Slug it out!
Posted on June 13th, 2008 – 10:01 AMBy Connie Nelson
You’ve probably seen their telltale trails. Worse, you may even have seen signs of their handiwork — big holes in mature leaves, little plants chomped down to the stem.
Slugs. They’re here. Aiyeeee!
Slugs love the cool wet weather we’ve been having. And they’ve been multiplying like rabbits in some gardens. So far, I’ve just been picking them when I see them. But I may have to pull out the heavy artillery: homemade beer traps.
Beer traps are easy. You just bury the lid of a jar in the garden, making sure the rim is at soil level, then fill the lid with beer. Slugs, like most of the guys I know, are drawn to the beer. Unlike most of the guys I know, slugs drown in it.
I might also use cardboard traps. I just lay pieces of cardboard in the garden at night, then pick them up in the morning. Usually, the underside of the cardboard is covered with slugs. I either pick them off (OK, so that’s a little gross) or toss the cardboard, slugs and all.
Got slugs? What are you doing to deal with this invader? Escargo, anyone?
10 Responses to "Slug it out!"
I swear by beer traps. We put them out right away this year, and our slug problem is almost nil.
I’ve gone to the cardboard method because I’ve had limited success with beer traps. What’s your secret,povertyrich?
Do you use a certain kind of beer? Check them every morning?
OK, i’m going to veer off the slugs with an important, humorous tangent about all this rain. My Dad sent me this joke from Nebraska.
A curious fellow died one day and found himself waiting in the long line of judgment.
As he stood there he noticed that some souls were allowed to march right through the pearly gates into Heaven. Others though, were led over to Satan who threw them into the burning fire. But every so often, instead of hurling a poor soul into the fire, Satan would toss a soul off to one side into a small pile.
After watching Satan do this several times, the fellow’s curiosity got the best of him. So he strolled over and asked Satan what he was doing. “Excuse me, Prince of Darkness,” he said. “I’m waiting in line for Judgment, but I couldn’t help wondering. Why are you tossing those people aside instead of flinging them into the Fires of Hell with the others?”
“Oh those . .” Satan groaned. “They’re all from Howard County, Nebraska. They’re still too wet to burn.”
You may now return to the previously scheduled slug discussion.
Now after that light note back to the slug issue: what can be done when there are too many for the beer? I put out the beer and IF it doesn’t rain and dilute the beer then the slugs are so deep that they stand on each other to drink then just crawl off feelin groovy.
I have tried to deplete the population but it ssems like empting the ocean with a teaspoon. I am never sure if the copper based slug bait works as where do you dook for a dissolved slug?
Deb, the most recent research indicates that copper may not work so well. Here are a couple things you can do: Lightly hoe the soil in the areas with the most slugs. (You can destroy some of the eggs that are in the soil.) If you’ve got too many slugs, try the cardboard or wood method. Just lay pieces of cardboard or wood in the garden at night. You might be amazed at how many slugs you can nab. You can also try one of the organic slug baits. Some gardeners have luck by adding a thick, rough mulch. (It won’t cut the number of slugs, but it makes it hard for them to move.)
Also, some warm, dry weather should help cut down on their numbers . .. at least a little.
We use cheap canned beer and whatever half-drunk beers are left over from parties. It doesn’t seem to matter if the beer gets a bit diluted; we still catch slugs.
My garden parter, evil cat, is in charge of setting and emptying the traps, but at last count, she’d caught more than 50 of them, and that was a few weeks ago.
Last year, we put the traps out after the slugs had destroyed a bunch of plants. This year, we put the traps out preemptively, and the slugs haven’t done much damage at all.
Haven’t had too many problems with slugs, knock on wood. Right now, I’m dealing with Colorado Potato Beetles. Squish, squish, squish.
Something is chewing my new hostas that I just put in, and leaving the older hostas alone. I haven’t seen a single slug or bug in action. Think it’s slugs? I don’t want to waste good beer on a beer trap if it isn’t slugs 
Sandra,
Slugs can be difficult to see because they work at night and sleep all day. But they leave telltale holes in leaves and can eat young plants down to the nubbins. Try the cardboard thing. It’s one way to find out if you have slugs or not. . .
Peter, I think potato beetles are sooooo gross! I helped pick them off an acre or so of potatoes one time. Never again, I vowed.
Greengirls Jaime Chismar, Connie Nelson, and Robyn Dochterman are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
You can also send your questions, ideas, tips and tricks to greengirls@startribune.com.
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