Slugs! wat to do?

[fieldgrower]

+ive been having a little problem with slugs so far this season, nothing too crazy but i did the ol' ring of salt around the plants, it usually blows away over night and in the morning their are a few slugs just creeping along my seedlings, is their any permanent way to get rid of these pests? or maybe a more effective method than the salt. thanks.

 

[Tirs]

Copper around the stems works. So does commercial bait and I've heard beer in a bowl attracts/drowns them.

 

[Storm Crow]

Well...some nonpoisonous ways...

Well...some nonpoisonous ways...

Beer in shallow bowls works (they like it and just drown happily). So does placing a few boards around your planting area. The slugs will hide under the boards and are easily removed each morning. I lived in a heavily infested area and fed each morning's slug harvest to my chickens- THEN they got yummy grain after finishing off the slimy slugs.

Stop using salt! It poisons the ground- haven't you read in the bible where to curse land, they sowed it with salt? Salt will kill your seedlings eventually.

 

[Guest]

get some salt

 

[fieldgrower]

im not throwing salt everywhere just lightly sprinkle around like 3 feet away from the plants in a circle

 

[esbe]

salt is no good. ferramol is okay.

 

[eugenegreen]

salt is no good. ferramol is okay.

I agree! Salt is no good for the earth, and eventually will build up in the soil... Remember the main reason why we flush potted plants is due to salt buildup... The same effect for outdoor plants, overtime that salt will build up... Why use salt, when you can just use beer or ferramol??? Beer is cheap and effective IMO....

 

[Pimp Aurora]

sharp builders sand, sharp gravel, crushed egg shells, slug pellets!?

 

[george j warner]

something i did last year in a very sluggy area was get some silicone and a caulk gun and squert a ring of silicone around your pot and roll the ring in rock salt ,it will stick to it and doesnt wash away ! and i did that last may, as in may 06 and its still there ! copper tape is also excellent but dont put it straight on the stem! as the plant grows it constricts the stem!

if you havent got pots and have planted straight into the ground . get some plant pots cut the bottom off and use the silicone salt method then just put it over the top ...

hope this helps
laterz

 

[rberciol]

I think u could cut a bottle from two sides. and put it to soil around the plant. I hope you will understand my post ..

 

[Relik]

The bottle trick works fine, as well as copper around the stem.

Another useful trick is the spreading of ashes around your grow area, they will eventually be washed away with rain but otherwise they can remain there for a few days from what I've seen (and I live in a quite windy area). Ashes do the same as salt, it dries the slugs' skin which needs to remain moist in order to move and survive.

However be careful, too much ashes over a long time will induce a rise in your soil pH.

Peace

 

[jaykush]

salt = bad

try semi crushed lava rocks when they crawl on it they get cut up good.

 

[elevate]

I would try those sticky pads, although maybe snails are too big for those. I would try a natural/organic solution that kills helps kill/prevent/eliminate slugs/snails. I would also cage my plants even though some can squeeze through.

 

[Guest]

copper doesn't do anything at all, it's a total waste of time

sluggo works well but you gotta buy it (little pellets that kill slugs but are ok for soil, not sure if it's organic or not)

or you can make metal window screen fences around your stems with the tops of the fences frayed so slugs can't get over it. just make sure the rest of your plant isnt touching ground or other plants.

 

[hilljack]

get some beer
put it in a dish or two around your plot

thankme later

 

[Berry_Coughin']

Get a salt lick block, and cut rings out of it, and place at the base?? Like an onion ring of salt??

 

[Ganico]

Deers love salt licks and salt in general. If you have deers in your area, bury a salt lick a foot or two deep in soil, and come back in a few weeks. Bet there's a hole dug up where the salt lick was.

 

[false]

hasnt anybody ever heard of Slug Bait ? thats all we use , it works and is not supossed to hurt the soil , but its allways a question of wether your attracting them with the bait also .

 

[Guest]

Some people do it that way :

...

Paddi

 

[PHL8T ME]

Try DE or (diatomatious earth) Made from the shells of diotoms, or ancient fossilized sea shells. Powdered, it's like glass and the wont slither over it, it will cut the crap out of them.
When I grow in the forrest, the DE sprinkled about and a plastic cup around the base of the plants is all I've ever used. Later on in the year when the bugs start chewing holes in the leaves a light spray of pyola and a light dusting of DE works wonders to keep the leaves from looking like swiss cheese. just my 2 cents.