7 Ways to Deal With Slugs

(Warning: This video contains footage of killing slugs, with warnings for the sections that really squeamish people might want to avoid!)

Slugs are a major pest in vegetable gardens, especially in damp climates like Ireland. A range of different methods can be used in order to prevent them from doing too much damage to the crops, and these are the ones that I tend to rely on in the RED Gardens.

[bethelangeliquelimuaco]

I have been searching for hours about slug control and you are the only one who comprehensively explained everything. Thank you. Slugs are killing my sunflowers :(

[SovannNou]

You made a very clear useful informative documentary about how to prevent vegetation from slugs. Your work changes the way I treats my small garden in Cambodia. Thanks you

[chimay]

#6 "Give them a home".
This method should always be included as it works as a gauge to assess the magnitude of the current slug problem and an indication of species involved.
Good work done with this video BTW 😎

[bobhub]

As some others have said before, as an alternative to using beer you could do a very basic fermentation of water, sugar and yeast or maybe even substitute the sugar with some garden waste that is high in glucose so the yeast can eat. As opposed to spot traps you could get a large PVC pipe, cut it in half and run it down the middle of your crops (perpendicular to what appear to be your bedding rows) and fill it with the sugar yeast solution and flush it out once a month or so

[shazzam]

I watched this video last year when I first took on an allotment. I didnt think I could see myself killing slugs, I just relocated them. One year on and the damage this year is so frustrating. I hunt them down daily and have a bucket of water to throw them in and put the lid on. I empty that into my compost pile weekly.

[pauleaton]

Great video, I do the night hunting thing but can't bring myself to chop them with scissors, so lob them into my neighbours chicken and duck pens instead which causes a riot as the birds do a far more gruesome job than the scissors fighting over the meat!!

[susanhills]

Hedgehogs have got brilliant memories. They even remember through hibernation! I feed them sunflower hearts and mealworms in the same place every night. I have about 6 hedgehogs now and last year they bought their babies to the feed bowls

[PermaPen]

I have now set up permanent homes for slugs, similar to your no.6, and have found it to be very effective: all my beds are sloped such that I can run thick planks of wood all along the back. As soon as there is something the slugs like growing in the bed, they congregate behind the nearest board, often dozens at a time. It's simple to pull the board out and snip their heads off. There are other advantages too: centipedes and beetles take up residence there, sometimes even frogs. Plus new slug arrivals eat the corpses instead of the plants, until my next sweep. I make sure I check the planks after a heavy rain, that's when they all move in.

[Marlene]

An opossum mom and her three kids moved to my garden but before I noticed that I was surprised not seeing anymore slugs and snails recently … now I know why 😆!

[dieantwoordrare]

P.S you forgot number 8. Lobbing them in the neighbours garden when no ones looking.

[WolfeTone-]

I have killed over 1900 slugs this summer at night with a torch and my fishing knife and they keep coming. Cutting the surrounding grass down low helps and I have in the past used 2 wires close together with a battery around raised beds and greenhouses and that has been the best repellent I have tried so far.

[DanielOlivierArgyle]

Thanks for making this video. I have some responses you might find useful:

- Be careful with ducks, because they're curious and will peck everything just to try it. If they peck a legume stem, they've destroyed the whole plant.
- Don't use beer—buy bread yeast in bulk and mix with sugar, then add to warm water to activate. It's the yeast and sugar they like—try it and see. I promise!
- If you choose to use slug traps, put them at a set number of paces apart so you can easily track them under foliage
- Use coffee grounds on the soil surface around expensive plants like Kale—slugs absolutely hate coffee.
- And lastly, some of your potato damage might be wireworm. I found that maris piper was particularly bad for it (and slugs) I really recommend Charlotte for your second earlies (if only for yourself, because they're delicious), because wireworm don't seem so interested. If you ever have trouble with wireworm, give me a shout.

Thanks for the vid and keep going!!

[dabigchina]

Needing a lot of beer is a problem I have myself - and I don't even have a slug problem.

[mikeharrington]

Thanks, good stuff. Another possible addition to the armoury is a natural semi sheltered shallow pond which will attract frogs, an effective slug predator. Frogs also like the sheltered damp places frequented by slugs. You can chuck the slugs into the pond too - food for some small basic goldfish if you have them too. Hedgehogs can travel several km each night & they tend to have a regular route, or run, so although you don't see them every day/night they could still be helping out..

[michaelmcclafferty]

I have two allotments in north- east Scotland but don't have a big slug problem.
I don't like killing things so I feed any slugs I see to my hens.
I have also read that using scattered used coffee grounds act as a deterrent. I realise that this is not feasible on a bug scale such as the Red Gardens.
This video is, as always, very helpful and informative. Thanks Bruce.

[jackiesargent]

We found a good way to use slug pellets without causing a hazard to wildlife .used old butter containers with slots cut in the side and an elastic band to keep the lid on .Slug pellets are a bait so the slugs crawl in through the slots eat the pellets and die inside the tubs .It worked really well.

[peterbattiste]

I used a frog one year that got trapped in the garden when I placed fencing around it and it worked pretty good with the slugs the frog got big at the end of the season

[albaoutdoors]

This is my first year growing veg and really my first year taking the garden very serious so I’ve had a lot to learn and pretty much a war with slugs lol as I refused to use poison pellets. I have a small garden so a lot of container growing one method I have found to be effective was putting a ring of salt round and under the containers this method needs reapplied after rain etc but I found it to really block the slugs granted I combined it with beer traps and night hunts.

[aatt]

OK, I am going to try the beer, the scissors, and the wooden board, yes, these slugs are getting to me now. I am not hesitant to get rid of them anymore. Thanks so much for your 7 tips.

[izzyo]

Yeast dissolved in warm water works as well as beer, for a fraction of cash.