Slugs!

Hi everyone: I have a slug infestation--but enough about my neighbors--lol... Seriously though--what I hate about my garden is that every year I'm looking for a new way to kill slugs. I'm looking forward to moving so that this (hopefully) won't be much of an issue at my new house. Anything new on the market that is safe? I've used Sluggo and like it quite a bit. Because I'm moving, I've put some veggies in containers and what a difference! The container plants are much healthier and the others looked sickly until I put Bug Getta around my plants and every morning there's a sickly slug mess out there. My two cats like to roam around my yard (it's fenced-in so no worries cat lovers), and I'm not crazy about using commercial slug killer out there. Are slugs very common? (I'm in PA) Do I have this to look forward to again when I move? I've tried the coffee, beer route and neither of those have worked for me. Stephanie

Reply to
steflink01
Loading thread data ...

If you're looking for a new way to kill slugs, why not go to your liquor store and buy some imported European beer to kill them?

Turn your Memorial Day weekend into a full scale slug festival!!!!

Reply to
Cereus-validus.....

Make that a full SNAIL slug festival.

Reply to
paghat

I looked at a study recently that compared various types of beer along with wine, fruit juice, and alcohol in water, yeast in sugar solution, and plain water. There was a big variation how well the various beers worked. The other substances didn't work very well at all. As I recall, Budweiser worked the best. I have had some luck using a solution of sugar, water, and baking yeast. The study said that lager yeast was the best. I suppose you can find that at store that sell beer making supplies. I have such a large area to cover a with about 300 hostas, that I have all but given up. I got some iron phosphate bate on deep discount and have had some success with that, but it was very expensive and I couldn't see buying more at full price.

Reply to
Vox Humana

FRESH beer worked as slug ATTRACTANT (it is even used for native slug & snail population counts by researchers who don't want native mulloscs to be harmed). It doesn't attract them when it goes flat, & doesn't kill them at all UNLESS it induces them to fall into something deep enough they can't get out of & so drown & if it isn't already full of drowned frogs & beetles & earthworms & baby garter snakes & beneficial insects to help make the depth a shallow enough for them to climb out of even a deep trap. Some people literally put out pie tins of beer, which is like putting out milk for the cats, it'll just make 'em happier & more numerous.

Budweiser & the non-alcoholic Kingbury Malt were their faves, but it stops attracting them after an hour or two when it goes flat & stops exuding the odor of hops. Get up every two hours throughout the night & replace the beer, it'll be active longer that way. A Yoplay yogurt plastic cup smaller at the top than at the bottom is just barely too deep for an adult slug to reach its foot out of, so it drowns in the beer. Keep the lip of the buried Yoplay cup an inch above ground level to minimalize the losses of other wee lives, without effecting the number of slugs who notice the odor.

No killer bait works better & more lastingly than Iron phosphate (such as in Sluggo); & no other bait is honestly non-toxic. If timed well the adult slugs are killed before they reproduce & the slug population will lower each year even without a lot of applications. All other baits work from a tiny bit to not at all.

Virtually all miscellaneous methods of slug control are mere folklore except two: Going out at night with a flashlight & catching them in the act & dropping them in deep soapy water; or "barriering" a garden with copper flashing (or wrapping containers in copper foil). The copper stripping sold in garden stores doesn't work because it isn't wide enough; slugs hump right over it. But it's a fact they don't like to touch copper (theory is it causes an electrical charge but the reason they dislike copper isn't really known) & if it is at least six inches wide they can't cross it. It's an impractical method for an extensive garden, it can be a garden hazard if copper is sharp-edged, & it has to be kept shiny since when soiled it ceases to work. But for sensitive seedling beds or small special areas or finite raised beds, copper flashing might be practical.

For more:

formatting link
I have had some luck using a solution of sugar, water, and

Reply to
paghat

What would be the optimum timing?

Reply to
Vox Humana

Slugs could conceivably lay eggs year round in continuously cool moist conditions, but such conditions don't exist many places. Their prime laying time can vary from region to region, but in western Washington & Oregon they don't lay eggs in winter or in summer. They lay the majority of their eggs in autumn, about September/October, so kill all the adults by the time the first hard September rains arrive. A secondary laying period is March/April. For each one killed by September or at the very start of March, that'll mean 200 to 400 babies that won't arrive in the garden that year, as one slug will lay that many eggs in batches of thirty or fifty throughout the garden.

-paghat the ratgirl

Reply to
paghat

granite grit (like for pigeons) is cheap and works well. it provides good drainage when mixed into soil anyway. with a lot of slugs it is better to use no mulch of any kind. here is site with more ideas.

formatting link
"The toad is the slug's worst enemy, although there are other things that eat slugs and snails. Ground beetles, slow-worms and frogs, even centipedes will eat them, as well as birds. Put in a wildlife pond if you can, or simply provide a container with water - as long as the toads have access, they will come, bringing frogs with them. It will also encourage birds to visit your garden more often.

Ground beetles share the same habitat as slugs; moist areas that are protected from the sun during the day. Provide stone slabs, pieces of wood, and other moist areas for them to shelter under. This will also encourage hedgehogs, which eat slugs.

To make it easy for birds to eat them, place citrus peel or melon rinds around the garden in the evening. The slugs will be attracted by any seeds remaining, and will stay under as daylight comes. Turn the peel or rind over in the morning to display the sheltering slugs to birds. Birds will also eat the eggs, so raking the garden can expose them. The majority hatch in spring, although eggs are laid all year round.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at

formatting link
AT:
formatting link
the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the recommendations I make. AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

Reply to
dr-solo

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.