QUICK TIP
Grab a beer (make sure it's not the good stuff), and put some in a small cup. Sink the cup into the dirt to catch all those slimy slugs that have invaded your roses and tomatoes.
Meagan Van Beest
Head Gardener
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Slug fest: Five tips for fighting these garden thugs
From chomped up tomatoes to holey hostas, if you garden in a humid area, you probably deal with the unsightly (and just plain gross) habits of slugs. Here are a few ideas to help you rid your flowers and veggies of these pesky garden gastropods.
1) Grab a beer (make sure it’s not the good stuff), and put some in a small cup. Sink the cup up to its lip into the dirt. The slugs dip in for a quick nip, but end up visiting the great garden patch in the sky.
2) Buy a small flock of chickens. They’ll eat your obnoxious slugs (along with a host of other nasties) and give you fresh eggs. Crowing rooster optional.
3) Sprinkle diatomaceous earth, egg shells or gravel mulch around your plants. Their sharp edges cut the slugs bodies like tiny ginsu knives and cause them to become dehydrated. Ah, grasshopper - you have become a great garden ninja.
4) Remove or inspect potential slug habitat. These buggers love living under rotting garden debris, stones and lawn ornaments. While you don’t need to get rid of your Mickey Mouse statue, you should take a peek under it regularly to remove any slugs you find therein.
5) If you’re desperate, and don’t have much of a social life, you can hand pick slugs. Lay out scraps of lumber or old carpet to attract the little beasties and do them in during the day. At night, you can shine a flashlight around to see their slimy bodies on your precious plants, and attack. We recommend using gloves and/or chopsticks for the “doing away with” part of things.