to do what a girl needs to do.) Matthew, the author developed this site based upon his notes at a seminar entitled “101 ways to rid your garden of slugs and snails” presented by Kingston Maurward College.  (Hmm, a 101 ways…)

This June, I found tiny brown and off-white slugs on my broccoli. In the meantime, I put coffee grounds around the plants and will be handing the Sluggo to hubby to put around the rocks.  Let him do the dirty work.

Join the Conversation

So, how do you deal with slugs?

Disclaimer:  There are some third party affiliate links to help Green Talk to keep pumping out great content.

Similar Posts:

Grow From Seed Mini Course

Grow From Seed Mini Course

Comments

  1. 2

    well you did your job very
    well with this post – i feel slimy all over just thinking about them

    I personally have never had to deal with slugs, nor have I even seen one before – until now, thanks my dear

    however my neighbor across the street and a community gardener
    ( several neighbors share the space ) swears by the beer theory — she was quoted in the paper

    would you like me to ask her ?

    Mother Earth’s last blog post..The Sun Causes Damage to Your Skin

    Reply
  2. 3

    The best solution that I’ve found is coffee. I add a cup of coffee to a big watering can (2+ gallons) and water all of my hostas with it. Plus the nitrogen in the coffee is a good fertilizer too. No more slugs and big healthy hostas, win, win for me.

    And if your soapy water solution isn’t working, then put that bleach away and just add some salt.

    Hey I love your blog. I just noticed an old MyBlogLog comment that you left me and clicked through. I wish I came here sooner.

    Anthony’s last blog post..Growing Bok Choy

    Reply
  5. 6

    I have lots of hungry creatures around my yard that cripple my gardening efforts, but slugs are the all time worst. This year it seems has been worse than any other – they are even in my house! And even though, I have decided to only try container gardening this year, they are still a nuisance. Yesterday morning I went outside only to find out the evil slugs had decimated my tomato plants.

    I hate killing other creatures and try to humanely return any small insects and spiders to the wild, but I have on occassion resorted to flushing slugs down the toilet when I find them inside.

    As for slug deterrents, I don’t have any good recommendations, though I do know from first hand experience that wood turtles like to eat slugs. Still, 300 slug eggs does sound like an awful lot. That would have to be one hungry turtle!

    Alissa’s last blog post..Can my life fit in an RV?

    Reply
  6. 7

    water, lemon ammonia, and Murphy’s oil soap…mix in a sprayer…spray slugs…they ooze to death and dissolve into the ground…non toxic to plants and animals…also for wasps and nests, spiders and other nasty bugs…

    Reply
  7. 8

    Ane, what can you use besides ammonia? Ammonia bothers me. Plus, I don’t want to spray ammonia near my plants. Anna

    Reply
  8. 9

    This year I planted 4 tomato plants and the slugs have eaten more than I have. I have seen tiny white ones, the traditional black/grey and a few of the worms. My mother suggested dumping soapy water on the plants, which I did, but two nites later when picking I grabbed a huge juicy beautiful red tomato with a huge juicy slug on the bottom. I screamed, freaked out and dropped it. I instantly took it somewhere and with 3 of my boys we squealed with delight as we sprinkled salt on the bugger (and it started to look like a booger) as any little boy would notice. I found a spray bottle and was going to add a soapy solution to it and hit certain spots and I noticed when I opened the bottle that it had vinegar in it. This was at 9:30 pm. I giggled, grabbed my flash light and went looking for 1 lone slug. I found 1 on a tomato plant and with 1 squirt it dropped into the dirt. Now I had to find 1 that I could watch. I did and after a squirt he started to curl up and make that boogery stuff and I was just standing there giggling. Now as far as what the vinegar is going to do to my plants… will keep you posted!

    Reply
  9. 10

    I can’t stand slugs. Salt kills them. I know that commercial grade vinegar kills weeds. I don’t know what household vinegar will do to your plants. Let us know. Anna

    Reply
  10. 11

    Definitely try salt. I just dump it on them and they shrivel up and die. It’s gross but it’s the only thing I know that kills them instantly.

    Reply
  11. 12

    Don’t bother trying to plant rosemary to repel the slugs and snails. My yard surrounding my garden is full of creeping rosemary. The slugs and snails don’t eat the rosemary, but they use it as a shelter. I pulled up some of the rosemary closest to my vegetable garden earlier this year when every seedling that I planted became slug/snail food. At the heavy base root of the rosemary plants that I pulled out, I found huge colonies of snails at all stages of life and eggs. AUGH! My experience was similar to yours and I was similarly crazed. The ONLY thing that worked was Sluggo Plus….it’s organic and won’t hurt the environment or wildlife, but it does kill the slugs and snails and it helped to reduce the earwig population that was also devastating my vegetable seedlings. The only downside is that Sluggo Plus is expensive and you have to reapply it every 3 weeks or month when you have a huge infestation like mine because those snail and slug eggs just keep on hatching!

    Good luck to you.

    Reply
  14. 15

    Well there is a few ways to deal with slugs. Go to the store and get some SLug killer and put it around the garden. Now the slugs in the garden just add a little salt Small amount of salt will not harm the plants. Just try not to have it directly on the leaves. Copper is supposed to be good as it will give them a mild shock when they try to crawl over it. Supposedly putting bear in a can will attract the slug and drawn. Grit or sharp sand is a deterrent. Website link has good tips.

    Reply
  15. 16

    What about some native toads? I was looking into getting a toad for my garden to eat mosquitoes and bugs, but while I was poking around I saw toads like to eat slugs too. I thought, Great! I have them too.

    Reply
    • 17

      Kelly, how big are the toads? My toads are small. I put a slug down beside it and it looked at me like I was crazy. The slug was 4x the size of the toad. Ducks actually eat them but I don’t have any of them.

      I read awhile ago they don’t like pine needles. Anna

      Reply
  16. 18

    I just put out a dish of beer & a bottle with some corn meal. I heard that they’ll die if they eat cornmeal…Hope at least one of those works….

    Reply
    • 19

      Kate, I like the corn meal idea because I heard that worms like the beer too. Have you had that problem too? Anna

      Reply
  17. 20

    When I read your blog, I thought I had found my twin! Early this morning I was picking baby slugs off my 90 year old fig tree thinking, “they deserve to live too!” Well, after reading your blog, I think I have changed my mind. By the way, the pine needles theory doesn’t do a thing to deter them. My figs are surrounded by pine needles and still inundated with slugs. I guess I will have to try the cornmeal and the beer… now to keep the dogs from getting drunk Looks like I will be needing to get more sand for my granddaughter’s sandbox. She is now contributing (without her knowledge … yet) to the hunt for the fast-moving (yes, I did say fast moving) greedy, hungry, slimy slugs! I agree – UGH! I think I’ll go take a shower…

    Reply
    • 21

      Cynthia, you just saved me alot of time since I was going to collect pine needles. I hate slugs. Anna

      Reply
  18. 22

    Hi Anna, I tried the beer routine, and guess what… the slugs could care less! They go right around the shallow dish with the beer and continue to feast off of my tree. Every day – at least 4 times a day into the evenings- I check my fig tree and manually pull those slimy critters off. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. At least I know salt works. Ugh! P.S. I also found out they like marigolds. Thought that flower was intended to repel pests instead of attract them. (Sigh)

    Reply
  19. 24

    Today I heard a new tip: dry dog food. Get any dry dog food, mix with a bit of water to form a ball and put in the garden. After the slugs gorge on the dog food, they get so big they can’t move. That’s the time to pick them up and kill them, yes….kill them!
    I have been using a spray bottle with water and salt to kill them. But then I’m left with the slimy mess. Found 23 in less than 5 minutes. Even had one crawling up the screen door last night.
    (I’m hoping the dog food doesn’t attract other animals).
    Earlier tonight I put some beer in an empty can. I dread what that can’s going to look like in the morning.

    Reply
  21. 26

    Iron phosphate baits are a people- and pet-safe option to the usual slug pesticide, metaldehyde. The baits come in the form of pellets that can be spread on the soil in the garden. When slugs swallow iron phosphate, it interferes with their metabolism, so they stop eating and starve to death surrounded by a few days.

    Reply
  22. 28

    Leave grapefruit, orange and lemon rinds out overnight close to the plants that are prone to slugs. In the morning, you will observe dead slugs lying around the plant. Make sure that you collect all the mess, which includes your fruit rinds, to properly dispose of them

    Reply
  23. 29

    Hi, We got slugs for the first time last year, we are wondering if they came from a mulch delivery as we never had them in the prior 8 years. Anyways, they are much worse this year, we found that Rose Pride (an insecticide) kills them immediately, but thats been taken off the market. We now use a mixture of amonia and water (about 6 to 1), this kills them instantly also. In one wet morning I have killed as many as 500. It’s really bad. Sometimes if its a sunny morning, I can stand in the driveway and see glistening slug trails all over the driveway with dried up crispy black dead slugs at the end of each trail, guess those are the guys that did not make it back to safety before the sun got to them. I’m just scared that they are winning as in total we must have killed at least 3000 over these wet weeks. Ewww, now I’m sick to my stomach again just thinking about it.

    Reply
    • 30

      Cheryl, reading your comment of thousands of slugs gives me nightmares. The invasions of the slugs…Where do you live that you get so many slugs? Anna

      Reply
  24. 31

    I’m itchy all over after reading all this and thinking about how I handpicked over 20 slugs out of my vegetable garden last night…yuck! It took me 5 min. to wash my hands and be free of the slime. I’ve put rosemary clippings all around my plants; basil, egg shells, coffee grounds… and they are still there! I’m going to go spray them with the coffee solution right now. They have attacked my peppers (bell, pablano, jalapeno, Anaheim…and now they are going for the squash, zucchini and tomatoes. I HATE SLUGS… If the coffee doesn’t work, I’m getting a duck!!!

    Reply
  25. 33

    Haha, I hate annoying slugs, especially in the garden! Down here, in Southern Louisiana, we have huge slugs and when they are around they come in packs of 30 or more, very annoying. Where are you located at? I do believe that garden slug annoyances are something that only occurs in certain locations around the world. I am going to do a bit of research and see if I can’t figure out a solution to your problem! I will be in touch, good post, very out of the ordinary lol. -Will @ The Compost Bin Tumbler Gardening Blog.
    .-= Compost Bin Tumbler´s last blog ..Learn How Using Urine Can Activate Compost Pile =-.

    Reply
    • 34

      Compost Bin Tumbler, I am in New Jersey but my garden is around alot of rocks. I actually saw today slime on the brick wall around the garden. Yeech. The slugs like to hide in the rocks.

      While I have you. How do I make sure my tomato seeds from making sauce die in my compost? This year I used my compost and had tomato seedlings growing everywhere. Anna

      Reply
  26. 35

    I have just had SLUGS devour my ornamental cabbage plants.went to the garden centre today and purchased Slug pellets,A beer trap,disposed of 2 slugs with salt,it is now 20.42 hrs and i am going down my garden with the Vinigar spray,god help the slimey pests.
    Dave the Slug EXTERMINATER is on the way ….how dare they eat my cabbages ……………………….

    Reply
  27. 36

    Funny story, I live in a row of about 9 Condos. We each have a patio area enclosed with brick that is about seven feet tall. Well, tonight as I was just checking on my basil outside, and I saw this BIG HUGE SLIMY UGLY GRAY DISGUSTING AWFUL CREEPY CRAWLY SLUG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I screamed and I am pretty sure everyone in our row woke up. OOPS. I have tried egg shells, coffee grounds, adding lime to the soil, soap spray, decreasing the amount I water, and the stupid things are still there. How do slugs contribute to the ecosystem? There must be some way they keep it balanced! Is it to feed ducks?

    I just do not like slugs. YUCK.
    .-= Corrie´s last blog ..Threadless Tshirt Giveaway at jaypeeonline.net =-.

    Reply
  28. 37

    Amazing how much passion these nasty creatures stir up in us gardeners.
    I just spent a good hour with a flashlight and chopsticks and a container of soapy water. Find slug, drop in soapy water, on to the next. I must have picked up a good 50 of them. My little chrysanthemum plants easily had about 20 slugs each, and are covered in slime AND eaten away. I don’t think they’re going to survive. I’ll go out again every night until the slugs are gone.
    Soapy water and chopsticks and flashlight. That’s the ticket.

    Reply
    • 38

      I have become obsessed with the extermination of the slugs that are ruining all my beautiful flowers. Each night I go out with a flashlight and a cup of Corona beer. I pluck the slimy suckers off the plants and drop them into the beer. They die quickly. After a successful hunt I go in and celebrate by finishing the rest of the beer.

      Reply
  29. 39

    Spread natural or agricultural-grade diatomaceous earth over the soil in flower beds or around individual plants. The tiny, sharp-edged granules cut the soft-bodied slugs and cause them to dehydrate. Reapply after each rainfall.
    Minimize the moist and cool spots in your garden, such as woodpiles and empty flowerpots, which slugs and snails need to survive sunny days.

    Reply
  30. 41

    I’ve not seen anyone mention using wood ashes around their plants nor the importance of watering only in the morning to keep slugs at bay. Also, letting your garden rest every 7 years per God’s instructions starves out a lot of pests. Using only organic compost and encouraging lots of worms helps also — the worms eat slug eggs.
    Not planting plants too close (so they have good air circulation to help keep things relatively dry around them most of the time helps also). Laying roofing shingles around edge of garden and tromping on them each morning is helpful also (the dead ones under there are bait for new ones to come — not only a good morning leg exercise — but you don’t even need to lift them up very often once you find you are killing most of them).

    Reply
  31. 43

    Your slug problems sound like my garden’s japanese beetle problem. I’m all for allowing nature to be nature but when it takes out almost every bush in my garden, it’s time for those little bugs to die.

    What worked for me was to plant plants that aren’t attractive to the bug in question to encourage them to eat elsewhere. For example, if you have hostas, consider freecycling them. And beer traps. I swear by beer traps. Make sure you use really crappy beer in the shallow pan. Slugs are a cheap date and only like cheap beer – so much so that they drown in it.
    .-= Condo Blues ´s last blog ..How Do You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions? =-.

    Reply
    • 44

      I’m with you. I don’t mind “sharing” a few berries and veggies (bugs gotta eat, too), but when they start to take over (which is usually when I’m not paying attention) then it’s me against them!

      Reply
    • 47

      Solar Global, when you are staring at 20 plus of them, your mind wonders to barbaric action. Look at me with drowning them…Anna

      Reply
  34. 48

    Ewwww. I laughed when I saw that someone recommended corn meal…that will clean out their insides and fatten them up….for escargo! Extra protein in your diet anyone? I’m serious….the old timers from my Dad’s village used to “raise” them when times were tough for a “free” protein source, and they raised them on cornmeal!

    Sluggo Plus …..or order Escar-Go from
    Gardens Alive http://www.gardensalive.com
    I don’t have any affiliation with these products. Through trial and error, I have found these to be the two that work and are approved for Organic Gardening uses. They won’t harm wildlife or the environment. As a cancer survivor, I am really careful NOT to put poison on my garden.

    A couple of weeks ago I just had to reorder and apply it because we have had a lot of rain… and my cabbage and greens were becoming productive little slug and snail hatcheries. I harvested yesterday and no more little baby slimmy things in the wash water. Lots of aphids though….but I am usually just inclined to wash those off or make homemade “soap” with a little Dr. Bronners, boiled strained orange peel, and water. That seems to work, but you have to be careful not to overapply or apply in hot weather or some plants burn.

    Best wishes!

    Reply
    • 49

      Yosifah, thank for the Escar-Go product review. I have this product too.

      Why the boiled orange peel for aphids? Anna

      Reply
  35. 50

    Orange peel contains d-Limonene which is a natural pesticide, bug repellent, degreaser, cleaner, and air freshener!
    I boil a cut up orange peel and let it sit overnight. Then I crush the orange peel and strain off the liquid. Dilute it with water and add liquid natural soap — just be careful not to overuse and burn the plant. Experiment with it until you get the right measures.

    Also from the kitchen straight to the garden — used coffee grounds and tea — just dump around plants. After you eat a banana, cut up the peel and throw it around plants as natural fertilizer.

    I keep a plastic pitcher in my sink that I dump any extra tea or coffee or clean rinse water in. Then the cut up banana peels and any little pieces of vegetables get dump in it. Every day I dump it onto some plants or in the garden. After I peel carrots, I cut up the skins and those get dumped into the garden, the compost bin, or into the worm bin. I never throw away any vegetable or fruit scraps. Even the eggs shells go into the garden – hand crushed first!

    If fruit flies become a problem, just turnover the dirt and bury the scraps. I have a compost bin, but I also use the lazy gardening techniques that I mentioned above. 😉 I mostly make my own homemade fertilizer this way.

    Yes, the slugs and snails love the debris — that’s why I use the Sluggo or Escar-go.

    Happy organic gardening!

    Reply
  36. 52

    Sluggo works, I am in Va. and we have tons of rain. Works like a charm. I found it at Kmart, Home Depot and Lowes do not carry it.

    Reply
  37. 53

    Assuming you’ve already solved your slug dilemma, but I think diatomaceous earth should do the trick. That is what I am going to try for my strawberry patch this year. Last year I bearly found a handful of uneaten berries, thanks for the slugs. Disgusting? Heck, yes!

    Reply
  38. 55

    If people are going to sprinkle salt on slugs, why waste the salt? Just violently smash them with a shovel since you’ve already spent the time to individually hunt them.

    Reply
    • 57

      There ya go, Jon! Squash bugs and potato bugs are easy to drown and I’ve been smushing cucumber beetles, and now slugs (thank God just tiny ones so far). Just started a strawberry patch last summer. Turned over a berry yesterday (in the evening) and found 4 slugs! They don’t reproduce at only 1/2 inch or so, do they?

      Reply
  39. 58

    I had my first run in with slugs last night and now I too am obsessed with ridding my beautiful garden of them. I saw a video online last night which suggested shallow dishes of beer (they are drawn to the yeast and then bloat and die) and also sprinkling oatmeal (they will eat the oatmeal and then it expands in their bellies…and well you can imagine the rest) So I started with oatmeal, no sense in waisting good beer… I will buy the cheap stuff tonight. I spent many back breaking hours on that garden and while I feel as if my garden Buddah is warning me of bad karma I can no help myself but to want to obliterate them.

    Reply
  40. 60

    Good luck with that. I tried the oatmeal, but I didn’t have any success. Oatmeal might had made them a little gassy (maybe that’s what they mean by bloating their stomaches), but when I put it out around my yard….it sure did not kill any snails!

    Reply
  42. 62

    So does anything work? My slugs are still little and got some orthomax flower and vegtable spray from walmart i hope it works. I really don’t care if they die they are eating my plants.

    Reply
  43. 64

    So do the slugs eat Sluggo not sure how it works, or when they touch it do they die? I had gone into Lowes and other different places man there were plenty of different products but I couldn’t find sluggo. So I got this product called ecosense slug and snail killer. 1% iron phosphate 99% other ingredients (LOL). I’m still looking for Sluggo. Thank You

    Reply
  44. 66

    To funny a couple of weeks ago I asked my husband to pick me up some potting soil, well he did he got me a HUGE bag of cheap cheap potting soil. I not being wasteful still used it. It was so full of fine bark I kept getting these super fine slivers. To get to my point I couldnt figure out why the slugs hadn’t eaten my swiss chard, well I know why I used that cheap soil around my swiss chard and I think the slugs don’t like crossing over that. So I covered a six inch barrior around my tomatoes and potatoes and WOW no slugs!!! I’m not sure if that ecosense worked or not but last night I didn’t see many slugs out. The potting soil is called Ace Potting Soil from ace hardware store. Thanks Green Talk!!!!!!! Love this site!!!

    Reply
  45. 67

    I have an interesting slug solution that is easy and non-toxic and am looking for people for the final trial-run. Any takers? It is free – all I need is your feedback.

    Reply
  46. 69

    I have developed a woven barrier that wraps around the base of individual plants. It is completely natural, non-toxic and weatherproof. No need to re-administer after it rains. No need to poison your plants and your soil. I have several samples available for people to test. All I need is your feedback. Just send me a mailing address and I will send out some samples. It is also good to include the types of plants you will use as a test. [dalessandro22@gmail.com]
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • 70

      Giuseppe, tell us about what the product is made of and in fact I would love to test it. You can reach me at my contact page.

      Reply
  47. 71

    The product is made of woven copper. I will send you some. What plants will you test on? Where do you live? (Sorry for the delay, I only just received an email notification of your posting.)

    Reply
  49. 74

    Ok, I would love for you to try this out. How do I get them to you? (the contact form did not work) Thanks.

    Reply
  52. 78

    I guess slugs aren’t that bad after all. They might look disgusting and are slimy but that doesn’t mean they’re vile though. But when they get large in number, that could be very horrifying. So it’s better to take those creatures of the garden before they dominate it. It’s horrible.

    Reply
  53. 79

    Simple solution is to place a bowl of beer or bowls in the area you wish to attack. This is a friendly approach to removing the problem. They love the beer and cannot help but dive in for a drink.

    Reply
    • 81

      They are lushes and their drinking is only surpassed by their eating!

      The Slug Shields eliminate the need to clean out or even look at a bowl of dead, bloated and smelly slugs. Slug Shields are also humane.

      Can you imagine drunk frogs trying to catch drunk slugs!

      Reply
  54. 82

    Try surrounding plants with a protective barrier of human hair so the slugs get all tangled up and hopefully strangle. The hair will be unsightly around your plants but I think they will break down into the soil overtime without harming them.

    Reply
  55. 83

    Hi Anna. your blog is adorable. personally I think slugs are actually really cute. I know I know you think i am gross but those little feelers on their “head?” poking around make me giggle. regardless of my opinion on the slugs beauty, they are pretty gross and slimy and can ruin a good portion of any garden they inhabit. and the slime is a real pain to wash off. similar to spilling straight bleach on your hand, youll wash and wash and it just keeps feeling slippery when its wet. seeing how hard the slime is to wash makes you wonder how much of that slime stays on the fruits and veggies that you found them on and the others they possibly crawled on. unfortunately I have no advise to get rid of them but i am curious about how the coffee and water solution works when sprayed on your plants. it seems like a logical and inexpensive solution.
    I would be careful of using different means of luring them to later kill them since although it may make it easier to get em in one spot and away from your valued plants, the lure may attract more slugs and/or other fruit and veggy eating critters. groundhogs being the main culprit i was thinking of since we both live in NJ. I also know how it is going from one day feeling sympathy for a living creature to the next hating that same creature and wanting its whole race dead. for me it is more the groundhog but i am starting another garden at my house in the villas near cape may and I know there are many slugs there. well, hopefully i will find a post here somewhere that tells me how well the coffee solution worked and be rid of my slugs as well. thanks

    Reply
    • 84

      Bryan, I was told by Dr H (of Rodale Institute) that our coffee doesn’t have enough caffeine to work but it is worth a try. Eileen of Rodale Institute told me to put sand around my rocks since they don’t like to cross it.

      I also removed the straw from my strawberry plant so they can’t hide in there. Let me if you have any luck with your coffee.

      As for ground hogs, one ate all my soy beans last year. Don’t get me started on ground hogs….

      Also, thanks for the compliment about my blog! You made my day.

      Reply
  56. 85

    yes the groundhogs are terrible. and worse about them is once you have one, it doesnt go away untill the food supply does. usually they will make their home under a shed or some other protective structure which typically there always is around your garden. thne theyll pop out when your not around and ruin all your hard work. the only way I have found to get rid of them is to block them out, which is not easy. what i did was use the rusty old concrete reinforcment caging that I use to make my tomato cages. they needed replacing anyway so it cost me nothing but sweat. I dug a trench around my shed and basically my whole garden and buried the cage about a foot deep and up to the bottom of the shed and fence and it hasnt been back since. I did see it a couple of times coming from the front of my backyard but I suppose because it didnt have an escape route, it didnt want to take the risk since they are not the quickest or smallest of rodents and do not seem to like to crawl around in open spaces. its tough but effective. best not to do it all at once, just keep blocking their entrances and exits when you find them, or just start at one end and go a little ata time. make sure you do it right and itll be there forever and you will have that many more soybeans. anyway, I will try the coffee solution and let you know how its working in the months to come. thanks for the quick reply, Happy Gardening!!

    Reply
  57. 86

    I’ve been doing CSS design since as long as I can remember, and seriously, it’s not that hard. If you approach the process from the point of view of doing it right the first time, know a few of the biggest browser quirks, and adjust for smaller quirks, you’re going to have a much easier time than with table layout.

    Reply
  59. 88

    There is also the old standby of the ‘beer bowl’ slug trap. In my experince it takes at least three beers to get the job done. Step one: Open a beer and drink it while looking for a couple of shallow bowls. Place the bowls in your garden and fill each with half a beer. The slugs will seek out the beer and drown themselves in it. Seriously! Now for the third beer. Drink that one while congratulating yourself on a job well done!

    Reply
  60. 89

    This is my second year to use coffee grounds in my garden. I till it in as an amendment to our sandy soil. But this year I have also been using it to keep the pests away. I can say that I am virtually free of snails and stink bugs. And I probably wouldn’t have any snails if I hadn’t planted celery. Snails love to hide in the celery. I take the coffee grounds and put them around the perimeter of my garden and also around each plant. I also put sand around my squash to keep the snails away. So far it’s all working great. FTY about the coffee grounds. Our ground is very sandy, so we add a lot of different things to create good growing soil. manure, compost, and sawdust. We found that the sawdust adds texture to hold moisture, but it also takes out the nitrogen. So for us using coffee grounds is the perfect solution.

    Reply
  61. 91

    Slugs are a troublesome issue. They have a destructive effect on young seedlings, especially in spring when plants and pests emerge. Those that go unseen, the underground slugs are also a vice to your garden. Theese underground counterparts are harmful to growing potatoes, preventing plants from flourishing.

    Reply
  62. 93

    We don’t have slugs here but we do have plenty of snails. I get coffee grounds from our local coffee house and I put them around the perimeter of our garden and around each plant. So far I have been snail and bug free. I’m crossing my fingers that this will be the answer to those pesty pests.

    Another organic tip for ants. We get red ants in our garden and other areas in our yard. Instead of ant bait I use cornmeal. Making sure the area is dry, I sprinkle the cornmeal around the ants nest area. The ants carry the cornmeal back into their next and eat it. The cornmeal swells up and then they die. It might sound cruel for those who don’t like to kill insects, but they are pests and they sting if they get on you.

    Reply
  63. 95

    Slug Shields are a new slug and snail deterrent. They are recommended by the University of California Davis Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program. 100% non-toxic and they last all season. I am happy not to have to apply slug pellets (which do contain toxins) anymore. I don’t even care if it rains because the shields are unaffected.

    Reply
  64. 96

    I take the coffee grounds and put them around the perimeter of my garden and also around each plant. I also put sand around my squash to keep the snails away. So far it’s all working great. FTY about the coffee grounds. Our ground is very sandy, so we add a lot of different things to create good growing soil.

    Reply
  65. 98

    I know this sounds so cruel, but it really works great. I water my garden area just after dusk then wait for several hours for the slugs to appear in huge numbers. I take a flashlight and a propane torch (the kind with the button starter on it. If you use a propane torch that you need a clicker starter, your fingers will get tired just trying to click the starter every 10 seconds). Anyway, I spot them with the flashlight because the appear so shiny at night when the light hits them they are easy to see. I just click the torch and heat them for several seconds and WHAMO, they are fried little critters. If your repeat this action several hours later, the dead slugs will usually be covered by their family members who are eating them. YUK. Takes care of the problem without poison and it brings out the Boy Scout fire starter in me. Happy Hunting…

    Reply
  66. 100

    I have never laughed so much LOL. What a great article. Here’s my predicament…. Imagine a circular lawn newly laid last year. Now picture a 2ft wide circular bed of African Marigolds going all the way around the lawn, planted just 2 days ago. Now imagine me hand picking approximately 350 baby slugs off the lawn last night and burning them in a plant pot – knowing full well the only way off that lawn was through my marigold bed!!!! AAAAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhh !!!!!

    Reply
  67. 102

    Hi All,

    I have been using those copper slug shields this year and they really work. Can’t believe that my plants are protected now – for the season – and I don’t have to worry. What an ingenious, low-tech invention! I can see where the multiple strands of wire are more effective than buying stuff at the hardware store and this also allows it to expand.

    Happy gardening!

    Reply
  69. 106

    I raise chickens along with a wide variety of veggie plants. Don’t throw away your egg shells. I save them all yr in a box, in my cold room. I Use crushed egg shells around plants such as cabbages. Just place them around / under the plants. Slugs do not like the sharp rough texture. Works, swear to god. You can also feed them back to your chickens for nutrient additive. No, it does NOT make your chickens eat their eggs. A egg eater is an egg eater and you roast the little sucker.

    Reply
  70. 108

    This year I have been inundated with small white snails (San Diego County, Ca.) They have ate dozens of my tomatoes; and put holes in many . I’m spraying with vinegar. Please help. Fr. Benedict

    Reply
  71. 111

    I am quite disgusted by the amount of disgust you project in this post, to be honest. I have worked with molluscs for nearly five years and I consider them beautiful and amazing creatures and there is nothing disgusting about their appearance or any part of their life cycle (have you tried to read how humans mate? Thats like pretty or what??). I do understand that slugs are a nuisance in the garden, however it is your personal opinion that they are “MOST disgusting creature I have ever seen”.
    Instead, try looking at them through how well they are equipped to survival.This is an opportunity for your kids (and YOU!!!) to learn and observe, not to be freaking out and shrieking (which is a pretty bad reaction for anyone, let alone someone who wants to be a gardener).
    As far as killing is concerned, putting them into a plastic box and freezing is a very simple and humane alternative, then just throw them onto compost and you are done!

    Reply
    • 112

      Veronika,

      So sorry you were offended. My gardening adventures are meant to be funny and yes, I think slugs are disgusting especially when they eat everything in your garden. But I hear you. Thanks for putting it my slug thoughts perspective.

      How do you suggest keeping them out of the garden so that don’t destroy everything? They love seedling and have killed mine. Any suggestions would be helpful.

      Tell me about your work. What can slugs teach us. I am so curious now.

      Thanks again for weighing in and giving some food for thought. So appreciated. Anna

      Reply
  72. 113

    Veronika I agree i Rusty James 10 Years old just loves slugs and snails.
    I dont know what paticuarly i like about the creatures but i do I agree with you.

    Reply
  73. 114

    I live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Damp, warm, drizzly slug heaven. Our wild areas are full of slugs and snails and so are our yards and gardens. I have been fighting slugs here for over 30 years. Many of the suggestions on this website are on target.
    Beer works but it’s a lot of work. I garden organically so the old style metaldehyde baits are dangerous to pets and wildlife and not allowed. The Sluggo type iron pellets work well, are safe and biodegrade. Running a soaker hose in the evening and going out with a headlamp to kill slugs works for fighting infestations. I enjoy using my garden clippers to snip them. One snip and they die.
    Because slugs lay so many eggs and reproduce rapidly a key to beating the slug problem is to start early in the spring. I watch for slugs when I let the dog out in the evening or when I’m doing yard work. If I start spreading Sluggo as soon as I start seeing little slugs in the spring I seem to have little trouble with managing them and it doesn’t take much slug bait or effort. If I wait until the slugs are a big problem it’s hard to get them under control and it takes much more time and effort.

    Reply
    • 116

      Yeah, but…..Iron Phospahte baits (i.e. SLUGGO) do contain toxins that harm earthworms and soil invertebrates, both of which support for very healthy plants. It’s not just Iron Phosphate as they say “naturally occurs in the soil and is actually a fertilizer” – what a line! The new stuff is not nearly as bad as the old stuff, but it is toxic.

      I’m a fan of Slug Shield. Easy to use, attractive and non-toxic…they last all year and can be re-used.

      Reply
  74. 117

    If you have a woodstove, try to save the ashes. In the spring, sprinkle them around your plants in ring about an inch wide. For some reason, the slugs wont cross the ashes. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and we have all different kinds of slugs all over the place. You will need to repeat this every so often, more if it rains hard and washes the ash into the soil. You said you have a rock border in your garden….you might try sprinkling some ash in there and see if that helps run them off. Good luck.

    Reply
  75. 118

    Slugs grrrr….I read that if you mix 1 part amonia to 10 parts of water and spray this all over you garden in the spring it will kill the eggs before they hatch. I am going to try this next spring but for now the only sure way to get control of them safely is hand picking them late at night or early in the morning ugggg.

    Reply
  76. 120

    I battle slugs in southern Vermont. The only thing that works for me is diligent nightly collection of all the baby and adult slugs and killing them, either by dropping into soapy water and capping for a day or so or snipping them in half or squishing the baby ones, especially the eggs. I have never seen a worm eat slug eggs, beer doesn’t work, oats dont work,, corn doesn’t work, orange and grapefruit rinds ATTRACT them instead of repelling them (an upside down peel of half a grafruit or orange is a good trap for catching them to kill), diatomaceous earth doesn’t work when wet and besides is deadly to worms and many beneficial insects, i saw a slug last night languidly moving across a crushed eggshell so those don’t work either — obviously some of these things work for some people, but I have also read of experiments of all of these things and their blatant failure. Sluggi pellets seem to work but in large adults only, the smaller slugs nor the babies are not affected, the pellets are too big. Plus it is questionable whether irona phosphate tablets plus the EDTA that is used to release it are safe (Sluggo). I encourage everyone to diligently do your research. Ninety percent of “information” out there are hackneyed repetitions of a rumor. Most are untrue.

    http://www.hostalibrary.org/fi.....sphate.htm

    Thr only thing that works is to diligently reduce the current population and each succeeding population by going out at night with a flashlight abd eliminating them one by one, i did this all of last summer and I can see a difference. They aren’t gone but much reduced. A block up the hill at the community garden is a completely different story, they are a carpet. Slugs can travel distances to get to their food source, so throwing them over a fence isn’t good enough. Plus each slug has both female and male parts and can lay 300-800 eggs per lifetime. There are insects who eat them, ducks and some chickens and birds eat them, hedgehogs eat them, toads eat them; slugs contribute to the biodiversity as well as the decomposition of plant matter, making soil. If they would only stick to the masses of weeds and stay off the basil, everything would be fine, but everything is far from fine.

    Here is the blog with the experiments:

    http://www.gardenmyths.com/how.....ous-earth/

    Good luck.

    Olga

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RSS Green Talk Radio

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

RSS Green Talk TV