Control Garden Slugs Organically

I have tried the beer for years but to no avail.The slugs keep
getting bigger & bolder. They come up the concrete stairs and
wall to my back door.I have started using coffee but no relief yet.
Salt shrivels them up but It is too late by the time I see
them.HELP!

I have tried all of the previous mentioned slug tips (except
maybe the salt one). (There is nothing more disgusting than drunk,
drowned slugs first thing in the morning!) The method I have used
for the last several years and the one which is the most
consistently effective is....ducks. I live in the Pacific Northwest
where slugs thrive but have not had a slug problem for years. I
have, from time to time, almost forgotten the existence of
slugs...until I go to my duck-less neighbors and have to watch
where I step. Of course, I have to watch where I step at my
homestead because of the duck droppings but, personally, I would
rather avoid duck poop then slimy slugs. One other method I don't
remember anyone mentioning, if you can't have ducks, is to use
oyster shell. Most of us with chickens (or other poultry) have that
on hand, anyway, and I have found that a good layer of that around
your plants works well. The slugs attempt to cross over the shells
and, in the process, cut up their bodies and die. Plus, I imagine
the added calcium is beneficial to the soil.

The best thing to do is utilize all the tips at the same time.We
live in the Florida panhandle. The "soil" here is mostly sand, red
clay and some composted trees etc. My wife and I have found that by
using all the tips and more, we are able to also supress many other
pests which travel by land. What we do is this: spread used dry
coffee grounds and crushed egg shells over the entire garden and
turn it all under using garden tools or a rototiller.Next, plant
the garden as you desire. While your plants are acclimating or
seeds are growing, continue to add dry coffee grounds and crushed
egg shells to the surface. The egg shells turned under are a
calcium souce many years down the road and also help break up the
soil. The coffee grounds turned under and on the surface are not
only a deterant for slugs and other crawly things, but attract
earthworms. The earthworms feed upon other nasty organisms we don't
need both in the soil and at ground level.The other thing I have
done in the past is to spray real beer on the affected plants. Real
beer has only a trace about of formaldehyde, thats alright. I would
not use any products from Anheiser Busch. That company adds a large
amount of formaldehyde to its "beers" as one of their preseratives.
Budweiser is the worst to use! It is loaded with
formaldehyde.Formaldehyde is commonly used to embalm human bodies
and preserve fetal pigs, worms, chickens and all other species of
animal, reptile and marine life to be disected in biology lab! Do
you want to eat it also?My cousin, Steve Spencer, likes to used
common rock salt. He puts a 1 - 2 inch line around his garden. The
slugs never get in the garden. Last year we only has 6 slugs! In
our area, we grow from the 1st of March to about the 15th of
December.David BrewsterAvalon Beach, FL

I save my egg shells and when I have a bit of a dishfull, I nuke
them for about 30 seconds. That causes the shells to be brittle and
then I take a can and crush them up into tiny bits. I sprinkle
newly planted rows, inbetween rows and it deters them but does not
kill them. The birds however will see the egg shells and come down
into the raised beds and look around for bugs or eat some of the
shell bits. The bluebirds seem to sense when they see the shell
pieces that there are bugs to eat and they fly up and down eating
most of the day.The payoff is when the blue birds fledge and the
babies take their first bath and then get fed a bug, free from a
cramped and hot nesting box. The shells also provide some calcium
for the soil and plants. It gets used alot when the rhubarb is
coming up.

In response to RSpencer's question about slugs, I live in
downeast Maine and I had plenty last year. I had a new garden and I
didn't find any slugs in the veggies, thankfully, but they were
thick around the compost pile. I haven't lived here long enough to
comment on whether there were more or less than usual, but I sure
hope there weren't a lot more in the past! Also, I never saw my
chickens eat a single slug. I tried everything short of
demonstrating the technique myself, but they weren't interested. I
hope they catch on this year...

I have used beer with great success for many years on slugs.
just place beer cans with about two inches of beer around your
garden at places with the most slug damage. with this comment i
would like to ask if anyone else has noticed a decline in the
number of slugs? i live in central maine, and the last couple of
years i have not had to use any slug prevention. i wonder if it is
due to environmental pollution, acid rain, ect.?

I've used ashes out of our woodstove for over 30 years to keep
snails and slugs out of the garden. I sprinkle the ashes around the
perimeter of the garden and then again a circle around the plant or
row of plants, just in case some slugs were were already in the
garden, hiding out. They won't cross the ash line...it's like salt
and will make them shrivle and die. We live in a heavy slug
infested area and have the infamous banana slugs here as well. This
method is fool proof. The ash is also good for the soil so it's a
win win method of control. Hope this helps!

I've tried beer, compost and all of those things, but the ashes
work like nothing else and they are free. Plus help the soil. We
can't have chickens...to many foxes here...and we love the foxes.
We had ducks and chickens at our last place...many years ago and
they do a great job, so do geese....if you can have them where you
live without predetors getting them. We have well built coops and
they still got in.

I use old coffee grounds for plants. The roses really respond. I
have put them in the veggie garden, too. Should be a good killer
for the pesky slugs.

Better yet, have some chickens who will eat them with relish and
use the protein to produce luscious eggs! Ducks adore them too but
tend to make more of a mess.