i have slugs

I have tried everything natural to get rid of them. Beer in the bowl at night,,,come to find out that my basset hound eeyore was have nightly cocktails....then sleeping it off during the day!

I read somewhere copper pennies.... empty my penny bank to put around the flower..Lined them all up nice nice.Still have slug....

I read chicken gritwould work...couldn't find it local so i ordered 60 pounds online...i know i have alittle OCD going on here over the slugs but they are all over and eat so much!! anyways since the grit is made from oyster shells i thought this would work. I sprinkled over one bed that was getting hit the hardest ...I went and found a few large juice slug to watch them meet their maker...............they slither across no problem..

HELP!!!

thanks,

jane

It's time for a chemical snail bait. Ask at an independent nursery center, not a chain. They will be more likely to know what will work for you.
Copper pennies?!

Sluggo or other products with iron phosphate as the active ought to do the trick. I'd stay away from the slug products with metaldehyde as the active since they are extremely toxic to pets and from the beer story it sounds like your dog has ready access to the areas where you'd be using it.

How about coffee grounds or using salt?? I also heard cornmeal works, they cannot dijest it. Does this sound right?

I doubt they eat things they can't digest. Kitchen remedies for all kinds of problems people face work now and then. Many of them are useless. If you have ever poured salt on a slug, you know that it kills it, but if you pour salt around in your beds, they will just avoid crawling over it, and too much salt will do harm to your plants.
The beer solution has its advocates. I don't know many people that are going to actually do that.
I still think your answers lies in the wonderful world of chemistry.

Sluggo works for me.

Ya, I thought of the copper penny deal, but pennies aren't copper.

And if pennies WERE still copper?

Bands of copper are said to repel slugs but the type I've seen sold are for putting around pots to keep the slugs from crawling up the outside of the pot. IF the plant happened to be a hosta with long leaves that touched the ground the slug would take the easy way up anyhow.

What is the scientific explanation of how these copper bands repel slugs? Copper bracelets were the fad for arthritis and other ailments thirty years ago, but the fad passed quickly because the New Age notion was nonsense and did not affect arthritis or any other health problem one way or the other.

Here's the ad for it. I've never tried it.

Can someone tell me more about the damp coffee filters and baggie method to do the bigger seeds like morning glorys? Like how wet, how long? Do I seal it up? put it outside where its hot? I read about this,and would like more details. Anyone do this??? Thanks, raylin

This message was edited Jun 22, 2009 2:52 PM

Add beer in a saucer or a container that the big momma snail's can NOT climb out of along with Slugo!

Slug's and Snail's love beer and they get their last "party time" after drinking too much of it! Meanwhile Sluggo will take care of the rest.

Rachel

I just have to add for fun......... while in the past when my container's were not viable enough for the big mamma's.......A salt shacker will do them in! Make's for good "after dark" entertainment;-)



This message was edited Jun 22, 2009 10:16 PM

That's pretty gross. I'm gonna start a refuge for snails. Snails have rights, too.
Did you know that people eat them?

S L U G G O! I swear by it!
Got me a very "helpful" puppy and a 500 pound 14 yr-old doberman ridgeback that are just in love with my plants (laying on them/peeing on them/eating them) and in love with the mulch and the dirt (sniff here and there and eat the occasional edible(?) bugs. yes they're just weird.) I've been using Sluggo since the beginning of spring and the dogs are fine :). The slugs- well, they went hasta la vista baby! :). I thought it wasn't working because I still saw about 5 snailshells on one of my trees but come to find out, they were empty and just stuck there by the decomposing carcasses of my nemeses! Oh yeah! Score for the noobie! They eat the sluggo which makes them stop feeding until they go caput! (hmm, i smell a diet pill idea in there somewhere:) kidding!)
I am about 99.9999% (disclaimer:) slimer-free and my plants are happy! (Now as for the p-u-p-p-y and the d-o-g...... ......;-)

(btw, our ridgeback isn't really 500 pounds- she just looks and moves that way! :))

Ha, wormfood, I do not like being cruel! My plant's take priority over snails/slug's.

Rachel

only kidding, I hate snails. I have a shade house, lots of water and I've done the salt thing myself only never saw it written down in front of me. I've had snails go up the side of the fish tank, into the water, eat the plants and then leave. Leaving a trail of slime. yuck.

Not sure what sluggo is but be careful with anything in pellet form as birds may eat them. I have watched it in my yard. Ugh! Poor birdy! Also have tried the copper tape, seemed to work but that was a raised bed, easier to layout.

Maybe you could dog proof your beer garden? The midnight runs and slabs of wood work as well if you don't mind getting rid of them by hand. But don't ever touch them bare handed. I made that mistake one day. "How bad can it be? I'll just wash my hands when I'm done." Hahahahaha! I had to use a metal scrubber and it practically took my skin off. I went back to clippers after that. Then they just become compost. Plus there's some twisted satisfaction in it & it's a quick death...they don't know what hit them. Salt is an awful thing to watch, even if it's a slug. But wormfood, beer isn't cruel, your giving them a party!

I found this very helpful info. on slug bait & I immediately thought of this thread. Especially because it mentions Sluggo LOL!

Here it is:

http://www.paghat.com/slugcontrol.html

Cool article ican! I really liked this quote: "Speak not of grief, young stranger, or cold snails will slime the rose to night."
-John Keats
(1795-1821)

Methinks it should be on garden stones or somethin! :)

I agree Chezca and thank's for the link Icanfindroom.

Rachel

I used to have a gianormous problem with snails and slugs. Tried the beer traps and was heartbroken to find bumble bees & other good guys more often than any bad guys. Didn't want to use any poisons or whatever. Finally found two things I could do to take control:

#1 - I put baking soda into an old salt shaker and went around sprinkling it on them (always rinse the area well after about 5 to 10 minutes, otherwise it can burn the plants)

#2 - I used a jar with 1 part bleach + 2 parts water and went around dropping them in (it is the only thing that seems to kill them instantly - I can't stand seeing anything suffer)

- I didn't just hunt them at night either. I check under rocks, and anything else they might be hiding in, and deal with them there. In fact, I think it was the day hunting that really made the most difference.

I like the bleach idea. I tried salt once, I felt really really bad afterwards & ended up snipping it rather than watch that. I still like the snipper method too. I'm pretty sure that's instant and maybe a critter will get to eat it or it'll add to my soil. ;)

I have banana slugs. They are about 3" long or more. I hate them, but they are part of the natural forest I'm in. So I go out in the morning and gently get them on my little hand shovel and fling them on the hillside away from my garden. If it's not the deer, it's the banana slugs. Deer eat a lot of plants, but so do the slugs. And if a plant is deer proof it can be a slug favorite. I can't grow marigolds for this reason....it sucks. But beer in a dish does work. When I do that, I always get a couple of them.

My answer to the problem, get chickens...
A chicken will eat almost anything that doesn't eat it first. So, yes, they will eat slugs. Or, they may just “shred” them by their “pecking and scratching” action, thus killing them.
Now I'm not going to guarantee that they won't eat your plants too ;-)

Here's another slug thread but beware - there is a photo of the Mission Impossible slug:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=6745158

Oh ya, that's a MI slug alright! I can hear the music now...

get epson salt, sea salt or any other corse salt. I dont believe in chemicals

What and KILL the Mission Impossible slug????

well if you dont want to kill them you could catch them and let them go at a park or in someones else's garden

or escargot, anybody? :)

escargot is snails hummmm cargot must be slugs

oopsie! (but they do have the same, shall we say, "consistency":)... Slugs are just "meatier" eh? (j/k!)

Anyhoo, slugs, wether we want em or not, shall keep on poppin up as long as there are plants... I say, to each his/her own on the method of "offing" or "relocating" these slimy little devils... If you get squeamish with the salt/chemical method, just say a little prayer for the little darlins and imagine them growin wings and slimin their way to slug-heaven! :)

Ah but you did check out the pic right? Of the amazing hanging banana slug? I off them as well but that guy/gal deserves props.

EEEEEEEEWWWWW!!!!!!! Cargo....consistency....MEATIER....man am I glad I already had dinner!

OKAY ... EVERYBODY NOW! ... (to the tune of "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head")
Banana slugs keep ploppin on my head ... eeewwwwwww .. gack!
:)

I'm not the best person to ask with this one. I've only seen spiders, worms and pincher bugs in my garden. but I know salt will kill slugs and I do sprinkles some around the plants every other month

Hmmm... The "bananner" slug's actually a mascot here in CA... (go figure!:) But it IS california... nothin's weird here anymore :)...
Hey, our puppy eats slugs... Seriously! He plays with them first- watchin them crawl then swatting them backwards then watching them crawl forward again before he just looks at them intensely then... SHHLURRRRRRP! :) Seen him do it quite a number of times- grosses me out everytime! Maybe you guys can train your puppies/dogs to do just that? :)
Oh and I HAD snails too, until they said hello to sluggo :).

Ooooooh that is so nasty! I have thrown slugs over the fence with bear fingers ONCE, after I had to use a metal scrubber to get the slime off I never did it again. Wonder what your dog likes so much about them. I grew up in WA state & if you've been there, you know slugs are more than just a mascot. Everything slugs, magnets, t-shirts, umbrellas, whatever...slugs, slugs, slugs. However even in the Pike Place Market you can't find them for sale to eat. :)

Sluggo, couple times a year. Won't hurt anything but the slugs and snails. Easy but $$$$$$$!