Slugs Love Seedlings - What to DO?

[Ann B.]

Hi,

I am not sure how many of you have this problem, but around here, we gets lots of rain and the slugs love it. To make matters worse, they also love the humdity of my greenhouse, even before I put in the Cool Mist system, they presented many problems.

I tried the beer in a bowl technique, but I think these creatures just overindulged and left.

Hunter loves it when I moved pots around, and he finds all those creatures that live under the pots like rolly pollies and slugs. So, I carry out a salt shaker and let him watch the slugs melt. Just a little does the trick as too much is not good for the soil.

I saved the coffee grounds, and I enjoyed the smell of coffee every time I went out the back patio door. It does work, but in our heat the grounds broke down into the soil faster than we could drink more coffee. And I didn't like the idea of sprinkling coffee grounds on my seedlings.

Then, I heard about the trick of sprinkling sand on top of the soil, and sure enough that worked for hostas as well as the seedlings in my greenhouse.

Then I heard that you could put copper tape around the edges of the benches in your greenhouse and that would keep them away.

But, actually, the sand worked out so well that I chose to stick with that one. I just sprinkle fine play sand on top of soil in the seedling trays and the tops of the soil in pots containing plants and cuttings that plants seem to love. And whala, it works quite well!

Anyone else have ideas about these nasty critters?

[sewfarsewgood]

Ducks love to eat slugs and duck eggs are good too.

[Ray]

I've always used a 10:1 mixture of play sand and rock salt. Pretty much just a 50 lb bag of play sand and a 5 lb bag of rock salt to hit 'em with a double whammy. First, they don't like crawling around on their belly on the sand. Can't say that I would either. Secondly, we all know what the salt does to 'em. If your kids are bored one day, give 'em a salt shaker and find a slug. Keeps 'em busy for hours!!! BTW, the rock salt is used 'cause it stays around alot longer than granulated salt. Kinda like slow release salt.

Have fun

[shepp]

i use wood ash on my green bean plants.
i broadcast in the morning when dew is on the plants.
it irritates the daylights out of bean beatles .
i have used on potato plants also.a dn tomato plants.every rain it washes off and i do it again. i dont know about using it on slugs, could be worth a try.
the nasty little slugs get between the quart pots and the 15 pack flats and hide during the day.when i see damage i do the slug roundup.yuck i hate those things.i have seen them up to five inches long.when they were that big they ran in pairs.
i like the salt trick.its like the wizard of OZ,im melting im melting.:)

[Ann B.]

Thanks, Shepp for making me laugh.

A few years ago, when Hunter was four, he loved to watch the Wizard of Qz over and over again. It is emedded in my mind. Now, all you have to do is imagine the wicked witches shoes turning to goo as they curl up, and that is what those wicked slugs do when sprinkled with salt.

Unfortunately, they multiply so fast, this doesn't get rid of them all! Just makes you feel like you've accomplished something in the war on slugs to get a few...

[sewfarsewgood]

When I lived in Edmonds, WA we used to fight slugs all the time. We used two products mainly. One called dead-line which was a sticky brown gooey stuff that attracted the slugs and over night you would have mass slug-a-cide. The other was a sawdusty bait put out by Green-light products that was more residual and killed them over a long period of time.

Of course you could be really inventive and stuff them into snail shells and serve them like escargot. ;)

Gary J