How do you get rid of slugs in your garden? They're a real pest in mine and seem to eat just about everything. I've tried using salt but it only seems to work if I'm actively out there at night for hours every single night getting rid of them. I'm trying cornmeal to get rid of them now and that seems to be working, but slowly. I've used copper tape before, but I don't want it to end up injuring my dogs. I've also tried shingle, pots with jagged edges and egg shells, but they didn't do any good at all. Thanks for any suggestions.
We've been deluged with rain lately, and I'm noticing more and more slugs out front, on the balcony, and in the driveway. I would have thought they'd mainly be where the plants are, but they climb up the house and I've even been finding them on the cat I use to feed the stray cats. I've heard about using salt, but like you, I'm hesitant to use anything that might harm the animals. I hope someone can suggest something helpful, because I've been wondering as well, just forgot to post about it.
I too used to have a serious slug problem at this place I rented. I was at a loss as to what to do to get rid of them. I too then found out sprinkling salt along their path got rid of them. But I was very reluctant to use it because nobody seemed able to tell me whether or not it was harmful to them. Luckily, I didn't remain there for very long, as I found a better place to move to. I do hope you get some useful answers
I really don't know why our garden have slugs once in a while. My suspicion is the compost bin that is not checked at all (since it is a bin for trash and other biodegradable). What we do is to make a hunt day like Saturday morning, all of us would hunt the slug and collect them in a pail. After the collection, we would grind the slugs with a stone or hammer on the concrete. The resulting mash will be mixed in soil and dried under the sun. That is a good mix for fertilizer which is very potent for flowering plants.
I even tried going out and collecting them up at night. I collected well over 100 slugs and then the following night there was again well over 100 slugs there. It went like that for a week and at that point I gave up. That was just far too many slugs for me to be able to keep collecting and dealing with, and I don't really like having to be outside for a few hours in the dark either, when they're more likely to be out in the garden. It's so bad you can hear them all crawling around. There's a constant sizzling noise of them moving through the grass. I even found one that was the size of a tennis ball. That thing was disgusting! I like the idea of being able to use them as a fertilizer though. At least that gives me something to use them for, if I collect them all up by hand. How much of them do you need to use as fertilizer? I usually use nettles, or rhubarb leaves, as fertilizer but it might be useful to have an additional natural fertilizer!
Yes I've had slugs in the garden before. I think I tried coffee. I put old coffee in a sprayer and sprayed the plants that had the slugs the most. I've also heard that vinegar and water sprayed on it works as well. I also remember my mom telling me that salt works as well. I think you can use regular salt o epsom salt sprinkled on your garden soil. The salt will dry up the slugs. Slugs also don't like to crawl over things so barriers work well so rocks, gravel or pea stones work well. Apparently slugs like beer, so fill up a shallow bowl and then in the morning dispose of all the slugs you've caught. Good luck.
Wow, apparently my slug issue isn't nearly as bad as some. I've never heard them rustling through the grass, but there are other things that do rustle through the grass here, and perhaps they eat slugs, so I leave them alone. The slugs have been climbing up the poles on houses here. I don't know if they're trying to escape the water that's ponding on the lawns and driveways, but I don't usually see them climbing up like that.
Yea, I have to agree, the noise that they make is not something I'd choose to listen to LOL But I also found all the slime a bit gross, and they always leave a trail behind them LOL Yet in recent years I've heard the slime is very good for your skin. I've seen all these beauty products in beauty stores, that claim to contain it and wow, they're extortionate! Using them for the compost is another new one for me. Clearly the things have many uses hehe
You're so lucky so lucky, @Diane Lane! They make this odd noise I don't like, it just sounds weird LOL Mine used to make their way into the house even, and they'd make such a mess! I never did anything to them for fear of harming them. I just scooped them up with gloves and tried to put them as far away from the door as possible LOL But they still made their way back Luckily, I don't have that problem anymore as we don't get them in Botswana. Too dry and hot, I guess?
I get them in the house too! I stood on one (accidentally, I might add... Who'd want to stand on one of those?!) and it sort of squirted all the way up my leg. It was disgusting! I hate slugs so much haha. I find them on doors, on walls, even upstairs. I guess they get in through the windows upstairs? I've tried putting salt along the bottom of doors in case they're coming in there but it doesn't seem to stop them much. I might have to move to Botswana to get away from them? LOL
I actually put a line of salt all around my garden and they haven't bothered it at all. I also found a repellent at a pest control store that helps for doors and windows. It's a family owned place in my area so I would recommend that you check places by your towns to see what they have.
Slugs look like docile creatures going about their slimy business but they are of economic importance when it comes to gardening. They are also prolific breeders and their eggs can be found in moisture around the plants. The best way to get rid of slugs is to trap them using a shallow plate filled with beer. The slugs will be attracted to the beer and will drown in the process.
