4 Ecological Slug Solutions I Use with Great Success, and 3 Ineffective Ones You Can Skip

Slugs and snails are an important food source for wildlife, but when their population swells in the garden, they can cause big problems for gardeners and plants a like. So how do ecological gardeners strike a happy medium, reducing slug/snail populations and encouraging wildlife?
In my garden, effectively controlling the slug population without using poisons has been a multi-pronged approach. Along the way, I've tried a few trendy tips that simply don't work, so let's look at some myths about slug control, and then examine 4 methods that I use to harness slugs as a resource, create effective deterrents, and employ smart people power slug control. By using a diversity of methods, my garden thrives, my veggies aren't overrun by slugs, and wildlife finds a home here.
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[@coaxihuitl]

I put up a small birdhouse I was hoping would get a Northern Saw Whet owl family. It was designed for their size. When I got starlings instead, I wasn’t surprised, but initially wasn’t excited either. When I saw how great they are at flipping the wood mulch I’m using and devouring slugs, I was a little more excited. Not quite duck-level slug destruction, but nice. (Working on 1/8 acre in Nova Scotia, where our zone and weather is similar in many ways to yours). I also have a large population of Red-backed salamanders that I’m careful to avoid harming when digging through denser mulched area that I think help me a lot. Thanks for the suggestions, the cardboard in particular I think is a great idea with what I’m working with. :)

[@barbarawarren9443]

1) ducks 2) hair from dogs 3) picking slugs 4) cardboard (as a wet trap)

[@ellens2476]

We used to have a pair if Indian Runner ducks. Being on volcanic soil they weren’t able to turn the bigger rocks under which slugs father so I always had to manually pick them for them. I use some ok’d untreated boards and lean them against something where it’s going to be moist and that is the same trick like the cardboard. I gather them at night with the torch, I really enjoy being out at night gardening as you can really focus, in fact you haven’t hit another chance but focus to the small area the light beam creates. As cruel as it sounds, I stomp the slugs as I cant bear the thought if drowning any living being. At least stomping is instant.

[@allicupero]

hahahah loving snarky Angela 😂

[@melissab8500]

I saw some lightning bugs and had the thought that I should plant what they and their larva eat. Slugs and snails, that's what the larva eat. We just have a shortage of lightning bugs

[@tgardenchicken1780]

Love this

[@missgreer5445]

Thanks, I didn't know they were natural predators. Does anyone know what host plants lighting bugs prefer? This is a great idea!

[@melissab8500]

@@missgreer5445 apparently the adults eat nectar, pollen, and other lightning bugs😧

[@missgreer5445]

@@melissab8500 Thank you, although it's sad they have cannibal tendencies. 😬

[@tgardenchicken1780]

all: after you research lightning bugs food and plant needs, remember that light pollution is a huge factor in lightning bugs' habitat restrictions.

[@billyandrew]

Try Glasgow, Scotland for consistent rainy weather. Done properly, ie, disposable double layer coffee cups, I'm guaranteed at least a dozen gastropods drowned, per night, thirty to forty on a great night. Less than a minute to construct, saving me a fortune in time sowing, potting on, then planting or replanting destroyed plants, I find a drop of beer a worthwhile investment. Alternatively, you could mix yeast and sugar, as it's the yeast in beer they find irresistible. Slug poison has the distasteful habit of also poisoning creatures that prey on them, such as hedgehogs, some birds and the rather useful groundbeetle. Thanks for uploading.

[@flowerpixel]

Great video! I'd love to see more pest control tips. Anytime I see a KZbinr mention egg shells I roll my eyes 🙄

[@justalurkr]

I love that "let's massively inconvenience slugs with fuzz" works better than "let's slash slugs to ribbons," in the sense that it works at all.

[@tgardenchicken1780]

I agree Holly, I hear the eggshell thing constantly as a Master Gardener and the beer traps too. sigh.

[@MsAusarian]

The UK 🇬🇧 have now declared that slugs are no longer a pest. Slug pellets are going to be banned over here. (I haven’t ever used them) 🐌

[@welshhymnspontrhyd]

I’ve just amused my groomers by going in and asking for a bag of clippings - which they are kindly collecting tomorrow for me! Which sort they asked? I’ve gone for a mixture!

[@RichardTaylorgardening]

Hi for 50 years ive been watering through a pipe letting the ground dry out only watering roots also chopping up nettles and brambles as a mulch they sting them happy gardening Richardx

[@brainfaucet]

Can't wait to try some cardboard. Daily hand picking has been effective for me & this cardboard gag will make finding the buggers a snap! Thanks for a great video!

[@suzannecrookshanks8257]

All of my dogs have short hair, so I'm wondering if human hair would have the same effect? Btw, thank you for your videos. I very much value the precise & sensible information you share. I always learn so much, as you are a great teacher. Your garden is beautiful & an inspiration! I want one just like yours!

[@JocelynCampbell]

Yes, human hair works great! I used to cut two family members' hair and used that just as Angela described.

[@sweetpeasbackyardgarden1236]

Very informative. I appreciate the approach of striking a balance for the garden. My goal is to create a beneficial ecosystem. Thank you.

[@andreer-k6136]

Thank you for your advice and your happy outlook!

[@ll3174]

I’ve heard that they don’t like going over sand I haven’t tried yet but good to know there’s more alternatives

[@Daymanoahha]

this is great thanks, we have cats with long hair that gets everywhere so will try it with their fur!

[@O_U_No_It_2]

Again😳 You, Ma'am, are a very reliable source of pertinent details on your wonderful channel... You are so deeply and intimately knowledgeable on the curbing's and barriers that you put into action to safely guard your food supply. I believe ducks are in my future, lol, as we are north of you by a couple hours and our climate is very similar. Thank you for the strategies. I've been utilizing cardboard as mulch, with wood chips as a deep topping, if I'm trying to rid an area of grass or whatnot. Often when I'm still burying grass clippings, trimmings or food waste underneath the cardboard I realize how many slugs are attracted to the weather protected cellulose or plastic areas. But I don't have the heart to just chuck them into a bucket🙄 Not judging. It's more like I'll take the losses on veg and just let nature take its course cuz we have so much more than we need. I'm not feeding teenagers anymore, haha! Also noticed the wood chip mulch that we utilize deters the sluggos for the most part anyways. I'm super surprised that I don't have more issues, but I don't have any other detriments in place presently, and it works well here. Like you advise(Paraphrasing) "Know your unique (micro/macro)climate needs by interacting daily". Thank you so much for what you do 🌱

[@angelfromtheotherside1439]

I love all the videos daily

[@caitlinmannas4985]

I was literally just out in my vancouver garden wondering what you do for slugs

[@hendyappleton5701]

Yay! A use for all the corgi fluff!

[@AnnaKincaid]

Dog hair! thank you that is a great use for my pups hair! I'm in western wa and I am struggle with slugs this year.

[@aromaofhope]

Great information. Thank you!

[@ruthmuller8611]

Thank you for a great video! How much vinegar in the water in order to have an effective slug killing bucket?

[@zoeward4555]

I can't do ducks at my allotment but I can try all the other options! Thanks so much! I had someone suggest eggshells today too, will skip that one.

[@anne-marietuikka3036]

I cannot have ducks neither but wild birds seem to be a great asset in keeping slug population down. And I feel that the amount of birds visiting our garden grows every year ☺️

[@ellens2476]

One more good trap is to put your spent citrus peel halves upside down in a convenient spot and you can pick them off an hour after dusk and throughout the night (torch). They are nocturnal.

[@frederiekewoudstra9241]

Really great info, thank you!

[@ellens2476]

For people who don’t have dog hair - just connect to a dog groomer. I personally have a hair phobia but have used wool before.

[@charlesbale8376]

Great gardening tips.

[@diananixon7652]

Thanks for this very useful info :)

[@karensutherland8806]

Love your videos, but wish I knew how to keep them from starting automatically. Is this something you have to do in creating them or something I can do for receiving them? The controls in settings on the video don't help.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

As far as I know it is nothing on my end. I don’t have any control over it but there are settings on your phone that make videos play automatically that you can click off. I am not sure on a laptop, but it is not some thing I control on my end

[@saramoore1]

I have a huge overpopulation of pill bugs in the spring. Do you think #2 & #4 would work on those, as well?

[@quantafitness6088]

Even though I do not really believe in copper, it really seems to have worked for one pot where I tried it. It was a pot with mint, buried in the ground. After adding copper scrub to the top, I swear they stopped eating the leaves. 🤔 Anyhow I will try some more to see.

[@suzannebonham583]

No way would I escape the grey! I came here from New Mexico. I never felt "at home" there. I must be part duck :)

[@Maggie-eq4cd]

Thanks for the dog hair solution. Great

[@louise2209]

Using bramble doesn’t work either; last year I tried it and it seemed to work for all of three days at which point the slugs and snails climbed over the brambles anyway and destroyed bush beans, cucumbers and radishes in that bed.

[@joannewolfe5688]

I suggest food handler gloves for picking slugs...

[@monicali2608]

Dry oats make them dry out. Use them like blue pellets.

[@justalurkr]

I inherited my mom's dog right before moving up here, and he's been putting the Shiht in Shih Tzu ever since. Slugs, meet ever-growing hair. 😀

[@alexandreverhoef7420]

I let violet grow wild and it seems like the slugs are more interested in them then my other plants.

[@Brennannnnnnnnn]

I’ve heard that extra sourdough starter can be used in place of beer.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

I heard that recently, too! I am tempted to try it, but I kinda think it might just attract rodents.

[@eekisvreemd1986]

Slugs are drawn to the yeast in beer, so makes sense!

[@Brennannnnnnnnn]

@@ParkrosePermaculture ah good thinking. I commented before but just in case you missed it, I’d happily make some aerial video/photos if you want as a token of gratitude for all you’ve offered the community. No pressure obviously and I’m a fellow introvert so I can respect a “less interaction is better” vibe. Sorry to be so long winded here. 🌻

[@ThomiBMcIntyre]

Such a great idea using dog hair! I wonder if it would be ok if the dog had been treated with topical flea repellant?

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

That’s a really good question. I don’t really know about the half life of the insecticides used for flea meds. Knock on wood, my dogs have never had fleas and we don’t use any flea meds.

[@inesberon7294]

@@ParkrosePermaculture what about sheep hair?

[@hopeofdawn]

For those of us without dogs, I wonder if going to the local grooming salon and asking for their trimmings would work? Or would that be full of chemicals from shampoo and the like?

[@bthyme]

Since slugs can be a vector for gape worm, don't you have to worry about your ducks in the Pacific NW?

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Yes. I have never had that issue, knock on wood. I don't know anybody in my area that has either.

[@sarchlalaith8836]

When making raised bed I paint them with graphene, and then pass a current down it using a low power circuit from the solar batteries. Mice, slugs, snails, even squirrels and rats don't want to go over it. They will still be attracted into the garden and therefore you'll still get slugs in the garden, but not on your food/raised beds. I think you're right though lass, if you can, ducks are just excellent. Why not if you're able too, eggs, fertiliser, and eventually, duck... Well worth it.

[@annmarienoone9879]

Scissors

[@marksando3082]

oof the slugs have been so bad this spring

[@WilliamComiskey]

I actually just want some garter snakes in my permaculture garden. They haven't found my garden yet though..

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

The few times we’ve had them, my chickens have eaten them 😩😭

[@WilliamComiskey]

I'm half tempted to go find a couple in the woods/park

[@barbarawarren9443]

Does salt work?

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Salt is bad for the soil, so I avoid using it. :)

[@barbarawarren9443]

@@ParkrosePermaculture Thank you!

[@joannewolfe5688]

"Even harsh chemicals will not cut slug slime," ha ha

[@alectricity3072]

scissors

[@victoriawolfe686]

“Hear him now as he toils. He has a long garden-implement in his hand, and he is sending up the death-rate in slug circles with a devastating rapidity. "Ta-ra-ra boom-de-ay Ta-ra-ra BOOM-" And the boom is a death-knell. As it rings softly out on the pleasant spring air, another stout slug has made the Great Change.” ― P.G. Wodehouse, A Damsel in Distress

[@justalurkr]

Slug picking is gross? This is why God invented nitrile gloves and tongs.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Good point on the tongs!

[@jeaninecelayeta3370]

Wear rubber gloves 🧤😀

[@justinarnold7725]

We don't have a slug problem in the garden we have a table salt deficiency

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

The amount of table salt it would take to rid a PNW garden of slugs would render it as utterly destroyed and infertile as those fields in legends supposedly salted by conquering armies.

[@justinarnold7725]

@@ParkrosePermaculture We tried everything the only thing that worked was going out at night with with a torch and a container of table salt

[@MicrobeMomma]

Isn’t prevention more efficient than cure? Balance the soil food web MICROBES and slugs will not come at all!

[@NateFord]

That’s a pleasant fiction