I wonder if anyone has some sucessful advice on dealing with Slugs. I have a very shady yard, and I water my plants thoroughly in the summer to help compete with all the tree roots. I have been overtaken by slugs. During the summer I go out in the evenings and I can kill about 100 slugs a night (I counted) and they don't seem to diminish. I read that killing them was more effective than any other method. I am starting to think about the upcoming summer,... Please Help!!!

Hi Bubba.. copper around your beds will keep them out you can buy copper rings too.. or I have heard of crushed egg shells.. it slices them up i guess. The copper is supposed to be the best to guarantee to keep them out. Good Luck

Hi Bubba, my garden is also very shady. Have had some luck with the copper Michelle wrote about. Not so much though with putting it around the beds because the soil keeps going over it and it gets expensive. My solution is wrapping copper right around the bottom of plants in the form of the round copper kitchen scrub pads from the dollar stores. They can be stretched and taken apart too. Crushed egg shells help but don't last too long when I have a slug invasions on my hostas. Of course picking them off at night with a flashlight and putting them in a bucket of soapy water is another way but a slimy one. None of these solutions are 100% though.

Here is a method I have not tried yet but apparently works well - must be done early in spring I guess.

"The key is doing it before the slug eggs have hatched. Ken Beattie from the Get Growing TV program explained that the eggs are laid in the ground, usually along the edges of sidewalks, walls, etc. He also said the solution does not harm plants. I agree have found this to be true.

I use a mixture of 1 part ammonia to 10 parts water. I use a watering can with a small downward pointing spout and pour some along the edges of all sidewalks, retaining walls, the deck, anywhere the ground or lawn meets a hard surface. I do not drench the whole yard nor do I water entire flowerbeds, just the edges. Two watering cans of this mixture does my whole back yard. I especially concentrate on the shady areas of the yard where I used to see slugs or their trails, I do not bother with the sunny front yard as I have never seen evidence of slugs there.

No, I would not water directly on my hostas. nor do I water the soil around plants with this mixture. In fact the hostas aren't even up yet, when I do the first application, which I did 3 to 4 weeks ago. I did the 2nd application yesterday. That should be it for this season."

Not being averse to using the occasional chemical I sprinkle slug bait around the hostas and put pieces of cedar shingles over. Easy enough to scrape dead slugs off the shingles and they are hidden by the hosta growth. Also animals cant ingest. I used to have beds marked off in my veggie garden with old fence boards and I could go out in the morning and scrpe them off the underside of the boards. My Mom used to put out the letover skins of the grapefruit my Dad ate every morning! Pick em up and throw away next day!

I avoid the use of anything chemical, so here's an alternative:

In the evenings, I fill creme brulee sized bowls with cheap wine (the fruitier the better) or beer, and place in low areas throughout the garden. This attracts the slugs, who can easily climb in but aren't able to crawl out under the influence.

Works well, and at least they go happy!

Best to empty the bowls in the morning, since crows seem to enjoy a marinated slug.

Cheers!