The Slugs of Summer

Every summer I get questions about the mysterious holes that appear in hosta leaves and strawberries. There’s never a bug in sight so that leaves just one suspect. Slugs are basically snails without shells and enjoy munching on a wide variety of garden plants and they feed at night. They go after lots of ornamental and vegetable plants. In the past slugs were a difficult garden pest to control. There was bait made using metaldehyde. Metaldehyde is nasty stuff and was for use around ornamental crops but never vegetables, fruits or berries. It is also toxic to animals so I’d never use it anywhere in my yard. Metaldehyde is nasty stuff and has now been removed from the market...thank goodness! There are also a variety of “old school” slug control techniques. One option was plucking and drowning the slugs in soapy water. You’d need to wear gloves since slug slime isn’t something that you can wash off easily. It isn’t very effective since you’ll need to do your slug hunting at night when they are out. There was also the dish sunk into the ground and filled with beer. The idea was that the slugs are attracted to the beer (true) and would drop into it and drown. This method never worked well for me and seemed like a terrible waste of beer. Another method was placing grapefruit rinds upside down in the sluggy area. The slugs are attracted to the grapefruit rind and you’d find them under there in the morning and then drown them. It worked but you’d need dozens of grapefruit rinds if you wanted to catch enough slugs to make a difference. I never had much success with any of these methods. Finally we have a slug control that is safe and actually works. The market pressure for a safe slug control finally led to the production of a natural mineral-based slug control that is not only very effective but is totally safe to use in the berry patch and vegetable garden. It is iron phosphate. At Hewitt’s it is called Slug Magic because it makes slugs disappear. This stuff works great and is harmless to dogs, cats and all the wildlife except slugs. You just sprinkle it around (according to the instructions on the package of course) and the slugs actually prefer it to the plants. It works fast too. Sprinkle it on in the evening (slugs feed at night) and by the next night you won’t see slugs around. It may take them a day or two to die but, once they nibble a little Slug Magic, they stop feeding and crawl away to die. I could almost feel sorry for them...NOT! Of course slugs go after leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach and lots of others as well as many ornamentals like hostas. No matter where you see them, a few sprinkles of iron phosphate knocks them out quickly. Iron Phosphate slug controls like Slug Magic are just the kind of product I love to see come along...natural and safe to use around food and wildlife...what could be better? Thanks for the read.