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Garden Gate:  Slugs! Help!  |
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SarahJ
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Shreveport
Louisiana
198 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 01 2015 : 05:21:14 AM
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When I went to cut some herbs from my herb garden this morning, my newly planted basil was all but dead, and my parsley is covered in slugs! Ewwww! How do I get rid of these guys before they destroy my herb garden?
SarahJ
Farmgirl Sister #116
http://bayoumama.wordpress.com/ |
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CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2015 : 05:33:28 AM
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In a word: blech.
The old-fashioned "beer trap" really does work, but the trick is whatever vessel in which you put the beer needs to be buried so the top rim of it is level with the ground. I use tuna cans, and just dig a hole deep enough that the rim is level to the ground. In the evening, pour in an inch or so of whatever beer is cheapest, and be prepared to be completely grossed out in the morning when you do the "trap run"! It will be full of bloated, slimy, generally repulsive dead slugs. I'd like to think maybe they went happy, though, in beer?
If you can convince a toad or two to move it, they will dispatch of a good number of slugs. Ducks and toads eat slugs.
A VERY expensive option is a copper barrier, but this so expensive it is only reasonable for your prize plants. Garden suppliers sell rolls of pretty thin copper "tape" or "ribbon" that you cut to the size you need to circle the base of the plant, and slugs will not cross it since they have a chemical reaction with the copper. If I were a slug I'd leave that alone, too.
A chemical option is a product called "Sluggo" that is supposed to be safe around critters, but since the beer works well, I personally skip the other stuff.
And one more time: blech!
Good luck-
Cindy |
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SarahJ
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Shreveport
Louisiana
198 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2015 : 05:45:40 AM
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Thanks Cindy, I am going to try both the beer trick and the sluggo just to cover my bases. There were a ton visible, and who knows what was going on under than plant. I wasn't going to investigate because I was too grossed out.
SarahJ
Farmgirl Sister #116
http://bayoumama.wordpress.com/ |
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl
3557 Posts
Diana
Orofino
ID
USA
3557 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2015 : 07:05:55 AM
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Coffee grounds work too.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2015 : 07:51:23 AM
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The beer trap definitely works. You can also lay a plank/board in the walkway or near the plants. The slugs will go there for shelter. Simply turn over the board and pluck them up and dispose of them in your method of choice.
Catherine
Sister #76 (2005)
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt.
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Garden Gate: Slugs! Help! |
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Slugs! Help!
