Slugs as...food?

[Michigan2Iowa]

That title grabbed you, didn't it?

I am concerned that the treatment I'm using to rid my garden of slugs may be harming some beneficial animals in my backyard ecosystem.

I moved into a new home approx. 3 years ago and inherited a neglected garden. It was completely overrun with tall perennial phlox and Euonymous vine. After much work, my backyard is now a flourishing perennial garden, which gets many visits from bumblebees, hummingbirds, song birds, butterflies...and thousands upon thousands of slimy, hungry, and strangely fast slugs.

I attempt to keep them under control with beer baits, but the amount of "barley-pop" I have to use would cause my neighbor to put A-A pamphlets on my door step. After months of destruction, and failed attempts as using diatomaceous earth and copper barriers (can slugs jump?), I resorted to using those boxes of "killer slug bait".

I'm concerned about two things, one: are there any wildlife that feed on slugs, and of those that do, could they be adversely affected if they consume slugs that were killed with this 'bait'? Two: "Slugo" and other baits of this type require the soil and/or bait to be damp when applied. I often notice that a horrible mold (white fuzz) will thrive on the pile of bait after about a week. Does this moldy junk harm my soil? Can this stuff leech into the soil and harm my wonderful earthworm population?

I feel as though I'm caught in a catch 22 here...I don't want to harm the wildlife in my garden, but last summer just for kicks, I counted the total number of slugs on my .16 acres...and had 176. I understand that slugs require cool and damp areas to hide during the day, but I can't lower the amount of mulch I use due to the long dry spells we can get in Easter Iowa...

Thanks for any advice/answers you can provide!

-Paul-

[opabinia51]

Hi Michigan,

Yes so, the sluggo has an active ingredient of Iron phosphate that can react to form phosphorous oxides and is itself a salt and will react to make other iron salts.

Anyway, the P oxides are very damaging to mucus membranes of animals and other organisms. So, you can understand how this kills slugs. Anyway, the fungi living in your soil could possibly be affected and of course any vertebrates eating the slug bait would be adversely affected. Also, the Iron phosphate will have these affects on humans and other vertebrates:

Inhalation: This material may be harmful by inhalation. Material is irritating to the mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract.

Eyes: Irritating to the eyes.

[b]Skin: May be harmful by absorption, causing irritation.

Ingestion: May be harmful by ingestion.

Slugs are a major pain in my side as well. Though, I have found that when using used coffee grounds in my sheet composting (as a top dressing) that the slugs seem to go away. Keep up with the copper strips, you can also lay wire mesh around your garden and the slugs won't cross that either. A little Sodium Chloride (table salt) never hurt anything other than the slugs as well.

Good luck!

[Michigan2Iowa]

Opa,

Thank you for the response.

I'm still curious though, are there any wildlife that feed on slugs (I'm assuming many birds do, but who knows?) and if so, do slugs killed with Iron Phosphate pose a danger to them?

-P-

[grandpasrose]

Well Paul you certainly grabbed me with that topic title!
Glad to see you are concerned about how you are effecting the environment around you as well!

I have a few suggestions for you that may work.
First of all, avoid watering late in the day as the moisture persists after the sun sets, creating the perfect slug environment. Water early in morning to allow the water to evaporate, and try to use drip irrigation with water directed toward individual plants.

Set up spots that slugs would normally use - boards, tipped over pots, in a damp area of your garden. Either a couple hours after sundown, or early in the morning, lift these up, and you will find several slugs under them. Either drop these into a bucket of soapy water, or spray them with ammonia and water spray, and remove them. Continue doing this every day.

Try to encourage both frogs and birds to your garden as they are natural predators of slugs.

The other thing I would do is produce a harmful barrier surrounding my entire garden, and then once that was done, work at eliminating all the slugs inside that barrier. After this, it should just be a matter of refreshing your harmful barrier every once in a while so that they don't get back in.
Also remember, that the snails will have laid eggs, so it may take a bit to eliminate all of the snails still inside the barrier, but be vigilant!

You could make your harmful barrier out of the following items - try one, a mixture, or all at the same time!!
- Crushed egg shells (too sharp to cross)
- shredded oak leaves (poisonous to snails)
- Pour Wormwood tea liberally around the garden (poisonous to snails)
- Sprinkle small wood chips (not big enough for them to hide under) these are hard for them to cross and also contain high levels of tannin which is harmful to snails
- Sprinkle Gypsum, Wood Ash, Soot, Lime and Coal tar surrounding the garden (harmful to snails)

I hope one or all of these help you out - let us know how it goes, and feel free to come back anytime!

Val

[The Helpful Gardener]

I have said this before but it bears repeating, beer attracts slugs! Not a news flash? How about from three hundred feet! Now measure your yard! Now get your neighbor to put out the beer!

HG

[opabinia51]

That must be the devil inside of you Scott That sure is one way to get rid of slugs, get your neighbour to attract them to their yard

[The Helpful Gardener]

If you have a neighbor you aren't fond of, they can at least be useful


Cleanliness is the best policy, take away their hiding places and they will be hard pressed to stay in your garden. Add a toad house or two and you will attract their primary predator, and that would be the little fellahs I'd be worried about poisoning...

HG

[Michigan2Iowa]

Scott,

I have considered getting a toad house (do they prefer Tudor or Ranch style?) for my garden, but I live in a urban area and have wondered if I would have any success in attracting any toads. We do have wet springs, but the prairies get very dry in the summer...would I even have a chance of getting one to inhabit my backyard?

[grandpasrose]

You'll be surprised! You probably think there aren't any around right now, but there probably is, just not in your garden where you want them. They like to hide and rarely wander around in the daytime, their time is at night.

I thought we didn't have any either, until we put our pond in, and all of a sudden there was a hole community of them living in and around it!

Invite them in, and they will come!!

Val

[The Helpful Gardener]

While toads prefer drier quarters the rest of the year, they do need the moist environs for the tadpoles early on. Val's pond was likely the trigger for her population explosion; may I be as lucky...

As for housing I have always liked the upside down flower pot with a door knotched out of the bottom edge or the flat rock propped up on another long rock, so really more a Modern style versus a Toscana theme...

Scott

[grandpasrose]

I just read last night that US federal agricultural researchers in Hawaii have found that caffeine kills slugs. When sprayed on them, they went into a frenzy and died. When diluted and sprayed on cabbage leaves, it seems to repel them.
Maybe try pouring coffee on them - if it works why not?
Let us know what the score is!

Val

[opabinia51]

Just be sure that it is cold coffee that you are spraying on your plants, hot coffee will shock them. Also, keep in mind that coffee is acidic. But, it's worth a try!

[grandpasrose]

I guess I just assumed people know to not use hot coffee, but I should have learned by now not to assume!
I think it probably works best poured right on the slugs, but I'm just guessing.

Val

[Michigan2Iowa]

Coffee huh?

Well, I'm a heavy coffee drinker, so why not give that a try. As for acidity...if you're concerned about it you could use cold-press coffee. It greatly reduces the acidity of the coffee when brewed in a cold press, and the coffee isn't hot, so it also is ready to use once done. I will definately try this, see what it does. I wonder if it's due to the diuretic effect of the caffeine on those moist slugs? Maybe it causes them to rapidly lose moisture?

Interesting...I'll give it a try this summer and post the results!

-Paul-

[grandpasrose]

Definitely let us know Paul, cause if it works, it's an easy one!
Talk to you soon!

Val

[The Helpful Gardener]

Coffe is acidic and that might well be the causal agent, could it not? (Know they react badly to base and acids)

Can we try a decaffeinated control group?

Scott

[grandpasrose]

Too cute Scott!!!
Actually the study specifically referred to the caffeine.

Val

[opabinia51]

This will be a very interesting observation to make. I'll just say that if it was pure caffeine that was used in the study; pure caffeine and the caffeince associated with the coffee Bean are two entirely different things and would have different effects.

But, like I said. I look forward to finding out if this works.

[grandpasrose]

The study used coffee, and then broke it down to discover that it was the caffeine in the coffee that actually killed them.
It would be cool if it works

Val

[The Helpful Gardener]

IPM by Juan Valdez!

[Michigan2Iowa]

Well, we've known for years to mix in coffee grounds with our mulch to control slugs. We thought it was the acidity they didn't like but maybe it's the caffeine. I remember reading somewhere that you have to brew 2 scoops of coffee something like 4 or 5 times to remove all of the caffeine.

I'll report back in the summer, and hopefully I'll be very jittery and slug free.

[grandpasrose]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya!
Val

[opabinia51]

Hi Michigan, I also use coffee grounds in my mulch. I have learned that used coffee grounds are no longer acidic, the acid appears to be leached out during the brewing process. Anyway, after using coffee grounds in my garden, the slugs have all but, disappeard and I used to have tonnes of them.