How to Get Rid of Slugs in Your Garden

To control slugs and snails in a Delaware garden, reduce the damp, shady hiding places they use, water in the morning, trap them with beer or hand-pick them at dusk, and use iron phosphate bait if you need a stronger option. Table salt is a poor choice because it damages soil and plants.

Are slugs and snails really a problem for plants?

Yes. Slugs and snails are mollusks, not insects. Both leave a slime trail, and both feed at night on tender leaves, leaving ragged holes. Hostas, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes and young seedlings are common targets. They also thrive in cool, wet weather, which describes much of a Delaware spring and fall.

Slugs and snails are hermaphrodites and can lay many eggs in a season, so a small population grows quickly. Acting in spring, before numbers build, is easier than cleaning up in fall.

Does Epsom salt kill slugs?

Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) is a popular home remedy, and gardeners sprinkle it around plants as a barrier. Results are inconsistent. It can irritate slugs on contact, but it is not a reliable control, and heavy or repeated applications of any salt can stress plants and change soil chemistry. Treat it as a deterrent at best, and put your effort into habitat and traps instead.

Why not use table salt?

Table salt kills slugs on contact, but it also builds up in soil, harms plants and can leave bare patches that take a long time to recover. Professionals discourage it.

What works to get rid of slugs?

• Remove hiding places. Clear boards, pots, leaf piles and thick mulch near vulnerable plants. Keep mulch a few inches from stems.
• Water in the morning. Soil that dries by evening is less welcoming at night, when slugs feed.
• Use beer traps. Sink a shallow container, rim at soil level, filled with a little beer. Slugs crawl in and drown. Empty and refill every few days.
• Hand-pick at dusk. A flashlight and a bucket of soapy water work well on a small garden.
• Add barriers. Copper tape around raised beds and pots gives slugs an unpleasant crossing.
• Choose iron phosphate bait when you need more control. Read the label, and keep any bait out of reach of pets and children.

Pesticides can also harm beneficial insects and pets, so use them as a last step and follow the label.

Which plants are less appealing to slugs?

If slugs keep returning to the same beds, swap in plants with fuzzy, thick or strongly scented leaves, such as lamb's ear, lavender and rosemary. Moving especially tender plants to a sunnier, better-drained spot also helps. Our landscape design service can plan beds around your yard's shade and moisture.

When should you call a landscaper?

If damage keeps returning every spring, the cause is often a drainage or moisture problem, not just the slugs. Green Acres offers landscape maintenance and lawn and plant health care around Wilmington and New Castle County.

Request a free estimate from Green Acres or call (302) 332-8239 and tell us what is happening in your yard.