Some people prefer using beer as a home remedy to kill slugs. The yeasty odour of beer attracts slugs and draws them towards their death. Place pellets where the slugs are more likely to hide. Control the repeated entry to your house by killing them at once with pellets. While this research hasn’t shed any light on what you can do to obstruct slugs and snails, it has at least shown that these barriers can be unreliableand ineffective. Efficacy and environmental fate of copper sulphate applied to Australian rice fields for control of the aquatic snail Isidorella newcombi Copper pennies and wire do not seem to work. Most products on the market are a type of copper foil or copper tape so this might work better and in fact some people suggest that a wider strip is better than a narrow strip.

Slug baits are another popular and convenient way to prevent slugs from entering and disturbing your house. This Nemaslug Slug bait is a perfect option for you if you want to keep slugs at a distance.

Popular Posts

You can find more information about how to install an electric slug fence here. Different Copper Barriers Lettuces planted in the ground were found to be more susceptible to slugs, with 5.7% of each eaten on average. This compares to just 0.2% of those in pots, which, despite this advantage, yielded less crop.

You can trim the door seals as per your needs and seal all existing gaps between the floor and doors. Diatomaceous EarthThe application of slug baits is very easy and convenient. This easy and affordable method to keep slugs out will not drain too much time from your schedule. All you need to do is find spots where the slugs can come from. If I go out at night I will usually see 2-3 slugs oozing circles around the bottom of the barrier but not crossing it. I have seen a slug or two successfully cross it, but it’s rare. If I had to guess I would say I get about 1/20th -1/200th the slug prevalence I used to previously high slug traffic areas I have since “protected”. (tough to say because I am too lazy to count, and I can’t tell how many slugs crossed the barrier vs just live on the other side) Slugs are very simple creatures, and they love dark spaces with lots of vegetation they can eat. That’s why it’s important to take away the opportunity for them to get into your house. They appear tasty to slugs and are effective in killing them. The last few years have seen improvements in the manufacturing of slug baits. They are developed using iron phosphate, which is toxic only to snails and slugs. As we discussed earlier, sealants are great if you want to work on small holes and gaps. The small holes and gaps usually are difficult to cover and thus can stay a problem for a longer period of time.

Most doors have a substantial gap between them and the floors. Slugs mostly come in through such gaps as they have no bones in their body. After tending to the crop for weeks Hayley harvested the lettuces and removed the leaves one by one. She then rated the damage visually and useda leaf area meter for the first time,to record the damage in every square cm of the leaves. It’s now the end of July, and I am reasonably happy to report a modest success rate with the copper tape for slug and snail protection. This year, I’m growing Hostas, Pak Choi, French marigolds, and Larkspur. These plants, in the past, have been magnets for slugs in my garden. So far, they are all looking very healthy, with no signs of damage. I did notice a single solitary snail in one of my planters, but there was no damage to report. Perhaps the experience of crossing the copper tape caused them to lose their appetites.

How was the damage recorded? 

It’s that time of year when slugs and snails creep out of the woodwork ( quite literally) and look for sources of food after their winter hibernation. My alliums are currently being ravaged and I’m out in the garden with a torch at 10pm on most evenings removing the hungry little beasts. Last year I conducted some tests to disprove the value of egg shells, pistachio nut shells, hair and chilli powder in preventing slugs and snails from eating our plants, all were easily crossed by snails. Young chopped brambles were a surprise snail barrier success though. For starters, it’s a good idea to remove any food debris you have in the house - especially if you have it on floors or windowsills, or other hidden areas in the kitchen. Slugs have an incredible sense of smell and can seek out delicious food with ease. And they’ll slither through the smallest of spaces to get to this food if they want it. As members of the Mollusca group of animals, slugs and snails use Hemocyanin proteins in their blood to transport oxygen around their bodies ( whereas we mammals use iron based Hemoglobin). These Hemocyanin proteins contain two copper atoms. This makes all molluscs very sensitive to the ingestion of additional quantities of copper. Too much copper and it prevents oxygen from moving around their bodies and they eventually die, unless they flee to safety. Reptiles: Attract slowworms into your garden. They love eating slugs and snails. Give them an incentive to call your garden “home”. A piece of corrugated iron is a perfect dwelling for most slow worms.