Keep slugs from getting to your garden bounty.
- Garter snakes, some species of ground beetles, salamanders and ducks eat snails and slugs.
- Remove hiding places and food sources around garden beds. Cut back grass and weeds. Remove bricks, boards or pots slugs can hide under or use these hiding places as traps by scraping off and disposing of the slugs and snails and their eggs at least 2-3 times per week, especially in the spring.
- Use tweezers, chopsticks or a skewering device to pick slugs at night or when cool or wet. Snip them in two or drown them in a bucket of soapy water, then bury or compost them.
- If you garden in raised beds, you can use a copper foil barrier on the outer frame as to reduce slug and snail damage, but some are likely to make it through. Remove slugs already inside the barrier.
- If needed, use iron phosphate baits such as Worryfree or Sluggo rather than more toxic baits which are particularly harmful to children and pets.