Knowing how to get rid of slugs in the garden organically is important to keep your flowers and veggies safe. Organic slug protection for plants can be a struggle, but with constant vigilance and multiple strategies, this struggle can be overcome.

Get Rid of Slugs in the Garden Organically

Continue reading to learn to eliminate slugs in your garden by employing natural measures.

How To Eliminate Slugs in the Garden Organically?

To eliminate slugs in the garden organically, you can use a beer trap or a copper ring. Spraying plants with calcium chloride can help repel slugs and snails without endangering other wildlife. You should avoid watering the garden late afternoon and not use loose mulch where slugs are problematic.

1. Use Beer Traps

If you see signs of slugs in the garden, then using a beer trap is one of the quick and low-cost control methods to deter slugs. Slugs love beer, so you can use it as a trap to entice them away from your delicate garden plants.

It attracts slugs and other natural pests because it contains sugar. Use a custom slug trap or a pint glass and fill it with beer to the halfway mark. Bury the trap only partially, leaving at least half an inch above the soil’s surface to prevent other animals from falling in.

As they drown, the slugs can be added to your compost pile. To prevent catching slug-eating ground beetles, keep the container’s rim one inch above the surface. Examine the traps frequently.

2. Use Copper Spray

Sprays containing calcium chloride can be repellent without endangering other wildlife. Sprays with methiocarb or silicate salts combined with copper are approved for controlling snails and slugs.

Sprays containing silicate salts and copper can only be applied to vine canes and tree trunks.

Using Copper Spray to Kill Slugs

The best time to do this is very early in the morning when the day is expected to be clear, as this will prevent the affected animals from recovering from dehydration.

3. Invest in Copper Barriers

Controlling slugs naturally and ethically is quite easy with the help of copper strips or ribbons. Putting copper barriers around the raised beds is one of the best ways to repel snails naturally.

You can put them around trees, garden beds, potted plants, vegetable gardens, and other vegetation. Garden slugs eat grass, so by surrounding emerging shoots with copper tape, you will allow the shoots to grow intact.

Remember that the leaves could flop over the copper tape as they grow and get eaten by slugs, snails, or any other garden pest. So, remember to check them from time to time.

4. Use Diatomaceous Earth

The remains of diatoms, small organisms that once existed in rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans, are used to make diatomaceous earth.

Using Diatomaceous Earth

A slug’s body is severely damaged by diatomaceous earth, which causes them to dry out and die. It can reduce slug damage in the garden.

5. Set up a Lure

To draw many slugs, leave a pile of old lettuce leaves or dried cat food in a damp, shady area. Grab them as they crowd around the food source and dispose of them all at once. Combine this method with night-time garden strolls by torchlight to catch slugs in motion.

6. Apply Nematodes to the Soil

How to get rid of slugs permanently? You can eliminate slugs from your garden naturally by using nematodes. They are parasitic soil-dwelling microorganisms that prey on slugs. Apply them to the soil by simply combining them with water.

Applying Nematodes to the Soil

Ensure the soil temperature is greater than 41 Fahrenheit because this is necessary for the treatment to be effective.

7. Sprinkle Salt

Slugs don’t have a shell to protect them, so sprinkling salt on them kills them, causing their bodies to dry out. It would be best to directly pour the salt onto the slug for this to work. As a result, it is ineffective at removing an infestation.

Additionally, you want to use only a little salt because it can harm the soil and plants in your garden. Therefore, it works best when used far from priceless plants.

8. Lure Slug-Eating Animals

Slugs have the unfortunate fate of feeding natural predators because they are at the bottom of the food chain. You can entice slug-hungry local predators to live in your garden. Reduce the number of local slugs in your garden by luring hedgehogs, birds, and badgers in. Some other predators also eat slugs.

9. Employ the Catch-and-Release Technique

Use the catch-and-release technique to eliminate your garden slugs without harming them. Several methods can be used to accomplish this. To get going, try one of these two:

Put cat food or cornmeal in a shallow, wide dish beside your garden. The slugs will be attracted to and eat it. You can then easily pick them up and move them.

Slugs prefer dark, damp hiding places, so place logs in your garden in thoughtful locations. The slugs will look for a place to hide when the sun rises to stay cool. Lift the logs every morning and collect the slugs that are hiding there.

10. Employ Cracked Egg Shells

How to get rid of slugs in potted plants? You can set up a border of crushed eggshells around slug hotspots or around pots. A snail will want to avoid crossing any areas with eggshells in the soil or on the paths. The smell itself alerts snails to the presence of eggshells, which keeps them away.

Eggshells are also unpleasant to slugs because they are both hard and sharp. Its sharp edges may pierce them, wounding them in the process. Their scratchy materials can dehydrate and even kill slugs. The soil will gain from the eggshells’ decomposition as well.

11. Make Use of Coffee Grounds

Many people think about how to get rid of slugs and snails with coffee. Unlike some of us, slugs prefer to avoid freshly ground coffee’s aroma. Use twice as many coffee grounds as usual to brew strong coffee. Pour the coffee into a spray bottle after allowing it to cool.

Making Use of Coffee Grounds

Spray your garden’s plants and soil liberally, paying attention to the areas where snails are most likely to congregate. Use it alone or combined with eggshells. Additionally, coffee grounds will break down and cheer up your plants.

12. Make Your Garden Unwelcoming

Slugs feed at night when we can’t see them because they are nocturnal. During the day, they favor cool, dark, moist hiding places. Slugs thrive in the cool, wet spring weather, which causes early, severe plant damage. Keeping the garden neat can lessen slug habitats, so rake your garden in early spring to eliminate debris, slug eggs, and leaves.

13. Use Slug Baits

The most effective way is to use a weak natural attractant to capture the slugs and snails. You can use plants that they love. Dead plant parts are included in these natural baits. You can also use leftover vegetables from the kitchen because dangerous slugs, like the Spanish slug, have a similar taste to humans.

For example, using old salad leaves, cucumber, or squash to draw this slug type is safe. Some effective baits include cucumber slices and soaked oatmeal. They are also drawn to melon or orange peels with some remaining fruit.

You could generally observe the preferences of your slugs and snails. Cooked foods or spiced dishes should not be used as you risk attracting rats.

14. Use Sacrificial Planting

Sacrifice planting is the intentional practice of growing plants to entice garden pests. This type of companion planting uses fragrant lavender and leafy annuals to deter insects from nearby crops while using fewer pesticides. One of the best companion plants is the marigold.

Sacrificial plants do slug control by providing them to eat something else rather than your prized crops. How much space you need to give between the sacrificial decoy plants will depend on the plants you want to protect.

15. Use Homemade Slug Repellent

Among the common natural ways to get rid of slugs is by making your repellents. Lime, forest bark, eggshells, wood ash, and soot are said to make practical slug barriers when sprinkled on the ground around plants.

16. Try Vinegar Slug Control

Vinegar acts as one of the best natural slug resistors. A spray bottle of unflavoured white vinegar works wonders for slugs that aren’t on plants. Slugs are affected by the vinegar’s smell and thus don’t come near the plants.

FAQs

– Are Slug Pellets Toxic and Unsafe?

Yes, slug pellets are toxic and unsafe as they contain poisons that can also harm mammals. Pets like cats, rabbits, ducks, and dogs can die from exposure to metaldehyde. Additionally, it puts the health of infants and young children in danger. Specific doses can even be fatal for adults.

Conclusion

Controlling the presence of slugs in your garden can be done just by following some steps. Here’s a summary:

  • Using beer traps can eliminate snails and slugs from destroying your plants.
  • Flower beds can be saved from slugs by putting copper barriers over them.
  • Natural repellents can help you avoid slugs getting near your plants.

In conclusion, following the techniques mentioned in this article can help you eliminate the slugs in your garden, making it look even more exquisite.

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