How To Control Slugs

If there's one garden pest that's universally despised, it's slugs. Not only do they eat your prized vegetables, herbs, and flowers at night while you sleep, but when you do catch them, they're so slimy and squishy that many gardeners won't even touch them, let alone kill them. However, slugs can be outwitted.by National Gardening Editors

Tools and Materials
Sharp sand, diatomaceous earth, eggshells, or oyster shells
Copper flashing
Iron phosphate, metaldehyde, or beer baits
Container for beer

Prevention. Slugs like a dark, damp environment, so anything you can do to create a light, dry environment will discourage them from hanging around. If you have slug problems, forgo mulch, space plants farther apart, and cultivate the soil frequently to keep it dry on the surface.

Barriers. Being soft-bodied creatures, slugs don't like anything sharp. If they suffer a cut, they may dry up and die. Sprinkle sharp sand, diatomaceous earth, or dried, crushed egg- or oyster shells around favored plants. Refresh the materials after heavy rains. If you have a raised bed, permanent border, or container, fasten strips of copper flashing around the bed, and slugs will avoid it, since they get a shock when they come in contact with
copper.

Traps. Using slugs' propensity for hiding in the dark, place boards on garden pathways. Early in the morning, turn over the boards and knock the slugs into a bucket of soapy water. Slugs also like beer (actually, it's the yeast in beer that attracts them). Create a slug trap by sinking an empty coffee can-size container into the soil to the soil line, and then add some beer. At night the slugs will dive in to feast and eventually drown. Clean out the trap in the morning.

Baits. Although the most common slug control baits contain the slightly toxic chemical metaldehyde, new baits containing iron phosphate are less toxic to animals and humans. Any bait will have to be reapplied after a rain, and you should be careful not to sprinkle baits where pets and young children can easily eat them.

Tips
Slugs cause the most damage on young plants, so make extra efforts to protect them from damage.

Photography by Suzanne DeJohn/NationalGardening.com

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