SLUGS...YICK!!!

[manicmower]

I need some suggestions for slug control. They are every where. It has always been a problem here, but since I have converted to 99% perennials, the damage is so much more noticeable.

Gathering and throwing them away, and a "pet safe slug bait" are the only two things I have tried. I don't feel very successful right now. There are so many. Any suggestions? Is the "pet safe slug bait" less effective than the "slug killer"?

The slugs have invaded my shed and my bird feeding station as well. I need help!

Lindy

[Kisal]

I've actually had good luck with beer. I was told to buy the cheapest beer I could find, pour it into a shallow disposable container, and set it out in my yard.

I bought one can of some off brand I had never heard of before. (I paid about $2 for at a little convenience store.) I put it in an aluminum foil pie pan late in the evening -- the sun was still up -- and I stood there and watched what had to be hundreds of slugs coming toward it through the grass! When I got up the next morning, the pan was literally heaped full of dead slugs. I went back to the store and bought more of the same brand of beer and set 8 pans full out in my yard. By summer's end, my yard was pretty much slug free. That got the situation under control, so in subsequent years, I only had to put out 3 or 4 pans of beer to keep the slug population down.

I live in a different house now and have brown garden snails, but very few slugs. The snails don't seem to respond to beer as well as the slugs did, so I hand pick them. I just pick them, drop them on the ground, and step on them. I make sure I squash them really well, too! I have used Corry's Snail and Slug Bait in the past, and it certainly works well, but now I have quite a lot of wild animals that frequent my yard, and I don't want to risk harming any of them. I have 5 lovely garter snakes (two 3' long adults and 3 smaller ones) that live in my yard, too, and I'm not sure whether they eat snails or not. Just in case they do, I wouldn't want them to get hold of one that was poisoned.

[manicmower]

Thank you so much. I have a home remedy gardening book and the suggestion in there had something to do with beer. I never followed up on it. I am a complete teetotaller and would have no idea where to get a can of any beer. I live in Pa. I think the only place you can get it is a bar.

I need to ask around. I will brew my own if it means I can get rid of things. Some of my guys are HUGE. I swear I saw one about the size of a loaf of Italian Bread. LOL! UGH!

Thanks again. I'm off to get a brewsky!

[Kisal]

I've never been a drinker, either, so I understand what you mean! I just walked into the little mom and pop market a couple blocks from my home and told them I needed a can of the cheapest beer they had, and that I didn't care whether it tasted good, because it was for the slugs, not me!

[Roger]

The yeast is what attracts them. If you don't want to buy a beer, you can mix some yeast with water and use it, or soak some bread in water and let it lay on the ground for a day or two for similar results.

I have read that cinders [wood ash] or some alkaline substance sometimes works as a border for slugs.

[manicmower]

Cool! I think I will try the yeast until I can find the beer. I will try them both to see which is better. Here in Pa beer, alcohol, liquor all can be sold ONLY by licensed distributors. You can't get it in a grocery store, convenience store or restuarant.

Thank you. This is awesome!! The battle commences!

[Roger]

Some very general info about slugs for you at this site:
http://www.eap.mcgill.ca/magrack/jpr/JPR_29.htm

"You can make your own bait by mixing 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon yeast,"

[Brandywinegirl]

You can use O'Douls Beer or any beer with yeast and no alcohol. I used tuna cans and put them in the ground level with the dirt. At night, the sluggies came out & drowned. Then after a few days I would throw the beer/slugs out & added more beer to catch more.

[cynthia_h]

I bake my own bread (less expensive and, yes, this year that has been a consideration) and thus always have yeast in the house.

DH drinks maybe three or four beers a year, so that's not a commonly available beverage here (I don't drink--alcohol is a migraine trigger for me PLUS it has always tasted terrible to me).

So...thought...why not just put yeast + sugar + water into the famous pie pan and leave it out for slugs?

I only battle with snails currently, but wondered whether this non-alcohol approach might help others.

Ideas?

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9/Sunset Zone 17

[manicmower]

Yippee!! These are wonderful suggestions. I was wondering if the alcohol content maybe had a neurological effect on the slugs since I had never seen them drown in regular water. Maybe the yeast and sugar water (must go by sugar.... I don't eat bread or sugar) would be a bigger draw.

I am so excited to try this. I will see if I can get a friend to get me some O'Douls (sp?). I will try it all. I am soooooo tired of these guys.

First thing Sunday eve I will begin the battle!

Thanks to all!

[cynthia_h]

Do you eat honey? I've also made bread with honey as the source of fuel for the yeast.

Cynthia

[manicmower]

No, don't use honey either. I follow a very low carb diet for a number of health issues, but one of them is hypoglycemia which is very very unstable so as unhealthy and undesirable it is, I use all artificial sweeteners..... Equal and Splenda.

I think a few packets of sugar from the coffee bar will hold me over until I get some.

[cynthia_h]

I understand. Migraines have forced me into some strange eating patterns, too....

In baking bread, the proportion in most of my recipes (for 5 to 6 cups of flour, or two loaves) is: 2.5 Tablespoons of yeast, 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar, 2 or so cups of water.

I think a packet of sugar = 1 tsp. sugar, but read the fine print just to be sure.

Cynthia

[manicmower]

Thanks for that. I also enjoy the wild world of migraines..... "chronic, lingering migraine" .... UGH! I also have two muscle diseases (one primary, and the other, developed as a result of the first) that benefit from the lo-carb lifestyle.

I am going to make my witches brew later today. LOL! Since I am limited on ingredience and time right now, I will start with one pan in my shed, one inthe outside entry to my basement, and a third in my birdfeeding station. As soon as I get back to the grocery store, I will tuck pans away in each flower bed and under the porches.

I really don't find the slugs unattractive or anything, but the SLIME and the damaged they do..... THIS IS WAR!!!!

Thanks!