House
New member
Anyone have any suggestions fo a non-chemical means for keeping slugs out of a newly planted garden?
Slug Invasion!
- Thread starter House
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TerryinMD
Veteran Member
There are a couple of solutions.
1. Diatomaceous earth (DE) - fine sharp-edged remains of sea creatures. You spread the DE around your plants, garden, etc. The slugs live in the ground and under things that trap moisture. When they crawl out to get a snack, they have to crawl over the sharp-edged DE. They absolutely hate it.
2. Beer in shallow dish buried level in soil - slugs love beer except they drown when wallowing in it
3. Crushed egg shells - never have tried this, probably similar to DE
4. Hydrated lime - haven't tried this either probably very irratating to the slug.
If you have children, you can have them have fun (relative term OBTW) watching slugs melt!! Yes, watching slugs melt. Here's what you do. Give the children some salt shakers. Have them go slug hunting. When they find a slug, have them liberally apply a bunch of salt onto the slug and watch is melt away. The process is called diseccation. The slugs simplily kill themselves by expelling all of the moisture from their bodies to rid themselves of the salt.
Hope this helps.
Terry
1. Diatomaceous earth (DE) - fine sharp-edged remains of sea creatures. You spread the DE around your plants, garden, etc. The slugs live in the ground and under things that trap moisture. When they crawl out to get a snack, they have to crawl over the sharp-edged DE. They absolutely hate it.
2. Beer in shallow dish buried level in soil - slugs love beer except they drown when wallowing in it
3. Crushed egg shells - never have tried this, probably similar to DE
4. Hydrated lime - haven't tried this either probably very irratating to the slug.
If you have children, you can have them have fun (relative term OBTW) watching slugs melt!! Yes, watching slugs melt. Here's what you do. Give the children some salt shakers. Have them go slug hunting. When they find a slug, have them liberally apply a bunch of salt onto the slug and watch is melt away. The process is called diseccation. The slugs simplily kill themselves by expelling all of the moisture from their bodies to rid themselves of the salt.
Hope this helps.
Terry
wasabi
Platinum Member
Put beer in shallow tins (like empty tuna cans) scattered among your infected plants. Those slimy, slow-moving suckers love it so much that it becomes the death of them.
TWINKLE_TOES
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Get a couple of Ducks.
Al
Al
MJB
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I know several sluggish people who like beer too./w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif I wonder if there is a connection./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
House,
The above suggestions have been good - all tried and true. I never tried the eggshelss but read that you have to wash them and then dry them in the sun or oven before using them.
I can add some more suggestions
1) Copper strips - sold at garden centers. As the snail attempts to cross it a dielectric effect gives him a shock. Works best for raised beds and small area.
2)household ammonia diluted with water to roughly 5% (ie 5 parts of the household ammonia to 95 parts of water)is supposed to shrivel them as well. Never tried it but read a cool story in Organic Gardening. This couple loaded the 5% ammonia into SuperSoaker water guns. They taped flashlights to the gun and went out at night to squirt the snails when the snails are active. As an added bonus the ammonia breaks down into fertilizer quickly.
3) The slugs love hiding in the wood chip mulch we humans are so fond of. Something to consider if it is a flower garden.
4) My personal choice - a pair of gloves abd a pair of scissors. Go out at night and pick them off and cut in half.
The above suggestions have been good - all tried and true. I never tried the eggshelss but read that you have to wash them and then dry them in the sun or oven before using them.
I can add some more suggestions
1) Copper strips - sold at garden centers. As the snail attempts to cross it a dielectric effect gives him a shock. Works best for raised beds and small area.
2)household ammonia diluted with water to roughly 5% (ie 5 parts of the household ammonia to 95 parts of water)is supposed to shrivel them as well. Never tried it but read a cool story in Organic Gardening. This couple loaded the 5% ammonia into SuperSoaker water guns. They taped flashlights to the gun and went out at night to squirt the snails when the snails are active. As an added bonus the ammonia breaks down into fertilizer quickly.
3) The slugs love hiding in the wood chip mulch we humans are so fond of. Something to consider if it is a flower garden.
4) My personal choice - a pair of gloves abd a pair of scissors. Go out at night and pick them off and cut in half.
DocHeb
Veteran Member
1x6-12" boards place flat on the ground. Make morning rounds and scoop up the slugs under the boards into a coffee can with water/dishsoap or water/salt mixture. The dishsoap mixture can be tossed onto the compost pile.
The beer in pans works well, but it just kills me to put even cheap beer out like that - it just ain't right!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
The beer in pans works well, but it just kills me to put even cheap beer out like that - it just ain't right!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
blurrybill
Gold Member
I thought this was a new movie coming out...
Bill
Bill
StoneHeartFarm
Veteran Member
The beer idea works good, I've tried it. Just hope the neighborhood dog don't like free drinks. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
SHF
SHF