Hi: Last summer was my first time to garden here in NW Minnesota. I mulched a lot, as I have in other places and really had problems with slugs. I have heard some solutions. I tried the stale beer drowning pans (killed a few, I have thousands). And put down plastic - would look under it in the day and squash many; but I would like to hear others suggestions about how to deal with them. I hate weeding, so really like to mulch; but the slugs sure were a problem. Thank you Cynthia

-- Cynthia Speer (farmsteader@gvtel.com), February 16, 2001

Answers

Ducks do a nice job of getting rid of them. So do pigeons!!

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 17, 2001.

A shallow dish of stale beer wiil draw them ,then they drown. Just do it at night,and pitch in the A.M

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), February 17, 2001.

Last year I used tunafish cans filled with cheap beer. Every morning I'd dump them and they were just fill of slugs...yuck. I'd never seen a year with so many slugs. Just be sure they're flush with the ground.

Stacy Rohan in Windsor, NY

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), February 17, 2001.

Crush up egg shells and place them around the plant. The slugs are supposed to get cut up when crossing the egg shells so they don't cross. I've seen this done in the spring as you plant the plant and it seemed to work.

-- jessie (jazz_ca@yahoo.com), February 17, 2001.

In elaboration on my post about letting the birds take care of the slugs, years ago we kept ducks and free flying pigeons. While they were on yard patrol, the slug population was virtually non=existant. The ducks were always supplied with all the green food they could eat before being turned loose on the garden area, so they weren't in the mood for salad bar by that point, and were looking for 'meat'. The pigeons flew wherever they wanted to, and combed through the yard all day long, and ate bugs all over the place.

The ducks had to be watched and herded back into the pen for their safety and to keep them from sneaking off, but the pigeons hung around on their own, since we had a house for them to go into with roosts and nesting boxes, and threw out corn for them twice a day. They weren't about to leave such good pickings. Being free flighted, we did lose some to predators, hawks and owls mostly, and mostly the white birds, who were more visible at night (inevitally some would sleep outside and elsewhere), but pigeons reproduce so rapidly, it wasn't a big problem, except that I liked the white ones.

A couple friends of mine raise fancy pigeons, and have enclosed yards for them with chicken wire, around a house for protection from the elements and nesting. One keeps them there all the time, the other one allows them out to fly, and has a set feeding time in the evening when the birds all return through a trap door into the coop (swinging vertical bars that they push through easily to go in, but catch at the bottom from the inside and don't push OUT, so they enter, but can't leave again until you release them) at night for feeding, then he locks them safely up until the next day. He has very very few bird loses this way, as well as control of his flock.

There are so many pigeon fanciers and breeders out there that you can probably find out more information on them by running searches on Metacrawler for 'pigeons'.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 17, 2001.

Thank you all so much for the great answers. I will try them all. I hate to think of giving good beer to the little buggers, even to kill them (though I know it would be worth it); but there is a little bar not far from here, might ask them about stale beer for free (when they run a little foamy beer out of the keg, etc). Also, thank you for much for the additional information about pigeons. My husband didn't know they ate slugs; but told of people taking nearly ready-to-fly youngsters from the nest when he was a kid in Iowa to get their own start of pigeons. I would like to have some around and I do see them in the area. Thank you all again very much and if anyone has more suggestions, I would like to hear them also. Cynthia

-- Cynthia Speer (farmsteader@gvtel.com), February 17, 2001.

I went to the nursery to buy diamataious earth for my carpenter ants. They asked me if I had a slug problem. Apparently, they sell it all the time for slugs and didn't know it worked on carpenter ants.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), February 17, 2001.

Hello Cynthia, Never give slugs beer! They are very aggressive when they are drunk! They will bang on your door and try to bum money from you and your family to go to the nearest 7-eleven and buy more of the devils brew. I suggest the following: Put boards down around your infested areas. Early the next few mornings, go outside and turn over the boards. Hand pick all the slugs that you find. Take them inside and wash them three times. Then gently pull off their shells. Trim the little muscle that holds the shell on and drop them into a pot of boiling water. Boil just like you would shrimp. Remove them from the boiling water and add large amounts of garlic butter. Serve them as an appetizer at your next party. The folks will love it. Sincerely, Ernest www.communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks

-- Ernest in the Ozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), February 18, 2001.

I have a ton of slugs and they all want to come inside and live with me. They are so disgusting. My kid used to throw salt on them when they crawled up the storm door - until I made him clean up the mess. The best non-toxic remedy I have found is diatomaceous earth - gets rid of them quick since they are mostly water. Also won't harm humans or animals. Be careful about using it on flowers since it will kill your bees. It will also work inside your house for all kinds of creepy crawlers. Dust pets and and their bedding (keep away from eyes and nose). Also can be mixed with feed to kill internal parasites. Just make sure to get the food grade.

-- Linda Al-Sangar (alsangal@brentwood-tn.org), February 18, 2001.

Copper gives them a little electric shock that they don't like, so lay some circles of thin copper tubing around your plants, maybe even around the perimeter of the entire bed (solder, glue or mash it together to form a complete circle with no breaks). Put it under the mulch ~ might work under there, though I've never tried that. I'll bet a combination of things (copper, ducks/pigeons, beer baths and boards) would reduce their numbers dramatically. If you're not into escargot (the other poster wasn't kidding I don't think ~ they're really good), then just flip the boards over when you let your birds into the garden. They love them almost as much as tomato hornworms (which my chickens think are little green twinkies!).

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 18, 2001.

If you don't want to use beer, a yeast mixture will do as well. The slugs are after the yeasty smell, I understand. Just put out some yeast and sugar in water, like when proofing yeast for bread.

Also, if you put hair on top of your mulch, the slugs will be reluctant to cross. It sticks to them, and they hate that. Hair has worked nicely for me. I have two standard poodles, so we have hair in abundance. : )

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), February 19, 2001.

I am loving all your answers and am really ready to do battle with those little tomato-ruining, beer-guzzling slimeballs now! And Earnest in the Ozarks, I want to know if you have ever really eaten slugs??!! I love escargot; but I just can't imagine these cooking up the same as those delicacies. Thank you all so much Cynthia

-- Cynthia Speer (farmsteader@gvtel.com), February 19, 2001.

I used to send the kids out with salt to take care of the slugs, but there are so many, the salt was doing just as much damge to my yard. My next method was to have a can of salt water and kitchen tongs to pick the slugs and drop them in the salt water. (they foam really good). When the jar or can is full, put the lid on it and put it in the trash, or, I found out, give it to somebody or something that likes to eat slug pickles. I found some aged ones that never made it to the trash and dumped them out back, and yes, something ate them.

Yes, there is a town in Northern California that has a Slugfest and they have the Banana Slug Cook-off. I may have to go down there and enter my banana slug pickles.

I am not fond of drunk and rowdy slugs pounding on my door demanding more beer, crawling up my windows and begging for beer and salad. There is a non-toxic iron phosphate pellet that is available to rid your yard of slugs. I believe you can get it through organic gardening suppliers.

An interesting website for those of us who think gross is funny is the SLUGS OF OREGON http://www.homecraft.com/SLUGS/slugs.html

I can hear my kids out singing the Banana Slug Song. "Banana, banana, banana slug, are you an animal or are you a bug?"

From the Pacific Northwest Rainforest, Good Day.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), February 21, 2001.

Snails and slugs belong to the mollusks, which include the shellfish oysters, clams, mussels, barnacles, and cuttlefishes. Slugs and snails are the malicious dry-land equivalent to the marine barnacles, in their damage to plants. They come in colors of grey, orange, and black. Snails have distinct shells and slugs appear not to have shells but actually have a very small rudimentary shell plate on the upper side near the head. Slugs and snails both feed on young and succulent plants, especially in moist, well-watered situations. They injure plants by rasping irregular designs in leaves, flowers, and stems, normally at night and during damp weather. In contrast, caterpillars feed on plants all the time, leaving large amounts of droppings instead of a slime trail. Often the silvery, slimy trails of snails and slugs are seen on walks, stepping stones, soil, grass, and foliage before their damage is found. Some crawl on houses or damage painted siding. Slugs are more damaging than snails, and both are often present in greenhouses throughout the year and in many home gardens and border flower plantings for most of the summer. Eggs are found almost any time of the year and most species overwinter in this stage. A few species overwinter as adults in concealed places. The young resemble the adults and begin feeding as soon as they hatch. The life span is usually less than a year. …xxxx … Slugs and snails require moist, shaded areas and can be discouraged by garden sanitation and foliage removal to improve ventilation and air movement. Control by hand picking provides limited success, is tedious, but avoids the use of chemicals. Other methods include the use of molluscicides (snail and slug poisons) as poison baits, trapping under boards, and using beer pan traps. In the poison bait category are two compounds: Metaldehyde, and carbaryl, sold as ready- to-use baits. Dusts or liquid formulations are recommended for greenhouse slug problems, while baits are more satisfactory for home garden and flower problems. Baits are more successful when distributed in infested areas just after a rain or after watering when these pests are most active. (COMPLETE GUIDE TO PEST CONTROL, 3rd edition, by George W. Ware)…….hope this helps. A.D.

-- Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), February 21, 2001.

I have not tried this, but I got a new gardening book today and this is what it says. Put a pan of grape juice, ground level outside. In the evening, count the slugs, then follow the trail to where they are living. Then put dry aluminum sulphate with a hand help spreader set on a medium setting, or 3 tbls. dissolved in a gallon of water, spray on the area. Good luck!

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), February 21, 2001.

Hi Cynthia,,,I love to mulch too, but had a lot of trouble with slugs. Lots of good remedies,,and suggestions here,,,I like to mulch my garden in the fall for all winter. It loosens up the soil and makes it easier to dig into. But don't mulch til after the first or second hard frost. Than slugs won't get under the mulch. Than come spring,, pull mulch off garden,,til ready to plant,,so the ukky slugs don't head for your garden spot to get under mulch. This may be a lot of trouble for a huge garden,, but it works well for small ones. Plus all those other tricks to get rid of them. Whew!,,it is a never ending battle!!! Pidgeons sound like a good idea,,

-- Patsy (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), February 22, 2001.

Hi-- We garden in cool, wet Oregon, and I had tried diatomacous earth, egg shells, sand, copper strips, dishes of beer,nighttime safaries with flashlights and buckets of soapy water, ad infinitum, with very unimpressive results. I am determined NEVER to use toxics in my garden, but was feeling desperate because of the number and aggressiveness of the slugs! Studies done at Oregon State University (the "Ag" college here) have shown that slugs which are desperate enough will literally "crawl over ground glass" to get to the food they want. So---several years ago I started using a new product usually referred to as "Sluggo," which is non-toxic to plants and animals, is made (I think) of iron phosphate, lasts several weeks even when it rains, and melts away into the soil eventually. It is tiny pellets and a couple spoonfuls are sprinkled over several square yards so it goes a long way. It isn't cheap (usually about $14 for 2 1/2 lbs. or so) but well worth it. It is VERY effective--the slugs eat it, stop feeding, and die. I've had great success with it even in very tough areas like around lettuce plants, hostas and other slug "favorites." I've sen it in garden stores, in "Peaceful Valley Farm" catalog and elsewhere. GOOD LUCK! c

-- Marilee T. (hotjmmt@ados.com), February 23, 2001.

Thank you all! I am so glad I stumbled onto this forum. Marilee, I think I have heard of Sluggo and will sure keep that in mind, also. The ideas are all great - they should rename this thread "The LowDown on Lowdown slugs". Bye for now and thanks again! Cynthia

-- Cynthia Speer (farmsteader@gvtel.com), February 23, 2001.

Try one part non sudsing amonia and two parts water in a spray bottle and use once weekly. This is particularly good for use on hostas.

-- Harriett A. Moon (hmoon33589@aol.com), May 27, 2001.

I can say with pride that I have eaten a banana slug ALIVE! It doesn't even taste like anything. You just can't get the slime off your tounge. It takes forever. Just thought i'd let you know.

-- Brittany Leanne (girlonthem00n@hotmail.com), June 06, 2001.