Every square yard of your garden may have 200 slugs in cool, humid areas. They will often consume older decaying matter and significant decomposing organisms, but if those are not present, they will consume nearly all crop plants (though they have their preferences). Slugs are a serious issue when it’s cool and rainy outside. They are particularly hungry and, when in large numbers, will strip nearly mature plants or destroy an entire bed of seedlings in one night. They can produce up to three generations per year and proliferate quickly. Since they are hermaphrodites, they are able to lay 400 spherical, white eggs per year without even mating.
The glistening trail of mucus that moving mollusks leave behind helps you to recognize their work most of the time. They often begin chewing leaves at the edges and may completely consume a young plant, including the stem and some of the tougher leaf midribs. Slugs had possessed snail-like shells, but they gave them up in favor of their ability to conceal themselves in soil cracks and beneath boulders (they burrow down into the soil when it gets too cold or hot). Keep such material out of the garden because they can also be found behind boards, rocks, and leaves. In fact, boards work well as slug traps as long as you check them each morning.
Snails spend the day hiding in bushes or crevices in your walls, then emerge at night to feed. Removing all of their potential hiding spots is the simplest approach to get rid of snails. The side of a cover crop bed that is next to a lot of vegetation can be fully defoliated, but the other side will remain unaffected (though the defoliation will slowly spread). Be ready because clearing an old crop can drive the snails elsewhere.
Hand picking: Hand picking is the most efficient and environmentally friendly method of controlling slugs and snails. If you want to see much of an impact, do this often, preferably late at night or early in the morning. You’ll quickly learn where they like to hide. Slugs frequently conceal themselves in the soil’s cracks, and you can frequently dig around a harmed plant to identify the offender. These critters can be either crushed as you pick them or dropped into a pail of salt water.
You can gather them in a bucket of leaves and move them a short distance if you don’t want to kill them. If you have any gardening competitors, you could leave them in the specific garden where the competitors are.
Barriers: Hand selecting won’t be sufficient to address all of your mollusc issues. Although they travel slowly, they are actually rather mobile (some may walk a mile in a few days), and more can just wander over to where there is food. Ideally, you could build some sort of obstruction, like a 2-foot-wide trail made of crushed oyster shells or cinders. Sawdust, wood ashes, and sharp sand are also thought to function, but they must be kept dry or supplied periodically. The razor-sharp diatomaceous earth shards are fatal to slugs and snails because of their fragile bodies (they are also harmful to human lungs; use a mask). Other barriers include wire screens, tilted boards with grease on the undersides, and copper strips (which they won’t pass).
Trapping: Mollusks can be captured using cups of beer, milk, or yeast that has been dissolved in sugar water (and a few other creatures). Place this in a cup so that the rim is an inch or so above the soil’s level. For these traps to work, there needs to be a lot of them—at least one per square yard. Additionally, traps built of boards, grapefruit skins, chopped potatoes, and cabbage leaves are also possible; however, these do not kill, only facilitate collection (you must check them daily).
Mulch should be avoided since slugs can readily hide there, therefore it is typically not used in places where slugs are a major issue.
Ducks are one of the best pest controllers since they adore slugs and snails. They are also enjoyed by chickens, although they cause more agricultural damage. Slugs and snails are all killed by toads, snakes, birds, and ground beetles—possibly the most significant of these). Even carnivorous slugs that consume other slugs exist (Testacella species) (cannibal slugs).
Metaldehyde: This poison is frequently used to kill slugs, however it is ineffective, likely only killing approximately 10% of those present. It must be handled with caution because it is harmful to mammals and ground beetles, two major predators (poisoned slugs may poison slug predators). Because predators are typically absent there, the greenhouse is where it functions best.
The term “Last Frost Date” (LFD) designates a rough date for the final deadly frost of spring.
The term “First Frost Date” (FFD) designates a rough date for the winter’s first fatal frost.
How can I prevent slugs from eating my petunias?
Slugs and snails are pests that tear ragged holes in leaves and can be manually removed, just like caterpillars. Because slugs prefer dark, damp garden locations, keep your garden tidy to discourage hiding places so they won’t gnaw on your petunias. Take out any boards and other objects, as well as plant and leaf litter. Reduce mulch to 3 inches or less because it makes a perfect home for slugs. The most effective method for handling a lot of slugs is frequently slug bait. 1 teaspoon of bait should be used to each square yard of planting space, evenly distributed throughout the soil. Treat the vicinity of the plant, along walls and fences, and in any other shaded areas.
How can slugs be eliminated without endangering plants?
By following our top advice on how to get rid of slugs, you can prevent them from wreaking havoc in your garden. Your priceless plants are worth preserved, after all!
Get plants on side
Plants that repel them and serve as a natural insecticide are a gentle way to get rid of slugs. Slugs can be repelled in this manner without the use of chemicals. Slugs are repelled by the aroma that astrantia emits. Wormwood, rue, fennel, anise, and rosemary are other slug-repelling herbs.
Remove, shelter & encourage beneficial wildlife
Slugs will hide behind huge logs, garden furniture, and brickwork. To make potential slug habitats available to natural predators, remove them. Slug activity in your yard will naturally decrease if you make it an unfavorable environment for them to live in. Encourage natural predators to take care of the issue, such as toads, newts, hedgehogs, and song thrushes.
Make a beer trap
A beer trap is a quick and low-cost method of slug removal. One can be made by burying a container partially filled with beer next to plants that are at risk. Alternately, keep an eye out for specially designed beer traps. Slugs will be drawn in by the aroma of the beer and end up becoming stuck. To prevent catching slug-eating ground beetles, keep the container’s rim 2-3 cm above the surface.
Create a prickly barrier
Slugs are soft-bodied mollusks, so using sharp, prickly barriers to keep them away from priceless plants is a smart idea. To build barriers and reuse undesirable leftovers and foliage, try using broken egg shells, pine needles, or prickly cuttings. Sharp sand is another excellent substance to utilize. Just make sure that anything you use won’t change the soil’s quality.
Create a slippery barrier
Your container plants will be adequately protected if you spray WD40 on the exterior of the plant pots to make the surface too slick for the slugs to scale.
Lay down copper tape
Every time slugs come into contact with copper and slug slime, they receive a little electric shock. To keep slugs from getting to your plants, lay copper tape down in your garden. Put the tape on anything that needs to be protected from these hungry mollusks, such as raised beds, potted plants, or greenhouse staging.
Place a lure
To draw a big number of slugs, lay a pile of old lettuce leaves or dry cat food in a wet, gloomy area. Gather the criminals as they assemble around the food source and dispose of them all at once. Combine this method with nighttime garden strolls by torchlight to catch slugs in motion.
Apply nematodes to soil
Nematodes are parasitic soil-dwelling microorganisms that prey on slugs. Apply them to the soil by simply combining them with water, but make sure the temperature of the soil is greater than 5C because this is necessary for the treatment to be successful.
Sprinkle salt
To get rid of troublesome slugs, sprinkle salt on them, but be careful not to use too much because too much salt can harm plants. Therefore, it works best when utilized distant from priceless plants.
The eco-method
Slugs have the unpleasant situation of feeding carnivorous animals because they are at the bottom of the food chain. Reduce the number of local slugs in your garden by luring hedgehogs, birds, and badgers in.
In addition to being wonderful pets, chickens can give you daily free-range eggs and help with slug control. So, think about adopting a former commercial farming hen.
Alternately, if your yard is enclosed by fencing, cut a hole in the base of the fence the size of a CD case to let ravenous hedgehogs and possibly even badgers into your garden to feast on the slugs.
What can I use as a spray to kill slugs on my plants?
A. I’m writing to you from the United Arab Emirates, where the climate is frequently pleasant, the sun is always bright, and the flowers flourish nicely, yet my garden is a complete mess. Hundreds of tiny little snails have taken over. They lurk during the day and attack the plants at night. They are found all throughout. They continued to nibble everything to death, including geraniums, impatiens, and periwinkle, despite my attempts to spray with Malathion. How can I help? Please assist. I’m grateful. —Wadad Cook, American University of Sharjah’s School of Business, United Arab Emirates
A. Many thanks, Wadad! Your response will comfort our mollusk-deprived American listeners that snails—and slugs, which are merely snails without the shell—are a widespread issue. The following 17 techniques can be used by anyone to try to prevent either beast from consuming priceless plants:
1) Purchase them a beer. nevertheless, not old beer! Slugs enjoy stale beer, according to research, about as much as I do. Wait until dusk to fill your slug traps because it needs to be fresh; else, the beer will stale during the heat of the day and repel the slugs (and me). There are a variety of commercial beer traps available. If you prefer to use an old margarine tub, make sure to leave the container’s top inch or two above the soil line. (In #2, we’ll explain why.) Your containers will be full with decomposing, inebriated slugs in the morning. Use the least expensive, freshest beer you can find, preferably one that smells strongly of yeast. When they empty return edkegs—the ones marked “three day weekend”—they typically pour a lot of beer down the drain. Ask your beer distributor if you may catch the extra.
2) Show Rove beetles respect. While they don’t harm plants, those large black beetles you frequently see in gardens do devour a LOT of slugs and their eggs. To ensure that none of these incredibly useful insects unintentionally fall in, always leave an inch of your beer traps above the soil line.
3) Allow lightning bugs to sparkle. The larval form of these fantastic entertainers, known as “glowworms,” is quite different from the adult; it is segmented, wingless, and resembles sow bugs or pill bugs, but it already has the recognizable built-in flashing light. These voracious young consume a lot of slugs and their eggs. Avoid using lawn chemicals, turn off outside lights at night, and leave a small patch of your garden damp and slightly overgrown in order to attract the adults to breed close to your garden.
4) Toads as well! These great nocturnal predators will eat a lot of slugs for you if you stay away from ALL chemicals, supply water that is close to the ground, and give them a damp, shaded place to hide during the heat of the day.
5) Ducks, too! These bird companions are arguably the best slug eaters out there! And with that, let’s sum up: “We can always use the eggs.” I’m grateful.
6) Use copper to safeguard your crops. When slugs meet the shiny metal, they experience an electric jolt. You may either purchase pre-made copper plant guards or just hot-glue rings of pennies around the tops of containers and embellish your raised bed frames with copper flashing. Watch them glow when you put captured slugs in a jar of pennies!
7) Use diatomaceous earth to dust them. Known as “DE,” this product is sold at garden centers and is made from fossilized diatoms that lived in the sea during the time of the dinosaurs. Although it appears to us to be flour, it is highly sharp at the microscopic level and instantly dehydrates slugs. (However, it is ineffective when wet.)
8) Use iron phosphate to irk them. Old chemical-based slug poisons like the malathion Wadad describes are vile, vile toxic, and can harm people, pets, birds, toads, and other animals in addition to slugs. But the active component in this brand-new “molluskicide” is just plain old iron. Products with names like “Sluggo” and “Escar-Go!” are made with iron and a slug-attracting bait. Slugs are killed while wildlife is safe. And the small amount of iron that is left over is beneficial for your garden!
9) Use boards to betray them. Between your garden beds, place some used planks. To avoid the sun, the vampire slugs will burrow underneath them. Lift the boards in the morning and use a flat piece of metal to scrape the slugs into a pail. then proceed as you please. You got any coins?
10) Use citrus to catch them. Near plants that are prone to slugs, scatter some lemon, orange, and grapefruit rinds overnight. The next morning, gather them, now coated in slugs. How are those coins holding up?
11) Use human hair to harass them. Ask for the day’s clippings at the barbershop or beauty salon, then surround your plants with a barrier of fine layers of hair. The slugs will slowly choke as they become entangled in the hair. (Hey, the hostas or them!) Additionally, when the hair slowly decomposes, it gives nitrogen to the soil, which feeds plants.
Spear some (12) You deserve a little nocturnal fun with a sharp stick, so grab a flashlight and a long Shish-ka-bob poker and go to town one fine evening. Imprisioned slugs should be left behind as a warning to survivors.
Salt your snails, please. No, it shouldn’t be used too frequently, but it’s fine to sprinkle a little salt in the garden every now and then. It’s also quite emotionally gratifying. Find a container that only releases one or two crystals at a time so that you don’t need to cover the poor things. You just need to sprinkle one little grain on each slug, and by morning, baby, it will be covered in orange gunk!
14) You may also vinegar-season them. For slugs that aren’t on plants, a spray bottle of unflavored white vinegar works wonders. Vinegar is a highly powerful mollusc dissolving agent as well as a herbicide, so avoid misting the salvia.
Or garlic (15). According to recent studies, garlic kills slugs. For this purpose, a British garden supply company sells garlic granules, but I would rather immerse the garden in one of the new garlic sprays for mosquito control, such Victor’s “Mosquito Barrier,” after dark. It ought to kill a ton of slugs and deter skeeters for at least two weeks. Even larger pests like deer and rabbits might be repelled by it!
Make a cup of coffee for them. Even more recent studies discovered that a caffeine-based coffee spray worked wonders at eliminating slugs. If my percentages are correct, all you’d need to do is brew a pot of strong coffee, let it cool, and then spray it directly, undiluted, on the garden at night.
17) Work on your long throw. While you watch your favorite Major League club blow a lead, put on a pitcher’s cap, go outside to the garden, and throw the disgusting slime balls onto the road. Use Brillo to clean.
Additionally, shortly (we hope!)
- Marc from Milwaukee and Douglas from Lawrenceville, New Jersey both recently emailed me about “Nemaslug,” the brand name for a species of helpful nematode that attacks slugs used by a British corporation. It is true, according to my research. Like all nematodes, this highly special beneficial organism is so small that a kitchen sponge-sized container can hold millions of them. They feast on slugs and their eggs, but unlike other nematodes, they can survive above ground as well as below!
The bad news is that we don’t yet have access to these delightful widdle wormies in the US. The British organism is not indigenous to the colonies, according to Craig Harmer, product manager for Gardens Alive!, which sells a variety of other nematode species. A professor at Ohio State University named Parwinder Grewal, who conducts extensive research on nematodes, is actually offering a reward to anyone who can locate a specimen of this worm already existing in the United States. According to Craig, people are striving to get it approved. They will be able to import these magnificent slug eaters if he is successful, says Craig.
- And finding one can be simpler than you think. It turns out that slugs affected by this nematode grow something resembling a saddle on their backs. If you find a slug with that specific physical characteristic, you have probably also located the nematode. So that you know exactly what to look for, we’ll give a link to a picture of a slug with a nematode-induced saddle.