Slugs are hermaphtodites.  They all have male & female reproductive systems so they can even mate with themselves.  They can also stretch to 20 times their normal length enabling them to squeeze through tiny openings to get at food.  Slugs can follow the slime trails they left from the night before.  Other slugs can also pick up this trail, creating a slug network to the host plants.

 

Slugs & snails actually both have shells.  Slug's shells are much smaller and are not visible as they are underneath the flesh on their back.  Slug eggs are in the soil just about everywhere.  They can be there for years and then hatch when conditions are right.  It actually takes moisture to allow them to hatch.  The eggs are oval shaped, colored white and found under rocks and boards and other places with cool, moist soil.  Eggs are laid in clusters of two-dozen each.  The adults also over winter in the soil and can live for many years. There are at least 40 species of slugs in the US.  Four of the more common types are:

·         Gray Field Slug - Derocereas reficulatum.  This is about 1½ " long, gray to tan in color with dark spots and has a light colored belly with a dark streak down the middle.  Its' preferred foods are lettuce and cabbage.  However, they will go after anything.

·         Black Slug - These are up to 6" long with rough bumpy skin and a light colored foot.  They are mostly black in color but can also be brown or red.  They prefer tender seedlings leaving more mature plants alone.

·         Common Garden Slug - This is probably the most often observed slug.  One-inch long, dark skin with a lighter stripe along the side.  The foot can be either red or yellow.  It can damage stems and roots and will slither up plants causing much damage.  It borrows in the sod to feed on root crops.

·         Banana Slug - These are found in the Northwest, are bright yellow and grow to 8" long with some up to 18" long.

 

Slugs can do a lot of damage.  They like damp places, feed at night, and prefer tender new growth, seedlings, lettuce, delphiniums, Hostas, and marigolds.  A pile of fresh animal manure has a high acidity that provides an excellent breeding haven for slugs.

 

These tips should help you keep your plants looking good:

·         Spring cultivation of the soil, where practical, will help kill hibernating slugs and slug eggs.  Protect the seedlings with plastic soda bottles.  Cut the bottom off the bottle, sink it into the soil around the seedling, and remove the caps.  You can reuse the bottle for many years.  Just make sure there are no slugs around the seedlings first.

·         Be persistent in hoeing weeds and breaking up the clods of soil that slugs like to hide under.  If you expose their eggs, smash them.

·         Keep the mulch pulled back from the base of your plants.  Apply the mulch after the soil temperatures have warmed to above 75° F (24° C).

·         Keep all old leaves and decaying matter cleaned out of your garden beds on a regular basis.  Keep the matter in a compost area, which is far away from the garden.

·         Shrubs with branches that rest on the ground, against fences, or buildings, should be kept pruned up and away from the soil surface.  By doing this, you have removed the slugs habitat. Shaded areas can also be slug arenas.

·              For handpicking slugs, use gloves or chopsticks to make it less disgusting.

·              If you get the slime on your hands or anything else, you can get it off with white vinegar on your hands, which is then washed off with lukewarm water.

·         Keep barbecue skewers or a sharp knife stuck in the garden for an excellent weapon to impale slugs.

 

Use any of the following as barriers and slug controls once you have them out of the Hosta garden. 

·         Horseradish roots and geranium leaves are very effective barriers.

·         The spiny fruits of a sweet gum tree also make good barriers.

·         A product called Slug-Out is applied as a 2-inch wide barrier in the same way that you might spread diatomaceous earth around the plants in need of protection.  Slug-Out does not have to remain dry to be effective.  It is made of a patented blend of soaps and coconut oil.  It does not kill the slug, just acts as a barrier.  You have to repeat the process every 3 weeks.  Slug-Out should also be used outside the root zone since it does contain some naturally occurring salts that may be sensitive to certain plants.  It has a low impact on the environment and breaks down naturally into the soil with no residual problems.

·         Diatomaceous earth will also kill earthworms and should not be inhaled by people.  This product irritates and dehydrates slugs.

·         Lint from the clothes dryer works as a barrier as does cedar, oak bark, and gravel chips.

·         Human hair, pet fur, and horsehair entangle the slugs.

·         On raised garden beds, strips of hardware cloth or aluminum screening material can be stapled to the wood bordered beds.  The cloth or screen should extend 2" beyond the edge of the bed where the sharp points will be encountered by the slugs trying to climb over.  You can push the barrier directly upright into the sod for borderless beds.

·         Wood ashes are an effective barrier because they act as a desiccant and dry the slugs up.

·         Well crushed eggshells, cocoa shells, shells from filberts, pecans, and walnuts all have sharp edges that kill the slugs.  The calcium released from the eggshells also sweetens the soil.     

·         Buttermilk spray forms a crust on the slugs and causes them to die.  The spray is a mix of 8 ounces of flour, 2 ounces of buttermilk, and I gallon of water.

·         Lime in a line around the plant works as well as these other products.

·         Ammonia spray is also effective at killing baby slugs early in the spring as plant growth is emerging.  Adding I part of ammonia to 10 parts of water makes the spray.  The ammonia also adds nitrogen to the soil and must be sprayed on the slug to be effective.  But it does work and it is one of the best controls.

·         Iron sulfate will kill slugs on the spot. Mix 2 teaspoons of iron sulfite with 2 quarts of water.  Use a pressure sprayer to apply the mix.

·         Isopropyl alcohol spray will dry slugs up.  Mix 8 ounces of 70% rubbing alcohol with 1 quart of warm water and spray.

·         Wormwood tea from Artemisia produces a botanical poison that repels most crawling insects, slugs, and snails.  When used in the fall, it will kill slugs that have burrowed into their over wintering places.  Steeping 1 cup of Artemisia cuttings in 1 quart of warm water for 24 hours makes wormwood tea.  Strain the liquid of any debris and add 1 tablespoon of castille soap.  Add 8 ozs. of tea to 1 quart of water and spray on the soil.

·         Quack Grass damages the nerves of slugs.  Chop it up and use it as mulch.  Make a tea by cutting the grass up, soaking in 1 quart of warm water for 24 hours, then used as a barrier spray.  Don't spray it directly on the hostas.

·         If you are really into cooking foolproof bait, consider making a quack grass cake.  Combine 1 ounce of corn bran, ¾ ounce of powdered milk, 1 ounce of cornstarch, 8 ounces of dried quack grass, and 16 ounces of beer.  This should make a thick paste that will form pellets if run through a meat grinder.  After the pellets have dried, they can be spread around the garden.  The slugs are attracted to the beer and eat the toxic grass.  The attraction begins within 30 minutes after spreading the pellets.  The pellets are effective for about one week. In test results, slugs numbered 78 per square yard before treatment and 1 per square yard 30 minutes later.

·         Prunings from raspberries, blackberries, and anything else with sharp stickers or spines will also impale slugs.       

·         Used coffee grounds and sharp builder's sand spread around susceptible plants may also work.        

·         Pine needle mulch often works well around hostas.

·         Copper strips will give slugs a jolt of electricity. The metal ions in copper are the repelling force.

·         A mulch of stems and leaves from strong smelling herbs like wormwood, mint, tansy, lemon balm, and conifer will help stop slugs and other pests.  Rosemary scattered around, repel slugs and add a refreshing scent to the garden.

·         Sinking containers of beer, yeast and water, or cheap grape juice, into the soil so the rim is one inch above the soil line makes beer traps.  The slugs crawl into the trap and drown.  The containers need to be greased on the inside so the slugs can't climb back out.

·         Any plant product such as grapefruit rind, horseradish leaves or comfrey can be piled in the center of the garden.  Scraps of wet carpet and also be spread around the garden.  Once a week pick up the pile in the evening and dump it into a bucket of soapy water.  The whole bucket of plants, slugs and water can be dumped into the compost pile.

·         Epsom salts sprinkled on the soil deters slugs and adds Magnesium to the soil.

·         Slugs also stay clear of Artemisia, Alyssum, Azalea, Basil, Chicory, Com, Cosmos, Chard, Daylily, Jerusalem cherry, Daffodil, Endive, evergreens, Fennel, Foxglove, Fuchsia, Freesia, Garlic, Grapes, Ginger, Holly, Hibiscus, Swedish Ivy, Lemon Balm, Lungwort, Mint, Parsley, Peruvian Lily, Pumpkin, Red Cabbage, Red Oak Leaf lettuce, Rosemary, Sage, Tansy, and sunflower.      

·         Once the slugs are removed from an area, a barrier of roof shingles or sandpaper can be laid around the area to keep the slugs out.

·         Predators of slugs include: Carabid and other ground beetles, rove beetles, turtles, toads, frogs, lizards, ducks, salamanders, lightening bug larvae, birds, garter snakes, and chickens.