Thursday, September 23, 2010

Slugs

Ugh. Slugs. Here in the Pacific Northwest, they are the bane of gardeners. I've messed around with various control methods for years, and am now conducting experiments to find out what works and what doesn't. I have not found any deterrent to be helpful. Beer traps drown some slugs but other slugs take a big fat drink and move on. Trapping slugs with boards, tiles, rocks, etc., is moderately helpful.
Stay tuned... I will be updating the site regularly with my findings until I find the method that works the best.

War on Slugs

Bombarding slugs with traps

Slugs and eggshells

Are slugs repelled by copper?

Ashes as slug repellent/insecticide...does it work?

Slugs and beer... the results of my first beer trap experiment

Diatomaceous Earth and slugs... another efficacy experiment

Will slugs cross coffee grounds to get to the leaf? Yes.
 
The secret to getting your chickens to eat slugs




Shop my Amazon Store 
___________________________________________

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Amy and keep up the great work on slugs. Inquiring minds want to know this stuff!
Barbara Pleasant
Mother Earth News
http://www.barbarapleasant.com

TheGardenCloche said...

I don't have slug problems where I live, but I have seen plastic dishes/rims that fit on pots to prevent slugs from reaching the plant. You could try garden cloches if you have small to medium size plants. Good luck.

Jeff
jeff@thegardencloche.com
www.TheGardenCloche.com

jess s said...

I wonder if you ever found anything that worked effectively. I am in the Pacific Northwest, too, and nothing works.

Erica said...

Oh my, your slugs are big! I'm waging war here in Southern Alberta. Egg shells saved all winter-useless, aired the garden by trimming lower leaves-useless, arggh. Was just about to go get diatomaceous earth when I saw your blog! Have you tried ammonia/water yet? I was going to go out this morning and try....great blog!

Erica said...

Ok. Tried ammonia-most satisfying-1 part ammonia to 5 parts water, after a rain, it wipes out huge numbers of them before your very eyes, and is not harmful to the plants. Apparently applications of woodash changes the ph of the soil to eventually repel them http://www.hillgardens.com/slugs.htm seems to be very informative!

ksimo said...

Hi Have you tried putting saw dust around the edge of your garden - snails and slugs won't cross it. Well at least the kind I have encountered didn't. :-)

L. Herr said...

Yep, DE was useless. Just pulled a huge slug wrapped around the plant I had dusted with it. *sigh*

L. Herr said...

*sigh* Yep, DE doesnt work. Just pulled a huge slug off a plant I had just dusted with it. It was literally wrapped around it.

Anonymous said...

Slugs love cat chow. Started feeding my cats on the porch and every slug in the garden was in the bowl. Takes them forever to eat it and they don't even notice the hostas.