Getting Rid of Slugs

Natural remedies for slug prevention suggested by our ThriftyFun community. Post your own tips here.

Drown Them Or Rough Them Up

You can put out shallow pans of beer or grape juice. They are attracted to the yeast in the beer. I'm not sure why they like the grape juice, but it's cheaper than beer.

I've also read that you can use old sandpaper disks around the stem of the plant, just cut a slit up to the center of the disk and put the disk on the ground around the stalk of the plant.

You could also use crushed up eggshells around your plants.

By Dana Sipe

Eggshells

The eggshell thing works great that luv2crafts talked about. It's natural and works great. I use them around my Hostas. Just rinse out the egg shell and lay to dry on a paper towel. After they have dried, crush them up. I save these all winter long. After you have dried them, put them in an old coffee can and save for the springtime. If you are using mulch, make sure they are on top of the mulch.

By Peg

Coffee Grounds

Try fresh, unused coffee grounds; spread it in a ring around the base of the plant; snails (and maybe slugs too) hate the caffeine. For ants: I've heard that a natural ant repellent is to use any spray cleanser that has orange oil in it. I've just tried it a couple of times, but it worked both times. Good luck.

By Lynn Marler

Oyster Shell

I live in the slug capitol of the world, the Pacific Northwest. I heard on the radio this weekend that oyster shell is very good for them and cheap. You can buy a bag of it for feeding chickens (grit for their diet) at the feed store. It was suggested as an organic replacement for diatomaceous earth because here, the rain washes that away quickly. Oyster shell is in bigger pieces so easier to keep on top of the ground.

By Susan Sanders-Kinzel

English Tips and Tricks

Thought I'd share some ideas from the England here.

1. Beer in a dish (listed earlier)
2. Search and destroy (squish em)
3. Copper rings (it reacts with the slime and gives them an electric shock)
4. Good old fashioned salt.

Answers:

Getting Rid of Slugs

Susan, You are absolutely right about the chicken grit. We put it around all of our Hosta and it really is quite pretty. Putting a small amount did not work very well so my husband put a large ring of the oyster shells and it worked great. It is the first season there are no holes in the Hosta leaves, yea.

Barb from MI (08/24/2007)

By Barb Oakes

Getting Rid of Slugs

All of the suggestions work if you don't have a seriously cool, wet, shaded garden already slug prone. In this instance, using the ammonia and water spray method, but repeating it twice in spring, a month apart, mid summer and then again after fall clean up, you can almost rid yourself of them permanently. It's important to note that the underside of the foliage is as a more likely place to find a slug than the upper, so spray entire plant. Ammonia will "not" burn the plants if diluted 10/1 ratio.

Charlotte from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (08/27/2007)

By Charlotte

Getting Rid of Slugs

Something I've been using is good old salt. Just sprinkle a good amount of salt in a ring or line any where you may have a problem. They do not like salt. If you happen to see any slugs in places such as, under garbage pails, just sprinkle some salt on to cover the slug(s), and they will be a problem no more. I know this will work for you and this problem solver couldn't be any cheaper. (09/03/2007)

By Denise