Slugging it Out with Garden Pests - Natural Remedies for Slugs

The recent rainy weather may have been good for the gardens, but  unfortunately it's good for slugs too. These slimy critters are likely to find their way to your garden and will quickly devour any vegetation in their path.

The Good News is you can control them with natural products found in your kitchen cabinets - or on the shelf of your corner store.

• Salt ~ Sprinkling salt on slugs draws the moisture out of their bodies and reduces them to mass of slime. Granted, this is not a task for the weak at heart, but it works. If you don't have a problem with watching these pests die - get out the salt shaker and go to town.
• Beer ~ Beer, of course, is the old standby for killing slugs. Sink a shallow saucer or bowl into the soil  near plants under attack from slugs and fill it with beer. When slugs emerge by cover of night and stop by for a little sip, they fall into the saucer and drown. Some say they don't feel a thing as they are too busy enjoying a the beer. At any rate, you'll find them in the morning in a pool of beer.
• Epson Salts ~ Sprinkle Epson Salts around the perimeter of your garden or flowerbed to prevent slugs from entering. 
• Egg shells, old shingles or gravel ~ Surrounding your flowerbed with any of these is said to deter slugs. Apparently, the rough surface injures their sensitive skin, forcing them to turn back.
• Remove Debris ~ Slugs enter the garden by night and slink away to moist dark places during the day. Eliminating areas for them to hide goes a long way toward protecting your garden.

Until Next time . . . HAPPY GARDENING!

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