Organic Slug Control
Get Rid Of Slugs The Natural Way

Instead of using harmful pesticides to kill slugs and snails, there are many different kinds of organic slug control methods.

If you are having problems with slugs in the garden, whether vegetables flowers or herbs, there are many ways to take care of them without using toxic chemicals.

Here are just some of the many ways you can get rid of these pests.

Change your watering schedule:

Garden slugs are most active at night, when the ground is moist and they can travel easier.

If you want an effective organic slug control, then change your watering schedule. This can often reduce the chances of damage by snails and slugs up to 80%.

Instead of watering in the evening, giving these pests a free ride into your garden, wait until morning, and the ground should be dry by the next evening, reducing the chances that they will get into your plants.

Catch them in beer slug traps:

Another thing you can do is set traps around your garden, which will attract them.

This organic slug control is really effective. Some low jars, buried up to the tops and filled with any kind of beer will attract slugs and snails, instead of to your plants.

You can prevent dilution by propping up a lid over the opening, leaving enough room for them to enter easily. This method you have to check on regularly, and flat beer works a little better.

Use coffee grounds:

Another cheap and good way to get rid of slugs is by sprinkling coffee grounds around your garden, especially around plants that are more attractive to snails and garden slugs.

The grounds will dry out in the sun, and these bugs don't like to crawl over them. Using a wide, shallow method is the best.

Create barriers that slugs don`t like to cross:

Another way to help with natural slug control is with slug and snail barriers. There are so many different kinds of barriers that this alone could fill up volumes, but here are a couple of simple barriers to choose from.

One important thing you should know is that the first step is to get rid of slugs and snails that are there already first, and make sure that you can complete the project in one day. Oak and Cedar bark will make a great barrier, as well as any rough gravel.

You can even use powdered ginger, if you keep replacing it when it rains. You can also use cedar shingles, which are fairly cheap to buy, and use them as a low 'fence' around your garden.

You can also use copper tubing because the metal repels them quite effectively.

Deter them with slug resistant plants:

If you want, there are also different herbs that can be grown in your garden to help with organic slug control. The need to be strong aromatic herbs, like wormwood, lemon balm, or tansy.

The mint family is also effective, but this is a bully herb, and its root system likes to take over and dominate all your other growing plants.

Other herbs that are also good for taking care of slugs and snails in your garden are basil, parsley, and fennel, just to name a few.

Encourage predators:

Some other tips for organic slug control are introducing some of their natural predators into your garden.

Frogs and toads love slugs and snails, so you may want to build a water pond close to your garden, and fill it with tadpoles, which will soon turn into frogs. Birds also like to eat them, so putting up a low bird feeder will attract an assortment of birds, and these will also be good for getting rid of a variety of other bug pests in your garden area.

A pair of pet ducks will reduce slugs in the garden to a minimum. Probably not the solution for everybody but worth thinking about if you have a big garden.

Diatomaceous Earth will dry out slugs and snails:

You can also use Diatomaceous earth to help with natural slug control. This is actually the jagged and sharp skeletons of microscopic creatures, which will cut up slugs and snails, causing them to dry out. You can buy it in a granulated form and sprinkle it in and around your garden.

There are some thing of importance to not about using this method. One is that it is the most effective in dry weather, and because it can be irritating to the lungs and eyes, protective gear should be worn when applying it to your garden.

There are two different grades of diatomaceous earth, you want the agricultural grade, which is coarser than pool grade. You can find this at many lawn and garden stores in your area.

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