A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2003 slimy problem

Has anyone else had problems with slugs? They are a terrible nuisance this year. If u don't watch it, they will eat everything u have. They like my cone flowers and espesially my asters. gardendreamer@aol.com

Grrrrr.......hate those things. I never seem to be able to keep up with them! Every year it seems they get bigger and bigger......ewwwwwww!

Barb, i keep a good eye on my plants. I won't let the slugs get big...lol It's just aggravating having to spread slug bait around. I put out about 20 oriental poppies and 4 butterfly weed plants this evening.I automatically sprinkled slug bait around them when i got through.
I have read that slugs will travel;so, they may go from your neighbor's garden to yours! :rolleyes: gardendreamer03@aol.com

Hi!
I have the very same problem with those nasty little slugs in my garden.I hear you can buy copper to make a barrier around the base of the plant and slugs want touch them.I hear they can get an electric shock from the copper.Everytime I go to home depot I can never remember to look for the copper rings.I will now, since my hosta have already emerged this spring.I have a wonderful hosta bed and just added the blue hosta to my collection.Has anyone ever used this method on this board?
Ivy2003

Ivey, never heard of copper used in that way to stop slugs. If u know a web site let me know--would like to read about that product. It probably would be a logistical problem for my garden. I have hundreds of plants that slugs attack.Sounds interesting.
They have a turtle here in SC that eats slugs (lives on land). I've sat and watched one munching on snails and slugs one day. We just don't have enough of them (they are becoming scarace). gardendreamer03@aol.com

OK, gang
Here's another way to get rid of slugs. You put out saucers of beer. The little varmints love the stuff. They will crawl into the saucers and drown. (Sounds like a joke, doesn't it. I've heard it really works.) You just empty the saucers in the morning and start over. Good way to get rid of beer that's been sitting around too long!

Carol,what kind of beer u drink? hehehehe

I use crushed egg shells around my hostas, does a pretty good job until the end of the year when they render into the dirt and such. Also I have heard of the copper and the beer... I do two things, put out some cardboard (Wet and/or damp and keep it that way) near something I think they are eating.
In the day time when they are looking for a cool wet area to hang out, I just pick up the cardboard and you'll find alot of the slimmy things hanging around under it.... Take my little clippers from Fiskars (tiny thread cutting scissors I found at Wal~Mart CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST GAVE THEM A PLUG BECAUSE SOMETIMES I DON'T LIKE THAT STORE AND THEIR POLICIES WITH THE plant SECTION WHERE I LIVE, anyhow)....Back to the slugs, Then at night time I come out and close the "salad bar" down with the same scissors...just cut them up like slicing bread. Couple of minutes, nice to spend a few minutes again out doors on a nice night. It does cut down on them, can't ever completely get rid of them, as I understand it with the egg shells they can't cross anything that will cut up their underbelly. Even sand supposedly is too abrasive for the??? Copper shocks their slimy bodies but can get expensive....Put a sign out that says, Escargo served here, maybe they'll get the hint. (smile)

I'm going to have to try some of these things. I always drown the little beasties. I've found that the grocery store's 0.5% alcohol coolers works even better than beer to attract them.

Also, a thing I forgot about is called Diatomaceaous (die-a-toe-may-shus) Earth.
Will also do the trick that I said like sand or egg shells, This is a site I found on a Google search. I would imagine there was tons more but the info was right to the point. http://www.internet-grocer.net/diatome.htm

Although I never knew about the good bugs too??? I don't like hurting them.........

If you are looking for a product that will kill the slugs and not harm anything else may I suggest that you try Slug Bait by Safers. I tried it last year, they were just chowing down on my dahlias, and I only had to put it down once. They eat the bait and it fills them up to the point that they won't eat anymore and just crawl away and die. The best stuff I have ever used and I really didn't have to use that much. The product seems pricey but goes a long way. Hope this helps.