‘Tis the season for garden talks. I’ve already done numerous classes and discussions on gardening in our region. The pest that most audiences brought up is slugs.

This has been a bit of a surprise to me since we are a semi-arid climate, and they tend to prefer moist environments. Obviously, it’s possible to create ideal conditions even in a dry area.

Slugs and Snails in the Garden

Slugs and snails are pretty similar species; the most obvious difference is slugs dont have shells, but snails do. They both do about the same damage in the garden. They’ll slither out at night and chew on the leaves of plants, forming irregular patterns of destruction and often the tell-tale slime trail in their wake. While a few can remain at an acceptable level, they can quickly reach destructive levels.

Slugs are located in most areas of the country, but their size and voraciousness vary from region to region. We have relatively small ones, usually less than an inch long; however, a friend of mine from Tacoma showed me a photo of the ones they have over there. They’re so big I wondered if you needed a hunting permit to take care of them. It’s one of the few things that makes me thankful for a semi-arid climate.

Eliminating Pests

The first way to deal with slugs, if they’re a problem in your area, is to clear away debris and mulch to reduce their preferred environment. This appears to be the case with the people around here who’ve had issues with slugs. They mulched heavily, or put down plastic to warm the soil and reduce the amount of weeds, which gave the slugs a foothold. I’m hesitant to tell them not to utilize those methods, since cool temps, low moisture, and rampant weeds are a greater problem than the slugs most of the time.

Copper Strips

Fortunately, there are other means of control. If slugs are targeting a few favorite plants, you can use copper strips around the individual plants to keep the slugs away completely. Pull back some of the mulch from around the plant to make sure you arent trapping the slugs within the copper fencing. You can also sprinkle diatomaceous earth around plants or the perimeter of beds to keep them out of the boundary. Remember to refresh it every time you water or it rains. The way diatomaceous earth works is it is the earth particulars are jagged, thereby injuring the sensitive gooey flesh of the slug.

Slug Baits

Slug baits have been around for a long time. The ones on the market now contain iron phosphate, which is completely natural and safe. They mixed it with an attractant. It works very well knocking them out. The older version is a metaldehyde, which basically dries out their little bodies. It works, but it can be lethal to pets and there is no way I’d have it around kids. To top it off, it’s usually mixed with a very yummy bait, often bran and molasses, that tastes good to birds and pets. Last year a woman in one of my classes was certain grasshopper bait poisoned her dog. I truly doubt even the product with 2% carbaryl would do it, so I am fairly certain it was a metaldehyde based slug bait.

There’s no doubt slugs and snails can be maddening and make even the squeamish consider a plate of them with garlic and butter; fortunately, outside of consuming the nasty little things, there are several ways to deal with even the worst infestation.

This frightening slug infestationi photo is copyright of tepic via istock.