How to Stop Slugs Eating Your Plants (100% Organic)

[@catladycatlady7359]

I have been following your channel for years. I love how precisely you give your information without rambling like many others do, and you have a great sense of humor while teaching us. I always look forward to your videos!

[@melindaedgington9925]

I agree. The videos are not long and boring. Perfect for a busy parent.

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks so much guys! :-)

[@destinycoach5]

Yes.... I hate ramblers.... or those who talk all sorts of unrelated nonsense and i especially dislike those ridiculous, insecure channel creators who gotta tell you to LIKE SHARE SUB every few min. Even twice is too much. My record in counting these commercial breaks was 8 in a 1 hr show. And it wasn't just a 5 sec reminder... it would get the guy off track and he start selling his merch and he start talking about other things so the break ended up taking 5 min or becoming the topic. Soooo annoying!!! After multiple complaints about his incessant reminders, as if we are all stupid children... I UNSUBBED!!!

[@peterbergel]

The comment about "cheap beer" made me remember a slug remedy we used a few years back. Just mix some flour and yeast with water and stir it up. Smells a lot like beer and seems to attract the slugs just as well. I put the mixture in a plastic cottage cheese container, cut a hole in the top so the slugs could get in, but they never came out. The top slows evaporation down a bit.

[@tesstess3371]

I was just thinking about that. Mix sugar, yeast and water.

[@TiredNana100]

It’s what I use and it actually does work. Hubble was horrified at the prospect of ‘wasting’ good beer 🤣

[@peterbergel]

@@tesstess3371 Well, I used flour instead of sugar, but sugar might work.

[@GrowVeg]

Great idea, thanks for sharing this Peter.

[@minkefin]

I don't drink beer, so even the 'cheap nonsense' would be an extra outlay. But I do have planted fish tanks, and I use a mixture of sugar and yeast in water to generate CO2 in the tank. Once the yeast has exhausted itself and there's no CO2 left, I have a bottleful of sweet, boozy-smelling water that I have been throwing away. Now it looks like I've found a use for it! Waste not want not! Thank you for the tip!

[@gabrielleannacormierart]

This is the best slug control video I’ve seen! I agree that removing them to other areas really does reduce their population in the garden. Some of your tips are new to me and I’ll give them a try. (I usually just collect them and take them for a walk into the woods to settle in a new area.) I especially love the humane and environmentally friendly approach you seem to have to controlling them ❤️ thank you for this!

[@GrowVeg]

They're all creatures that deserve a break!

[@goteamslugs]

Thank you! We love going on walks! =)

[@aalyd7444]

When we moved to our new house, the neglected garden was full of slugs. I promised our children 5 eurocent per slug/ snail and a little bonus after each 10 slugs. We counted them at the kitchen chalk board. To my own surprise it worked perfect. Sometimes they found 40 slugs in 1 round. I’ve never had better slug hunters. :-) The game lasted a few weeks, but was very effective. Now (4 years later) we still have a normal population.

[@GrowVeg]

What a wonderfully inventive way to deal with them!

[@SyKnife]

Entertaining and exercising the kids, plus teaching some math, as well as getting rid of slugs. You are a genius parent.

[@DrownTheRabbitHole]

Five cents?! A bit tight no?!

[@destinycoach5]

​@@DrownTheRabbitHole Lol

[@icke11234]

What did you do to the slugs?

[@uschiaala]

I've had good success with planting decoy seedlings with my prized seedlings. I kept losing zucchini seedlings and finally out of desperation started planting mustard seeds in a ring around my zucchini (or in a proposed planting spot, a few days ahead of time, and then plant the seedling in the patch of mustard seedlings). The slugs seem to prefer the mustard and spared the zucchini (or zinnias, etc). As the mustard grows I can thin or remove as desired - but it's also a fantastic trap plant for cabbage moths and aphids, so I tend to let some grow to maturity throughout the garden. Anecdotally, pests seem to prefer the mustard plants to other brassicas as well. The bees and especially hover flies love it. I just buy mustard seed from the supermarket spice aisle.

[@lysamerekvart9471]

I've never seen slugs going over my mustard, but since it's growing everywhere in my garden, they might be tackling 90% of it without me noticing! I've not bought seeds in three years now, and have tried doing some mustard condiment with it, that's fabulous! Probably one of the most underestimated plats to me : grows all year long, loved by bees and other pollinators (especially if you grow it during winter and it flowers really early), terrific young leaves in salad, I love the green seeds in salads as well, dried seeds goes into all pickling recipes, slow cook meals, and obviously mustard condiment... Terrific as green manure, and if you let it grow and dry on the spot, perfect hollow stems for all kind of ladybugs and friends to spend the winter... And now you tell me it's good against slugs? All Hail to The Mustard, savior of the garden :D

[@peterbergel]

Do you also eat your mustard greens? I love them in salads. Great spicy taste!

[@uschiaala]

@@peterbergel Yes, and the flowers too. I love them.

[@uschiaala]

@@lysamerekvart9471 It's definitely one of my favourite plants! :)

[@GrowVeg]

Mustard is definitely a super plant in so many ways!

[@daveedwards7366]

For 2 years now I've used vapour rub, wiping a thin layer about an inch wide around pots and beds, works an absolute treat, it stays on for the whole season, it doesn't leave dead slugs around my garden leaving them for the predators and own label brands are less than a £1 a jar, time and money saving.

[@GrowVeg]

Great tip, thanks for sharing!

[@TheBettyBoopnl]

Wow great tip. How do you smear it round a bed In the ground ?

[@sonnypryvee3471]

On the side of the bed near the bottom rather than the grass I imagine! Im Going to give this a go

[@WolfeTone17-98]

@@TheBettyBoopnl With my tongue.

[@TheBettyBoopnl]

@@WolfeTone17-98 🤣

[@steves7271]

so interestingly, I've just found an excellent slug and snail lure, completely by accident. I have a stone mushroom about 8 inches high that bought years ago, and I finally decided to paint it. I went for the traditional red and white toadstool colours and ever since, each night when I go out in the garden, its covered in slugs and snails. I pick them off and relocate them to a nearby field. they all seem to be on or heading for the white spots. I think you could apply the colour scheme to any rock and have the same result.

[@GrowVeg]

What an interesting effect there Steve - you're clearly onto something there!

[@uschiuschi3232]

I think it has something to do with the smell of the colour .

[@meemkaplan4315]

Ha! Great idea! I have noticed they do like the Amanita mushrooms...

[@OG_Beckie_Leigh]

@steves7271 Your color theory track for the slugs at my house. I don’t have a garden nor do I intentionally grow anything in my flower bed areas. However, all of the trim on my house is white. I’ve noticed a lot of slugs gathering on the door over the last couple of weeks while it’s been very rainy here. The white also attracts a lot of bugs, especially flies, mosquitoes, “mosquito hawks”, and June bugs.

[@sobiabutt4995]

If white attracts slugs, could any other colour deter them?

[@jamesbatten8659]

Around pots , Vaseline is a great barrier do a strip of it around your pot about 2 to 3 inches wide , the slugs can’t grip to it and fall off and it’s waterproof , or do aa ring of double sided sticky tape with salt stuck on one side they touch it and soon bugger off without killing them .😁❤️🇬🇧👍

[@horta-mansan6972]

In the winter months, when there are no more vegetables in the garden, I let the chickens run loose, then I have less problems with snails in the spring.

[@GrowVeg]

That's a great way of getting a clean sweep - smart move.

[@rosemaryjane9455]

I went slug and snail hunting after dark for a couple of weeks and that really helped reduce the numbers. Good to known we can relocate them to the compost heap where they will do some good.

[@becca22891]

The best most comprehensive slug video I've seen! Excellent resource - will be sharing with my community garden.

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks so much for sharing Rebecca, that means a lot.

[@CardiffGuru67]

Maybe luck but I layered my ever hospitable cold frame with sandpaper and also my shelves in the greenhouse, it had a huge effect. Most seedlings survived for the first year ever. The more coarse the better. No area was left uncovered and it seemed to survive the rain too. Yes I will relay it this year but think I've got my answer. Planting out to the main garden this year I'm going to create some sandpaper rings and see how that goes.

[@GrowVeg]

Great result Ian. 😀

[@carlchapman4053]

My Grandad did the same and dusted it with talcum powder each week, he said it was the best solution he ever found.

[@lisapiselli2176]

Brilliant idea! Thank you.

[@Mantras-and-Mystics]

Dang!!! 😖 Guess what I found in my old garage last week and just threw out?

[@1436jeannie]

Isn't that always what happens!??!

[@foodgrowers1531]

Honesty is the best policy... calling Coors what it is -- "cheap nonsense" -- you don't want to waste good beer on bad slugs.

[@lorrihernandez341]

I had a good laugh over that one! 😂

[@stefancook5745]

Yeah, I caught that too, use that cheap US beer...Coors, Colorado kool-aid.

[@lysamerekvart9471]

@@maffmaheed1447 Well, to be honest... Who wouldn't like a nice cold Guinness? If you're deciding to treat your slugs for beer, then respect them and serve them beer, not piss :D

[@Ralf1erudd]

Recently found out they very much like Sainbury's Depot 90. £1 for 4 x 440ml cans.

[@sarahdotcom]

​@@Ralf1erudd I would feel the need to explain to the staff that no, I don't intend to actually drink it!

[@chadwick6857]

Your channel, along with Self Sufficient Me, has been invaluble to learning more about gardening for me. Keep up the great work!

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks Chad, appreciate that. Love Self Sufficient Me too - great channel. 😀

[@susanross1651]

I use a garlic wash on my hostas, there’s lots of recipes online, but it’s basically garlic boiled in water then used diluted in a watering can. Slugs really don’t like it. You have to use it more often in rainy weather 👍🏻

[@GrowVeg]

Great idea!

[@callyg7696]

Would wild garlic boiled do the same job? Just an idea so I don't use up my garlic

[@condequinto6484]

How about spraying the boiled garlic water on the plants themselves Will it work?

[@meemkaplan4315]

Unfortunately, the slugs in my part of the NW, USA love to eat the allium family....

[@no-one-no-one]

Slugs eat my garlic like it's chocolate also my onions

[@aworldapartfilms4972]

GrowVeg is definitely my favorite gardening channel

[@aliceteixeira9430]

Great video! I tried all sorts of things but beer seems to work best. I also discovered that marigolds are their favorite plant to eat. I planted a variety of flowers in a group and the marigolds were eaten down to nubs almost overnight. They also nibbled on the sunflowers but didn't touch the calendulas. They started a bit on the nasturtiums once they finished the marigolds, but not too much. Next I'm going to plant decoy seedlings of them, much like Uschiaala did with mustard. By the way, they will also hide under cardboard.

[@GrowVeg]

Marigolds eaten to a stump is something I'm also very familiar with Alice!

[@floranlehmann7149]

Thank you for not killing the slugs and just relocating them. All living things have a right to be here

[@GrowVeg]

Agreed!

[@huckleberrywillow7485]

Unfortunately diatomaceous earth will kill every tiny insect that it comes into contact with - big downside would not recommend at all 🙁

[@miraclebeing]

I stopped letting slugs be in my compost pile. I believe their eggs are then transplanted into the garden when you move in the compost which then reinfests your beds with slugs. Homemade beer traps work excellently. As an aside, one year a raccoon broke into the garden and drank all the beer traps! She was after the ripe strawberries and added a drink along with the berries!

[@GrowVeg]

Oh wow - I bet the raccoon had an interesting afternoon after that!

[@deanwatt]

Something you may want to try is, all the old bits of lettuce that you clean up to try and discourage the slugs, stick them under your planks of wood, so they get attracted to shelter and food all in one crafty (and free!) trap.

[@GrowVeg]

Smart move Dean, I like it!

[@Key-Pen_it_real_1A]

​@GrowVeg I was cringing when you were holding and touching the slugs with bare hands.

[@Agrillot6]

@@Key-Pen_it_real_1Aagreed. I don’t MIND plucking them up with my bare hands, however the slime just doesn’t wash off very well, and takes 4-5 washings or even more to get it off my hands 🤢

[@ignescograce6689]

Love your energy, your enthusiasm and excitement, and the time you put into these videos They are deeply appreciated and insightful! I'll be sure to put these into action 🥰🙏🏼 Love and Light!

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks so much, really appreciate that! Love and light right back at yer! :-)

[@lindawhite3799]

We've avoided tilling but tried it last year and saw a significant reduction in slugs. I've also found coffee grounds to be effective. They don't seem to like to crawl over them.

[@matgggg55]

I just tested this and coffee grounds do not work, but cinnamon seems to work very well.

[@shirleywittering9698]

@@matgggg55 I had some stale coffee and tried it, it worked until it rained.

[@matgggg55]

@@shirleywittering9698 I took like 20 slugs and put a circle of coffee grinds around them and watched if they would cross the thick boarder, they did immediately.

[@madame.banoffee]

Love your shooting angle - sprawled out straight on the ground, putting everything into perspective.

[@ardenthebibliophile]

You can also make slug bait with some bakers yeast, sugar, water, and flour. The sugar/flour/water feeds the yeast which offgas and attracts slugs! Beer works well, but if you don't want to waste your last ale it's a good workaround

[@GrowVeg]

Excellent tip and a great way to save precious beer!

[@olgacvetkova114]

Snails and slugs are thriving in rainy and cool Northern Ireland, so gardening is a bit of a challenge for those who don't keep chickens roaming around and don't want to use chemicals! Thanks a lot for sharing your tips and tricks!😉🌱🌿🥦🍎🌶

[@JourneytoSustainableLiving]

eggshells are also a really good way to prevent slugs from targeting certain plants! I also tried washing my dishes with eggshell powder for the first time while I was making my YT video and I was SHOCKED at the results! 😮

[@mallemarijke]

Thanks again Ben, I love your posts. I’ve read that the beer is smelt by slugs miles away and this way you actually attract even more slugs to your garden

[@GrowVeg]

I can only go by my experiences is that I have found they help. It may draw in slugs from a little further, but it seems to be a good way of corralling them into one place for removal.

[@John-gj9db]

Brilliant options presented Ben. I’m going out to my shed now to throw away the slug pellets. You are the David Attenborough of gardening 👍

[@GrowVeg]

Cheers John - high praise indeed!

[@irispriest245]

Hi Ben! Just to add to your list, one barrier we have found effective in keeping back the slug attacks are the stalks of spikey plants such as bramble. We cut them up into smaller pieces and lay these in little stacked circles around the plants. Thanks so much for your videos. Your enthusiasm is compelling! 😃

[@GrowVeg]

Great idea, thanks so much for sharing this. :-)

[@elsef6798]

Thanks for yet a great video! I love your non cruel perspective and advice - very helpful!

[@sandracarli1110]

I particularly liked the trick of using them for compost.

[@stephiechefy]

One thing I’ve done that’s not mentioned here is turning my soil up and over at the end of the growing season once overnight frosts start. From what I understand, it disrupts the next generation. I did this last year and it seems to be giving me a terrific result, and thank goodness because between them and the cabbage moths, my poor veggies and I were STRESSING lol

[@GrowVeg]

Glad you've managed to get on top of them - a big relief!

[@Elinalovinglife]

with what tools did you manage that? am a complete beginner

[@maxibake9323]

I'm 2 Floors up. No Slugs. Sometimes Woodlice though. 👍 Mind your Dogs with Slugs & Snails, you don't want them eating them. Lungworm. TFS GV, & take care too everyone. ❤🙂🐶

[@louielu839]

Great advice thank you, you always make me giggle, I just wanted to remind everyone that DE can also harm the pollinators and we all know that our bees are precious 🐝 so please use it carefully.

[@dn744]

I grow extra cabbage and lettuce. Pull leaves off, lay about 200mm away from your tender plants, go out when dark and collect them up to move on.

[@GrowVeg]

What a great idea!

[@lorainel1711]

Garter snakes are great slug defence. I have two photos of snakes living in my garden, swallowing whole, slugs 2-3” in length!!! Those are the slugs that escaped my nightly slug hunts and avoided the beer pots, which work really successfully. Thank you for an informative video. Stay organic 🙏😍👍

[@GrowVeg]

Wow - what an impressive thing to have witnessed.

[@christinamoxon]

I do prefer the trap-and-relocate method. It's made a good dent in my snug problem and I have neighbouring lizards, hedgehogs and frogs so they've hopefully been enjoying my efforts. It's not perfect and I've lost a few seedlings but most of my plants are thriving. Thanks for the video x

[@GrowVeg]

Seems like a more civilised way of dealing with slugs for sure Christina.

[@julieannbailey9505]

I've been sprinkling Epsom salt around my plants, mulching with aromatic cedar shavings and spritzing everything with essential oils, such as peppermint, mixed with a little water and a tiny bit of a surfactant like vegetable glycerin. I also installed bird feeders and planted lots of shrubbery that attract birds and bees. Our climate is damp and cool with lots of rain, so the gardens have little chance to dry out. Between the slugs and the wildlife it's a constant battle to grow anything all the way to harvest!

[@GrowVeg]

Sometimes gardening does feel like a real battle!

[@TomChaplin-o9d]

Hey, Ben! Comprehensive video. Thank you. You ask for more suggestions. I've had huge success with ordinary half litre plastic bottles lid on half buried with a hole in the side at ground level - half the bottom half filled with beer/cider or a sugar yeast mixture diluted with water. Lethal. If you make the hole u-shaped and bend the tong out a bit then the rain or watering runs off and not in. The other huge success in the polytunnel is a buried board on edge with two copper wires stapled carefully 1cm apart not touching... one connected to the positive terminal of a 9v battery and the other to the negative but otherwise going nowhere. A perimeter of such very effective deterrent... so far. Sour enough for the slug to not want to cross both. Potential hazard if the wires are touching or otherwise connected so check voltage regularly. Battery lasts and lasts if the wires are not touching or otherwise connected to each other. Don't know how it would work outside if the boards are wet too often.

[@GrowVeg]

What superb ideas! Thanks so much for sharing these! :-)

[@carlchapman4053]

My grandad used to cover the edges of his garden beds with coarse sandpaper dusted with talcum powder, it didn't stop them but the dry sharp surface reduced the amount of slugs willing cross over it and the trails were clearly visible so he knew how many he needed to find and remove. Edit - They all went over the hedge into the nearby woodland, usually as far as he could throw.

[@GrowVeg]

Great technique.

[@klsaunders2656]

That's a really good idea that I've never heard before. I will have to try it.

[@TheGizby]

Very educational. Also I never tire of your enthusiasm which inspires me to get going in my garden.

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks Joanne. :-)

[@phoebehope6549]

I've made a border of crinkled up tin foil that has worked amazingly so far, but hardly aesthetically pleasing or long term 😅 so I'll be trying some of these. The critters always get relocated to the compost heap to speed things along 👍

[@rikuk3]

I did a test with copper tape about five years ago, similar pots/compost/plants and the one I used tape on was slug free all year...the other was not and I've used tape ever since. Double the strips up to increase width.

[@phenixwars1]

Do you put the tape on the stems of the plants?

[@mickhowes5485]

do you connect a 9 volt battery to it? two strips of copper 5 mm apart with the battery positive terminal connected to one strip and the negative to the other strip, as the slug/snail crosses the two strips it gets a mild shock and retreats. The battery lasts at least a year as its only shorting with a slug going across it.

[@ChrisWijtmans]

I think chicken wire around the grow beds and some vulcanic gravel does the job as well. They dont like crossing the sharp objects.

[@shirleywittering9698]

@@phenixwars1 the copper tape goes round the top rim of the pot.

[@nicholasryan5401]

I have over fifty pot's of flowers in my front garden and use seven slug traps around my hosta's. The rest of my pots rarely get attacked which include agapanthus, salvia's, alpines, fuchsia's, hebe's, daylilies, African daisy's, alstroemeria's , cranesbill geranium's, delosperma. In the flowerbeds I have eight slug traps placed beside hostas. The bait I use in the traps is water, sugar, flour and dry yeast.

[@GrowVeg]

Great suggestion, thanks for sharing this. 😀

[@doodlesparklecleaning]

Love your channel, been watching it for tips for our allotment. I don’t like to harm anything so am looking for natural alternatives. One thing I’ve learnt is slugs don’t like onions or garlic. I planted some radishes in the onion patch and they left the radishes alone, planted elsewhere they obliterated them in 2 days. Going to plant lettuce and chard with the spring onions and leeks and where the onions were to see if the scent still puts them off!

[@GrowVeg]

What an interesting find - thanks so much for sharing that. :-)

[@aeastman59]

great information about natural slug control which is so important thank you! one more slug repellant is getting fleece from sheep and placing the fleece around the base of the plant ... the slugs do not like touching the hairy sheep fleece.... and the little slug song was excellent!

[@GrowVeg]

Great extra tip, thank you! 😀

[@meemkaplan4315]

I wonder if that technique would work with my German Shepherd's fur.... LOTS of fur available to me!

[@aeastman59]

@@meemkaplan4315 I think so! I have a poodle and I put some of his fur out and it seems to do the same thing

[@guydwelly]

Brilliant informative video with clever phptography and supporting animated graphics! Thanks you very much

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks for the kind words. :-)

[@kimallard225]

Hi Ben. Ive found in my home garden and allotment normal play sand stops slugs. I use it around the outside and floor of my green house and around young plants. Planks I put out for a few weeks. The rest I leave up to our frogs, toads, and resident hedgehog. Yet still on occation I use Nemetoads if I think the slugs and snails are becoming too prolific. Love the video especially the google eye head set. lol sould be a regular feature. 😂 Allotment owner and pretend gardener. I follow your ideas, advice and guidance. My friends at the allotment think I'm a great gardener. Not: its all you. So thanks for making me look like I know what im doing. Lots of love and best wishes Kim x

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks for the very kind comments Kim. As a gardener you are always learning, and I'm almost certain your success as a gardener is down to your diligent attention and care. :-)

[@TwoMarshmallows1]

Thank you, this is very helpful and a great reminder that there are many non-harmful methods of dealing with slugs and snails. I've found beer traps to be the best method, along with picking them off in the early mornings and evenings. To prevent evaporation, I cut the top off a juice or other kind of Tetra Pak drink container. Pour beer into the rest of the container. Turn the top upside down and fit into the container. This allows the slugs to get in but not out, as well as preventing other animals and insects from drowning in the beer. Other than that, I've just accepted that slugs and snails are part of nature, and there will be a small amount of inevitable loss. Thanks again for another great video!

[@GrowVeg]

What a great way to keep the beer from evaporating. :-)

[@TwoMarshmallows1]

@@GrowVeg Thank you! :)

[@ramonakaufman8134]

I saw this method in a gardening magazine. Take an empty plastic soda bottle, cut off the top part, invert, staple it in place. Then use the slug pellet stuff, pouring some in. The slugs get in, eat and can't get out and die. So it isn't affected by rain or toxic to small animals and pets.

[@rrbb36]

You don’t have to use beer in your slug trap. Here’s an alternative home-made recipe: 1 cup water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon flour 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast That’s all folks… it’s the yeast they’re after, not the beer. 😘

[@TheSamba37]

You're just making beer with that homemade recipe, but yeah, it doesn't need to come from a can.

[@kimberlysmith697]

Thank you

[@rrbb36]

@@TheSamba37 Funny, I don’t see any hops on my list of ingredients, but I’m happy to can it up if you wish. How much “Slugger Beer” would you like to buy….a case, a 6-pack, or just a can?

[@Nitecrow314]

@@rrbb36 Beer doesn't need hops to be beer. It's a flavouring, nothing more.

[@rrbb36]

@@Nitecrow314 Wow, it’s amazing how rare a genuine sense of humor has become. And since you seem to prefer to be so very serious, as a PRACTICAL matter, MOST beer does indeed contain hops as a flavoring agent. Have a beer and TRY to have a lovely day.

[@annieem5693]

I press in a border of slender wild blackberry branches (very thorny, and they grow everywhere here in the Pacific North West). Although it takes some time to put in place, it is an effective barrier in wet or dry conditions.

[@GrowVeg]

Great idea. :-)

[@cathymorgan3962]

I like having slugs and snails especially in Spring when the adult birds and me are feeding chicks of all species in the garden! Seeds,fatballs and dry porridge all year round means birds of all sorts in the garden all year, some birds like to ground feed and others feel safer with fatballs hung amongst the holly trees and other dense foliage...having trees,shrubs and underplanting means that even in a small suburban garden like mine the pest and predator ratio is balanced without me having to bother. The grass is kept long at the bottom of the garden as I have lots of gorgeous ground beetles and solitary nesting bees,with native species of meadow flowers...years of dry porridge being dumped on the lawn has weakened the grass so the seed bank of flowers takes over....it's a mass of colour and an incredible amount of diverse life,just wonderful after a long cold Scottish winter! For edibles I use recycled council tubs and mix peat free compost with molehill soil and whenever I make coffee I plonk the spent coffee around the plants,slugs hate it, they are an important food scource tho so I live wih them,leapord slugs will only eat well rotted veg and black slugs have soft mouthparts so they only like very young plants...I start edibles indoors and plant out in May, by that time the birds are in a frenzy to feed chicks so slugs are top of the menu!

[@cathymorgan3962]

I suppose my remedy has been to garden less and be lazy,leave some herbaceous plants to die down naturally as overwintering cuties like ladybirds love to tuck under alchemilla mollis, the larvae love aphids and planting elder,which they love,next to roses means that the roses are pest free! During summer the elder trees are black with aphids,they don't do any harm but the ants farm them and blue tits feed their young on them so it's a whole lot of pure joy, just by making a bit of space for a whole ecosystem, choosing plants carefully with whatever conditions you have is key, much less work and much more fun, making space for growing produce and leaving the pest-predator ratio works here

[@GrowVeg]

It's such a joy to read how you are gardening in tune with nature like this. We all need to be more mindful of gardening in a more nature-friendly way - it's the only way forward. :-)

[@cathymorgan3962]

@@GrowVeg thank you! The long winters and gales,with clay soil,means relying on herbaceous perennials a lot and sounds boring but every day is different with a mix of other things like shrubs meaning something is in flower all year. One favourite plant here is cuckoo flower, the orange-tips arrive really early every year then I know Spring is here! Sometimes I think a posh,organised garden might be nice and this time of year I always plan on paper a proper seating area but with visiting sparrowhawks and occasional buzzards it's made more sense to make sure that the birdlife comes first. With space at a premium,and money too,I grow just what I need so the most part is making sure that a diverse amount of life as possible have food too...I can always shop for food.

[@dragonrose3162]

I love your videos. I do not live in an area where slugs are a problem, but I love the information and the way you present it!!!

[@GrowVeg]

Thank you. :-)

[@janewalker1731]

Where do you live? I think I need to move there!!

[@suzannecrowe5701]

Hi Ben…nuts as always!😍 Popping a sand path around the compost heap hinders the varmints trail to where the veggies are greener 🍀 Thanks for the constant entertainment while learning 🍓🥜🐌

[@GrowVeg]

Top tip, cheers Suzanne!

[@bluestar.8938]

Thank you Mr Ben : ) The nematoads for vine weevil and slugs work really well.

[@Tser]

I relocate mine to the compost heap as well. I also use plastic cloche covers that I slightly bury into the ground around the plants for seedlings until they're big enough to handle a nibble.

[@GrowVeg]

Great idea. 😀

[@Alyss93]

I've always found slugs and snails to be quite cute, so I really like the idea of just relocating them to the compost!

[@GrowVeg]

They're not all bad are they!

[@shirleywittering9698]

@@GrowVeg It's the big orange one, some 6 inches long, ugh!

[@woodsie5796]

Some have suggested to me, but I've not tried it yet; is putting copper meat around the base of the plants. You curl it up in a rope and cut it, circling the base of a plant anoy 1-2 inches and it keeps the slugs out. I have mostly use DE and that works well.

[@jennvanbrunt3815]

Great info on slug control. Thanks! I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of intentionally leaving standing water to attract frogs... you must live in a very magical place with no mosquito control issues!!! I am constantly battling standing water to prevent my yard being hospitable to my personal summer enemy #1!

[@GrowVeg]

Yes, very lucky that my climate is so benign. No mosquito problem here. Glad you enjoyed the video. :-)

[@shirleywittering9698]

@@GrowVeg a few drops of washing up liquid in the water kills the mosquitos.

[@r1zzy2k7]

Just tried the beer trap yesterday. When I came out to it this morning I had 8 slugs in it, keeping them off my courgettes and lettuce! Thanks Ben!

[@kdavis4910]

It wasn't near my veg thank heaven, but the other day I counted no less than 36 slugs in the back yard. 36! I did find some on an overwintered green bell pepper plant. I pick them off with leaves and throw them back into the woods. Living in the deep, dark, and dank eastern hemlock forest makes slugs a part of daily life. They really like beer. I mean they REALLY like beer.

[@melanielinkous8746]

So do I 😊

[@GrowVeg]

That’s a good way to deal with them. Just hurl them back!

[@matthewkurt2246]

I played over and over the part in your video of you singing. I placed my cell phone in my garden with your melodious tune and all of my slugs rolled over and died!

[@rosethorne9076]

🤣

[@GrowVeg]

I often have that effect! The plants on the other hand absolutely love the singing...

[@matthewkurt2246]

@@GrowVeg I feel your pain!

[@klenda771]

This is probably my third year gardening at my house and this is the first year where I’m really having a problem with slugs. I’m currently using the beer technique and it’s working but I seem to have more coming as my bean plants are being destroyed right now. I’m also going to try the watering in the morning instead of during the evening. Great video btw.

[@GrowVeg]

I think watering in the morning will help, so things are a bit drier at night. And just being meticulous in removing potential hiding places.

[@julieperry6247]

Great video! I like to use a flour sifter to apply the diatomaceous earth. Easy to handle, precise, and don't get it on my skin. Cheers!

[@GrowVeg]

Great tip Julie, thanks.

[@paulinesaraf3172]

I discovered this by chance. I threw a couple of lemon peels on the ground next to the cabbage making a note to pick them up later on. I went out in the evening flashlight in hand to spoy slugs that roam around, .There were dozens of them around the lemon peels which they were eating. We now drink a lot of lemonade and are slug free!

[@GrowVeg]

Wow - what a fantastic discovery! Thanks for sharing. :-)

[@nomilyonns2583]

Just tried the wooly idea but as i don't have a sheep or a dog... have been using the lint from the dryer and my vacuum cleaner bag contents. So far so good :-)

[@GrowVeg]

Glad it's working for you Nomi.

[@alexturner9267]

After dumping the ash from my house fires on my bonfire I noticed that the slugs never touched it so I started to put rings of it round my plants. So far it's worked an absolute treat even when it gets wet as it has a high alkaline level so I believe it may be acidic to them. Although I wouldn't recommend using coal Ash as this will alter the pH of the soil and possibly kill some plants

[@EarthThemesStudio]

Great video! It's the " why" information that you provide about slugs that really help. Here's a question. If you put them all in your compost, will their eggs survive to be redistributed into your garden in the soil? They are pretty white and obvious, and a proper heap gets hot.... Just not sure

[@lysamerekvart9471]

I'd reckon that gathering the slugs in one place like that will also gather their predators, that (for most of them) also feast on the eggs... If you have hens, set them free on the heap before using it, you'll be sure to ditch any egg left, and add quite a bit of poo to it!

[@GrowVeg]

I reckon it would be a bit like dumping all your weeds on one pile - the majority would never make it through so even if a few survived you'd still be making a huge dent on the overall population.

[@suebrook655]

I chop up some cucumber and put it in several places in the garden. Then go out at night with a head torch and collect them. A few years ago I had a major problem with slugs and used a spray bottle with salt water in to zap them when they got to the cucumber.

[@GrowVeg]

Great idea!

[@RealDarkBlade]

I tried to be the bigger man...but after so many destroyed seedlings, I am firmly in the "death to the slugs" camp

[@killlion]

Waiting for some vegan activists to accuse you of slug genocide....

[@plushypuppy2024]

me too!!!...how about cat litter?, that's the only thing that works for me, but then you must hide the corpses from the birds so they don't meet the same fate.

[@CervineSkol]

i had a huge tray of healthy coriander and bell pepper seedlings, all eaten the next day :( actually so sad

[@Eryri_Hideaway]

I give them their first flying lesson free! On the end of my trowel, flicked over the other side of the stream.

[@dinmavric5504]

@@Eryri_Hideaway I haven't found anything to work better than the scissor method. I don't like cutting the big slugs, but the small ones I don't care about, they do much more damage to plants than bigger ones because I can hardly see them. Worms take care of their remains overnight. The bigger ones I just chuck far away, this method, cutting them or chucking them far away has by far worked the greatest. Slug pellets don't work (and I've tried it many times). These beer methods are pointless in my opinion. Looking for them manually and chucking them is far more efficient.

[@Dilshad38]

You do make me smile Ben - thank you for entertaining as well as informing us! :)

[@GrowVeg]

You've most welcome - thank you for watching. :-)

[@danilueloo]

I have a sweat scrapper for my horses, it is aluminum and has a curved end. I just scoop up the slugs with that and then sling them off into the woods. I can throw them a good 20 feet or more! I have one hanging in my greenhouse by the door. The sweat scrappers are super cheap and you do not have to get the slime on your hands!

[@GrowVeg]

What a great idea!

[@donaldauguston9740]

Excellent to the last second. Thank you for this video. Take care and have a great weekend, DA

[@GrowVeg]

Cheers Donald!

[@tapic8502]

I live in a clay soil area and slugs own this place. Planted out marigolds , woke up with 1/2 of them gone, flowers and leaves. Following night, at 11pm, went out with a torch, a plastic tub with hot and very salty water, and metal pegs to pick the slugs up. picked about 500 slugs 😫 Yes I was counting. these are just the ones I found at that particular time! They we’re eating all my plants and flowers. They were on my mint plants, onions/chives, leeks and all. No plant is slug proof at all. I’m sick of them.

[@GrowVeg]

Wow! That's an incredible result from collecting the slugs though - you must have been very determined!

[@tapic8502]

Very much determined. Thanks for this video. I will follow your techniques too since it’s the beginning of the season. I can plant mindfully and do preventative actions. So I don’t suffer as much 😅

[@jeannettelawson3671]

I attract and collect slugs by putting some food scraps under a piece of wet cardboard weighted down with a rock. In the morning I check each of the traps and collect the slugs. Really works well! I love your videos and always look forward to them. Thanks for all of the great slugging ideas.

[@GrowVeg]

Great method there Jeanette. :-)

[@BigSkirtMcGirt]

I relocate my slugs and snails to my chicken coop. The chickens love it. The slugs and snails not so much...

[@MorusAlba1975]

Couldn't work. Chickens don't eat slugs, only snails.

[@BigSkirtMcGirt]

I only find a slug on rare occasions. 99% are snails. You are probably right about the slugs. I just assumed they were being eaten along with all of the snails. Have a good evening.

[@klsaunders2656]

I also chuck them in the compost. I do use the ferric slug pellets though that I use just in pots. I use nematodes when I can afford it. Garlic spray needs to be done really regularly.

[@helen2061]

Thanks, Ben.. I appreciate that you relocated the slugs. I almost didn't watch this video 😂

[@GrowVeg]

Glad you did though Helen. :-)

[@NigelFairhurst]

Great video. We had a chronic mole problem, so dug 3 foot deep trench (borrowed neighbours hired digger 😊) around the allotment. Now there is better drainage, a continuous ground water supply, no moles and absolutely zero slugs!!

[@GrowVeg]

Nice job! :-)

[@harryshouse007]

I’m thinking of using all of your tips at once, to make sure I definitely nail them! I have oranges, beer and a head torch at the ready.

[@GrowVeg]

All set to go Harry!

[@sugarmouze]

The first year we planted our veggie garden it was destroyed by slugs. Plants literally disappeared over night. We tried organic slug pellets, which didn't kill slugs, but would kill your plants if it got near the roots. Rats & mice came to nibble on the pellets, didn't seen to affect them either. We tried egg shells, copper wire... none of it worked. Beer traps worked but there were sooo many slugs we couldn't keep up. Finally, we got ducks! Indian Runner ducks & Khaki Campbell's. They have the the run of the garden and now our slugs issues are minimal. The ducks live in the veggie garden, we net off plants we don't want them to nobble on us. 4 years on and it is working a treat!🦆

[@GrowVeg]

They sound like great assets to any garden!

[@hawkedriot178]

Since attracting all of the birds with feeders a few years back, I rarely ever see slugs anymore, there's a couple of snails but there seems to be a weekly massacre looking at the shells on the slabs. Touch wood, noones eaten any of my seedlings so far, even the local squirrel jumps over them to the feeders and ignores everything in the beds.

[@PrincessFidelma]

A few years ago we left/forgot about a Halloween pumpkin on our patio, I can't remember now if it had mostly disappeared or had been hollowed out, either way something had eaten it, and surrounding it was about 50 snail shells, yeah, it looked like a massacre had happened, I felt pretty traumatised for quite a while by all the "skulls" piled up, but that year we had almost no slugs or snails, and hardly any since!

[@PrincessFidelma]

@@maffmaheed1447 👍😆

[@mikeus69]

Yes! Feed your local bird population

[@meikusje]

My neighbor overfeeds the local birds, so they barely even pay attention to the snails and slugs, unfortunately. All they do is fly about in her garden day in day out.

[@BattlingApathy]

Excellent primer on slug control. The two methods that I have found most effective are manually removing them (slug hunts, as you suggest, particularly in rainy weather) for a forest adventure, and laying out the garden so that they don’t have cover near the veg beds - not just mowing the grass and tidying up clutter, but also keeping perennial plantings and ornamental features like stone walls at a distance.

[@GrowVeg]

Sounds like a very thorough way to keep on top of them. :-)

[@Eirian1923]

I absolutely love your videos! They really make me yearn for a larger garden

[@GrowVeg]

Thank you. I am sure you have a beautiful garden.

[@freezo244]

LOL! Great thumbnail! Thank you for all your inspiration and information!

[@username125]

I use brambles layered around the inside edges of my raised beds, it works for most of them only tiny ones can get through and then they meet a boozy end in my beer traps, oh and they love flat Worthingtons beer!!

[@GrowVeg]

Super advice there, thank you.

[@juliawitt3813]

I'm going to try that..... I need to prune my berries. I am always lobbing snails over my wall onto the grass verge around my home. Hoping it takes a while for them to come back 😂

[@wonderwomanwales3803]

We have started to surround our brassica plants with stretched our copper scourers pinned in place. We also use beer traps.

[@YamiKisara]

Good vid! Two things to add: you can by nematodes tablets to dissolve in water, or you can make your own (the recipes easily found online). One physical barrier that does help is an edge with a sharp angle around your garden bed. Slugs can't crawl over sharp angles, so if you put up a barrier that leans outward and down, they won't be able to crawl into the bed - however, keep in mind that slugs can also dig (the majority of them stay underground at all times), so unless your bed edge is burried around 20 cms deep, you'll still get some slugs in.

[@GrowVeg]

Some great advice there, thank you.

[@dorisbedell4099]

Hi there. Love your videos! I know this is an older video, but I hope my comment will still add value. I am an herb and flower gardener for some 30 years. I grew some veg, but the deer usually got them all before I could. Four years ago I moved to Florida where deer were not a problem but, slugs, snails and many other bugs are! Hydrogen peroxide was the answer! It kills the snails and slugs and MANY other bugs (including some viruses, bacteria, and other things!) It dissolves into water once it's done. I don't know where it falls on the organic scale, but, it WORKS! And leaves no harmful poisons behind, so it works for me. I always test a few leaves first to be sure it won't harm a particular plant but have yet to find any that don't care for it. If it matters to anyone, I discovered this through my orchid growing, which developed after I moved to South Florida. I have over 100 orchids now, and all are growing strong. Edited to add: Kills the slugs, larvae, and eggs. All gone. I have no problems with them at all. (I cannot have a compost pile where I am. Just not allowed! URGH!) Now if I could just find a way to get rid of those Army Caterpillers! I'd be golden!!

[@GrowVeg]

Interesting solution there Doris. Well done on bringing them under control!

[@kevinthebespectacledpilgrim]

Noticed you had raised beds, or at least beds with a wood border. Add sharp sand to fence paint/stain add a dash of exterior PVA glue and paint the wood so the sand sticks to the wood. When it’s dried, the slugs won’t climb the wood border as they don’t like the rough surface. It works.

[@GrowVeg]

Wow, what a great idea!

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Great vlog, another thing we can do is to be less tidy. Slugs prefer rotting matter... So leave plenty around.

[@Stephens8x6Workshop]

Having tried many methods the only system I have found to be 'almost' successful is an electrified fence. No joke! two strips of wire stapled 6mm or so apart around my raised beds and a battery in a waterproof box linked across. It does not kill them but certainly gives them a headache when the complete the circuit. A couple of hunting trips at night to clear up any that were within the boundary before switch on and (hopefully) my veggies will survive. I say 'almost' successful as I have spotted a few clever ones arching their body over the second wire as they slither across (ha ha). Got to hand it to them, for such a small creature they are very inventive. I suspect to see subsequent generations abseiling in from above or leaping over with a motorcycle 'Great Escape' style!

[@GrowVeg]

What an intriguing setup. I hope it manages to keep most of them off.

[@matthewwakeling4978]

For a barrier, one method I have seen but not tried is to run staple two bare copper wires along a surface and then connect them to the two terminals of a 9V battery, which mildly electrocutes the slugs and discourages them from crossing. However, they can travel underground to some extent. By far the most effective method I have found is just going on a slug hunt every so often.

[@GrowVeg]

Absolutely - definitely the most effective.

[@ahwell9984]

I've had good luck with diatomaceous earth against the hordes of snails and slugs we have here in the very damp, cool Pacific Northwest of the US. Feed stores usually sell it for far less than garden shops, and a small amount seems to be enough to deter the slimy pests.

[@elw6150]

Thank you, going to the feed store to buy some!

[@j.evoness]

I use a bit of left over starter dough, in a partial buried halved plastic bottle with the top half inverted insude and top up left over flour. Also after a slug hunt if needed make a slug island in the bucket of water with fresh greens for them in the middle to munch on, any who hopefully have nematodes pass on to rest be the eat greens and drown. Then use the water on plants in early morning so slug nematodes go on to protect the beds.

[@GrowVeg]

Brilliant idea, thanks so much for sharing.

[@madeleinehayes4100]

Only you could make this very squeamish-about-slugs person chuckle during a video about the slimy beasts! I acquired my distaste of the creatures after accidentally stepping on a nice big fat one in my bare feet shortly after moving to my new home in the country. Yuk! It took a lot of washing to get that slime off the bottom of my foot and I learned my lesson to not go barefoot in the garden when running out for a quick tomato or some herbs while cooking. Much as I dislike them, I dislike killing them as much so I am happy to hear they are useful in the compost pile - I am going to start doing that instead of putting them in the freezer in a ziploc bag - it kills them painlessly I've been told but still don't like the idea of killing them. Thank you for your very enjoyable channel!

[@GrowVeg]

Glad to have made you chuckle Madeleine. I've stopped on one by accident before - barefoot - and it's not pleasant!

[@danbev8542]

Excellent video! Thanks for your ‘live & let live’ perspective. I’ve known people who gleefully sprinkle salt on the slugs & enjoy watching them writhe in agony. I don’t want them eating my plants, but I don’t want to cause horrible agony either. Transferring to the compost pile sounds great - I never thought of that! When I have a LOT of slugs, I find a flat rock & cut them in half with my digging knife. I hope the agony is short-lived. I usually make a pretty good dent in the population that way.

[@GrowVeg]

Good to make a dent in the population as humanely as possible, agreed.

[@MariaPerez-hl4js]

Instead of cutting them is better to squash them with a rock, they die instantly so they don't have time to suffer.

[@izholmes]

Overturned cabbage leaves have been working for me, similar to your citrus suggestion. Thank you for all of this. So helpful to see all the ways you suggest battling slugs. I was expecting to find big slugs in my garden when I went hunting for them, like the ones you show, but mine have been tiny and whitish pink. I’m guessing babies?

[@GrowVeg]

Yes, quite possibly Isabelle. Love your use of cabbage leaves - that way you can dump the whole lot onto the compost heap I guess.

[@SoberOKMoments]

Excellent. I am sharing this video far and wide.

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks so much! :-)

[@PrincessFidelma]

I've just realised the frogs/toads we had in our garden until a few years ago were living rent free, as we were riddled with slugs and snails! Then one year left/forgot about a Halloween pumpkin on our patio, I can't remember now if it had mostly disappeared or had been hollowed out, either way something had eaten it, and surrounding it was about 50 snail shells, but that year, and since, we had almost no slugs or snails! The frogs/toads disappeared that year, too 🤷🏻

[@GrowVeg]

How curious - that is a real mystery!