Audiovisual ITU Video

Slugs can be a gardener’s nightmare; you can go to bed only to wake up the following morning to find seedlings destroyed and larger plants badly damaged

Hand picking

Your neighbours might think you are a bit strange, but you can go out at night with a torch in one hand and a pot of salt water in the other. As you spot the slugs, simply pick them up and drop them into the salt water.

If you can’t face picking them up, you can always create a spear from a broom handle and a nail and pick them up by stabbing them!

On a similar vein, you can lay out orange peel at night and come the morning turn it over. With any luck there will be a number of slugs hiding underneath, by removing their shelter you will expose them to the birds and other natural predators.

Broken eggshells / sharp sand

Slugs find it uncomfortable to move over sharp objects, so although not a perfect solution it is possible to make a slug barrier out of broken eggshells or sharp sand. Make a ring at least 2 inches wide around each of the seedlings you wish to protect and generally the slugs will not cross the barrier.

Copper strips

Slugs receive a shock when they come into contact with copper so you can use it as a barrier to stop the slugs from reaching your seedlings. Generally it is best used around the tops of pots or in areas you can be certain don’t contain any slugs already.

Beer trap

The beer trap or slug pub is probably the most enjoyable slug control method as you get to drink some beer! Take a small container, such as a jam jar or cut the bottom from a plastic bottle, submerge this in the ground leaving the top about half an inch proud. Open your beer and pour a little into the container – drink the rest! In the morning you should have a number of dead slugs in the beer. Unfortunately you now have to empty them out and clean the container before repeating again.

Slug pellets

Slug pellets are the traditional way of controlling slugs. These generally contain metaldehyde, which works by effectively dehydrating the slug. Although reasonably effective, the slugs need to ingest the pellets and therefore are only effective for slugs that are above ground. They also don’t work during and after heavy rain when you need the protection most. Metaldehyde also has another major drawback in that is its dangerous to animals, pets and children if ingested. Several dogs die each year having eaten slug pellets.

Salt

Everyone knows that salt kills slugs, but it does leave an awful mess, not to mention the fact that salt is toxic to plants, so really not the substance to be throwing around in your garden.

Nematodes

Nematodes (available under the name Nemaslug in the UK) are a relatively new addition to the market, but probably the most effective control available. A pack contains millions of naturally occurring nematodes (tiny parasitic worms) that prey on slugs. As the nematodes only target slugs they are entirely harmless to wild animals, pets and children.