How To Get Rid of SlugsTips & tricks for getting rid of slugs in the garden and home

Hey Guys,

I’ve dubbed this article ‘How To Get Rid of Slugs: The Ultimate Guide’ because I’m going to pull out all the stops and share with you just about every method I know for getting rid of slugs, so be prepared for a long and comprehensive article…

Slugs are shell-less gastropod mollusks that come out at night and eat vegetation.

Because they eat vegetation, leaving holes in aesthetic plants and destroying fruits and vegetables, they are the bane of gardeners the world over and many techniques have been developed for getting rid of them and controlling their numbers.

I’ve split the techniques into two broad categories; humane and lethal. It’s fair to say that the lethal methods of getting rid of slugs are far more effective than the humane methods, however if your personal values prohibit you from causing harm to creatures, the humane methods are all you have. Ideally, a combination of both humane and lethal methods should be used.

How To Get Rid of Slugs Humanely

Whereas lethal slug control techniques involve killing them, humane slug control methods aim to make the slug’s environment as undesirable as possible for them forcing them to move to another location.

Therefore, it is important to understand the conditions a slug likes and dislikes.

Tidy Up

Slugs like live somewhere dark, cool and damp – that is why they are nocturnal and only come out at night. Removing decaying matter from your garden (by sweeping up dead leaves for example) and pruning low-hanging leaves limits places for them to hide during the daytime. Also, if you water your garden in the morning instead of the evening, it will make your garden less hospitable to slugs during the night-time when they are most active.

If you are having problems with slugs getting into your house at night, you should give your home a good clean and try to locate how the slugs are getting in (through the floor, cavities in the masonry, ventilation ducts etc.) before sealing it off. You can find further information in my article ‘how to get rid of slugs in the home‘.

Barriers

You can also guard your plants from slugs by erecting impassable barriers around them.

Good materials for barriers are those that are either too dry or too sharp for the slugs to cross. Sand, soot and eggshells work well (eggshells are also beneficial to the fertilization of the soil as they decay). Diatomaceous earth, which can be obtained from garden centers and online also prevents slugs getting to your plants.

For smaller plants or saplings, you can cut a plastic drinks bottle in half and place the top part (with the spout) over your plant, which also creates an effective barrier.

Another way to stop slugs getting at your plants is to use self-adhesive copper tape. When a slug tries to cross it, it delivers a mild electric shock that prompts it to change direction. If you have a lot of plants growing in pots, this makes an ideal slug repellent because you can stick it around the rim of the plant pots.

Finally, you can fence in your plants using semi-rigid plastic sheeting buried on it’s edge in the ground with 8-10 inches protruding above the surface.

How To Kill Slugs

Slug Pellets

Slug pellets are one of the most effective method of getting rid of slugs – although some brands are better than others at the task.

Sluggo Organic Slug Pellets

Sluggo and SlugGone are the best slug pellets I have found (see my article here). Simply scatter the pellets around your garden and your slugs (and snails) will be attracted to them and eat them. After a few days, they will die because the chemicals change their metabolism and they starve to death.

The great thing about these pellets is that they are biodegradable and will not harm other animals – wildlife and pets, which makes them ideal for pet-owners. They are also safe to use if you have young children.

There are other chemicals available for killing slugs but not all are organic and non-toxic and, in my experience, none are as effective as Sluggo.

The Beer Trap

Beer traps are an old and traditional (and very effective) method of getting rid of slugs.

Although you can purchase beer traps like the highly-acclaimed SLUG X TRAP, you can easily construct a home-made equivalent and, of course, home-made traps are much less expensive.

Simply bury a small tub (such as a butter tub) in the earth near to where you’ve noticed slug activity (so that the rim is level with the ground). Then, fill the tub with beer (Budweiser seems to work well) and leave overnight. In the morning, you’ll have a tub full of dead slugs.

Slugs are attracted by the beer and as they feed on it, they fall in and drown.

In my experience, the beer trap is THE best method of getting rid of slugs from your home and garden.

Quack Quack

Finally, if you have the space, you could introduce natural predators of the slug to your garden such as chickens or ducks. Poultry such as these will wander your garden eating any slugs they find, however this method is only practical if you use their slug-devouring skills as a secondary benefit – the primary benefit being their food production (both eggs and meat).

Hey guys,

I only have time for a quick post today as I’m off on my holidays tomorrow

NOTE: Click here to read my guide on how to get rid of slugs.

I want to share with you what I have found to be the best organic slug pellets on the market – I prefer organic pellets because I have a four-year old that likes to eat just about anything he finds so I’d prefer that he didn’t eat something poisonous!

Sluggo Organic Slug Pellets

Anyhow, the slug pellets I recommend are Sluggo  Organic Slug Pellets.

Simply sprinkle them around your plants or wherever the nasty slugs are and they’ll be gone literally overnight.

I’ve tried many different types of slug pellets over the years and although I can’t profess to have tested them all, Sluggo has had the best results at getting rid of slugs.

NOTE: I’ve been told that Sluggo isn’t available in the UK, however a product called Slug Gone is a good alternative for residents of Great Britain.

Until next time,

John

NOTE: If you’re looking for information on getting rid of slugs in your garden, click here.

Have you ever turned on your kitchen light at night to be confronted with slugs crawling around your kitchen floor and up your cupboards?

That’s exactly what happened to me last November and after the initial shock, I set about getting rid of them – it took about of month of trial and error with different methods to banish them. In this article, I’ll explain various ways of getting rid of slugs from your house so you’ll no longer have to suffer the squelch underfoot when you pop downstairs for a midnight snack.

To begin, it is important to get inside the mind of a slug and understand how they operate. Think like a slug and your halfway to getting of them!

STUFF SLUGS LIKE

Mr slug likes the dark and Mr Slug likes the damp. That’s why you’ll often find them wandering around your house at night. Slugs will generally tolerate light and dry areas when they are are looking for something to eat, but after feeding they will return to their dark, dank lair. Talking of food, slugs are attracted to fruit and vegetable matter whether fresh or decaying.

CLEAN AND TREAT

So, the first thing you need to do to is make your house less hospitable to slugs. If your home suffers from dampness, get it treated by specialists as soon as you can. In addition, give your house a thorough clean to ensure there is no decaying matter that could be a feast for a slug (I found under the fridge to be a prime example of a slug’s banquet).

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

Next, try to establish how the slugs are getting into your home. Start from the location where you’ve seen the largest concentration of slugs and look for holes, cracks and crevices to the exterior. Is there an exterior wall? Are there any air bricks / vents? Any holes to the outside for pipes or cables? These are all questions you should be asking yourself as you search for the slugs way in.

If there are any slug slime trails visible, you may get some clues as to where they are coming from by following it.

When you make a discovery, seal it up by repairing any damage or filling with expandable foam. It may seem obvious to most but I should point out that you shouldn’t block your air vents! Purchase a new air vent that slugs can’t get through and replace.

SLUG TERMINATION

There are a number of ways to kill slugs that are inside your property and I’ve put together a list of my top three here:

1. Beer Trap: Lay out a bowl of beer and leave it overnight near to the area of your house that the slugs frequent. Mr slug will be attracted to it (after all, beer is essentially rotting matter, which slugs love) fall into the liquid and drown. You can also purchase specially-designed slug traps.
2. Salt: Sprinkle patches of salt around the infested area. Slugs and salt don’t mix and you’ll wake up in the morning to find lots of dead slugs.
3. Slug Pellets: Click here for some great slug pellet recommendations.

SUMMARY

So, hopefully,you now know how to get rid of slugs from your house. To summarise:

1. Clean up your house and treat any rising damp.
2. Seal up all entrances
3. Kill slugs with beer traps,

Following these steps will get rid of slugs in around 90% of cases. If you still have problems, you’ll need to call in the pest control experts who’ll work tirelessly to provide a solution – or get a duck. Ducks love to gobble up as many juicy slugs as they can get their beaks around

UPDATE Sept 2011: This article has now been superseded by my article HOW TO GET RID OF SLUGS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE.

About the Slug
To gardeners, the slug (or shell-less gastropod mollusc) is an annoying pest that can create vast damage to their crops. Whilst, slugs can play an important part in any eco-system by eating decaying organic matter, a slugs penchance for a gardener’s prize harvest makes it very difficult for the two to live together in harmony.

This webpage outlines some of the ways a gardener can get rid their garden of slugs. For more in-depth information, we highly recommend that you grab a copy of Jill Haskin’s Garden Slug Control.

How Do You Get Rid of Slugs?
In this section, I’ll discuss some of the techniques you can use to get rid of slugs.

Eggshells

Method: Break up eggshells and scatter around the perimeter of your plants.

Due to the softness of their bodies, the sharp edges of the egg shells deter slugs from crossing them. Although a widely-known solution, I don’t know of anyone that has had success with this technique.

Diatomaceous Earth

Method: Create a barrier of diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of your plants.

Diatomaceous earth is a natural material consisting of fossilized algae. Like eggshells, it can lacerate the underside of any brave slug that tries to cross it.

Removal by hand

Method: Remove slugs from your garden by hand (especially after a shower of rain)

I wasn’t sure whether to include this but in the end I decided that it should be here, if only because it is the most common method of slug control.

Slug Pellets

Method: A scattering of slug pellets around your garden

Commercially manufactured slug-killing pellets. Although they’re pretty good at killing slugs, they can also cause damage to other wildlife, pets and young children.

Predators

Method: Introduce slug-eating ducks or chickens to your garden or create a habitat that will attract other predators

Ducks, chickens and other birds love to chew on tasty slugs, as do other birds. You can invest in poultry or simply attract birds to your garden with a feeder. Other animals such as hedgehogs or beetles will also enjoy keeping your slug population down.

Porridge

Method: A scattering of porridge oats around your slug’s habitat.

I’ve never tried his, but apparently slugs will eat the oats and it will kill them (please let me kow if anyoe has had any success with this method).

Beer Trap

Method: Bury a jar/bottle in your garden and fill with beer.

Slugs are attracted to the beer, fall into the trap and drown.

The Best Way To Get Rid of Slugs
I’ve outlined a number of methods you can use to try to combat the nuisance of slugs. The ones you choose to try will depend n factors such as your budget, whether you want an organic solution and how much time you have. There is no “best way” to get rid of slugs as something that works for you may not work for someone else – it is often a case of trial and error.

Jill Haskin’s Garden Slug Control guarantees to get rid of your slugs in less than seven days and she also offers an 8-week money-back guarantee if her method doesn’t work for you, so why not give it a try.

Pest Control: Slug Video
Yolander discusses slug control methods.

Feedback
If you have any slug-killing techniques that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them. Please email me with your suggestions. I’d also be interested in any other constructive comments that could make this webpage better.

Welcome to How to get rid of Slugs website.

Here, you’ll find lots of tips and tricks for getting rid of slugs that have found their way into your garden and home – if you have any other tips I’ve not mentioned, I’d love to hear them. Leave me a comment or email me at slugs@gesweb.co.uk.

Enjoy

John