How To Get Rid Of Slugs – 6 Simple Methods That Stop Slugs Fast!
Are you looking for ways to protect your garden and flowerbeds from slug damage this year without using harsh chemicals and sprays? Slugs can cause significant harm to vegetable plants, annuals, and perennial flowers, destroying entire crops in no time.
The problem is compounded by the fact that they work mainly at night, feasting on anything with greenery and hiding during the day under leaves or in the soil.
This makes them a formidable enemy, difficult to spot and combat. However, there are natural ways to keep them at bay without relying on commercial pesticides. Below are six simple and effective methods to safeguard your plants and garden season.
6 Simple Methods To Get Rid Of Slugs
1) Hand Picking
One of the most effective natural ways to control slug infestation is early morning hand picking, which can almost entirely eliminate their population with regular practice.
Despite working at night, slugs continue to feed during the first few hours of morning daylight, when it’s still cool and wet enough for them to do so. This makes them highly visible and easy to pick off plant foliage.
To hand pick slugs, prepare a bucket with a few drops of liquid dish soap, which is lethal to them but plain water is not. The soap’s oils create a film over their slimy skin, cutting off their oxygen supply. Look under leaves where slugs usually hide from predators and the sun. Hand picking regularly for a few days can drastically reduce the overall slug population.
Although it requires getting up early, the benefits are worth it. However, avoid dumping the dead slugs near your flowerbeds or garden since their decaying scent can attract more of them.
2) Crushed Egg Shells – 6 Simple Methods To Get Rid Of Slugs
How To Get Rid Of Slugs – 6 Simple Methods That Stop Slugs Fast!
Crushed eggshells are a highly effective natural defense against slugs that can damage your plants. The jagged edges of crushed eggshells can easily damage the soft, slimy skin of slugs, killing them in the process as they try to crawl over them.
Also read: 20 Reasons Lemon Balm Should Grow In Every Garden
To protect your plants, crush a few eggshells and scatter them around the main stem. Avoid over-crushing them and break them down into small 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. This size will make it easy for you to surround the plant with the protective barrier.
Not only will the eggshells prevent slugs from crawling up the stem, but they will also break down over time, adding calcium and other trace minerals and nutrients to the soil. This will help to strengthen and protect your plants at the same time.
3) Protective Collars – 6 Simple Methods To Get Rid Of Slugs
Slugs have limited options when it comes to reaching plants, as their only path is to slowly crawl up the stem to reach the foliage. This is why using a ring of crushed eggshells or a simple plant collar around each stem is so effective in preventing them from damaging your plants.
By cutting off the access point, you can eliminate a slug’s path to destruction. Plant collars are an easy and effective solution to this problem. You can make them by cutting toilet paper or paper towel rolls into two-inch sections and then sliding them around each plant stem like a collar.
The height and smooth surface of the collar is enough to prevent slugs from climbing up, making them especially effective for vegetable plants with thick stems such as tomatoes and peppers.
4) Beer, Sugar & Yeast Traps – 6 Simple Methods To Get Rid Of Slugs
Using beer, sugar, or yeast traps is one of the most popular natural methods for attracting and controlling slugs. This is because it is effective in attracting and killing them in large numbers. Slugs are not attracted to beer because of its taste but because of the yeast and sugar in it.
If you prefer not to use beer, you can make your own solution with a gallon of water, a yeast packet, and a half cup of sugar. Small containers with low ridges (such as tuna cans) filled with beer or the sugar/yeast solution can be used to trap the slugs. Once they climb inside, they are unable to climb out and eventually drown in the solution.
For a more aesthetically pleasing option, you can purchase small and inexpensive snail traps and bury them in your garden or flowerbed soil. These traps can also be filled with the beer or sugar liquid to attract and kill the slugs quickly. The snail traps come with a lid that can be placed over the top once the trap is buried in the soil. This provides a clean look with no open cans littering your garden.Product Affiliate Link: Snail Traps
5) Melon Rinds – 6 Simple Methods To Get Rid Of Slugs
Another effective way to naturally attract and stop slugs is by using melon rinds. Slugs are attracted to the moist and sweet flesh of watermelon, muskmelon, and cantaloupe, and will quickly flock to the rinds when placed near your plants. To use melon rinds, simply take the leftover rinds and place them flesh side down on top of the soil or mulch near your plants.
Also read: Growing Sugar Snap Peas – The Perfect Crop To Plant In Early Spring!
The slugs will gather on the rind, as the flesh side provides a moist and shady hiding place. Each morning, scrape the slugs off the rind and into a bucket of soapy water. You can reuse a single rind for several nights to trap and eliminate a large number of slugs from infested areas.
6) Coffee Grounds
Another powerful tool in the battle against slugs is the use of spent coffee grounds, which can benefit plants in multiple ways. Besides adding nutrients to the soil as they decompose, coffee grounds have a coarse texture that can harm the soft bodies of slugs.
To create a protective barrier, pile the coffee grounds around the base of the stem. This method is similar to using egg shells and can help safeguard your plants against slug damage. With this natural defense, you can ensure your plants thrive and stay healthy throughout the growing season.
