I have a BAD slug problem in the summer, so I thought I'd get some info on this website. Sure enough, when I typed "Slugs" into the search I got a bounty of information! One of the slug remedies was beer. I had heard this before, so last year I tried it. I put a saucer of beer out for the slugs. I even dug out a little spot for the saucer to fit into so it would be level with the ground, to make sure the slugs had easy access. I looked outside several times that evening and watched as more and more slugs gathered at the dish. Next morning I removed the empty saucer, thinking that the slugs had crawled off and died. I assumed that the consumption of the alcohol is what was supposed to kill them. So, that night I placed the saucer back out and filled it again with Coors Light. When I looked outside to check on it after a few hours I was amazed to see three times as many slugs as the night before. I thought the beer was doing it's job...drawing those slimy suckers out of their deepest darkest hiding places. I was thrilled. They drank all the beer in the dish! After four nights of this I got to thinking that something was wrong with this method of slug eradication. I had way more slugs now than I did before. I should have stopped it right then and there, but I thought maybe if I put stronger alcohol in the dish I would see a reduction in slugs the next night. So, the dish was then filled with beer mixed with a little Jim Beam.
(Evidently they had spread the word to every slug in the neighborhood about the "free beer and liquor at Cindy's house every night". The slug partying ended up way out of control. The neighbors were complaining about the noise, some of the slugs were getting mean after they'd had a few and wanted to fight, and they were turning over my pots of seedlings and breaking my little garden ornaments.)
So, no more alcohol for the slugs. The bar was closed!!!

Like I said before, I thought the alcohol in the beer killed them after they drank it. But, I just found out, according to the article I found on this website ("Controlling Slugs and Snails in the Garden", March 13, 1999), the slugs are supposed to fall in the beer and DROWN. I thought the empty saucer was a "good thing", as Martha Stewart would say. I didn't know it was supposed to be filled with drowned slugs the next day!

So, I am going to try the beer thing again this year. I've printed out some tiny, little posters to put on rocks, plants and all the usual slug hangouts to announce the re-opening of "Cindy's Slug Bar". Only, this time I'm going to be ready. That informative article showed a slug trap made from a plastic jug. This time the beer is going into the plastic jug, and not a saucer!

Thanks for all the great information on this website!

* * * *



Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

I got the same reaction from the 3 and 5 year olds behind me too???
What's so fun~neeeeeee???
HAHAHAHAHA
And then they walked away!!

I am tickled, that was a good dose of laughter,
the best kind!! Thanks for sharing that Cindy!!!

I have the slugs too, little guys, not big ole honker's like Bill has out his way, but they eat just the same....
I go out at night, and I call it
"Closing Down the Salad Bar" I'm out with my flash light and snippers and clip 'em up!!!
I tell the neighbors if they see anyone in my back yard late at night with a flashlight,
think nothing of it, it's just me
(I do even have one of those miner flashlight types that strap around my head for two handed squwishin'!!! hahahaha!)
I'm not much for chemicals.

Weezie

Thanks for taking the time to look the info up on the previous threads, there's a ton of info there!

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Wow, that was soooooo funny ......I was laughing outloud too .....all the little slugs will be back at your house this year for the keg parties--only this time they won't be getting out alive.......can't stand those darn things.

Weezie...
You been drinking out of my slug saucer, too?


* * * *



Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

Renee...
Glad to know there is someone else out there with the same warped sense of humor!
Even though I am totally serious about something, like the slugs, my story always ends up with people laughing, which as Martha Stewart would say, "Is a good thing"!
My husband came home from work and read this post, and was just shaking his head and smiling (6 pm and probably the first time he had smiled all day). Then I told him I had spilled my guts on this forum (preying mantis post) about the chicken that tried to kill me............

* * * *



Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

OK - have to add my two cents worth. I have had a problem with slugs in my garden the last two seasons - I personally have found that if I sprinkle oat bran in the garden - they gobble it up and die because it seems to bloat the slugs up to the point where they perish! When I go out the following morning, all I find is the carcasses, which can easily be disposed of.
It is really inexpensive and works very well.
Just an alternative!

* * * *

Sounds like a painful way to die.
That's what always bothers me about stuff like this. Too soft-hearted! I figured getting wasted on beer would be a good way to go, before I realized they were supposed to drown in it! (But, hey, I've almost drowned in beer before and it wasn't so bad!)
I am over-run with slugs, and this year I am getting hard-hearted and tough. It's oat bran for me tomorrow! (And for the slugs!)

* * * *



Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

Oat bran ehh? That sound pretty cool. Would that be the same thing as oat meal?

Mike

* * * *

Mike Maier
aka
The Plant Doc

I cannot wait for my husband to read this!!!! We have been in the slug/snail battle for 2 stinkin years now and have gotten quite hostile! It was good to laugh at the whole thing! Our ground stays very moist and there are millions under my mint and all over the yard/garden. Sorry guys, I don't have time to be the designated driver for millions of drunk slugs! I did go the slug bait route....but it doesn't last long! So...I'm goin out for bran! Thanks! Wonder what beer & bran would do? If they ate the bran and then drank the beer.....YOOZZZERS....talk about bloating!

* * * *



Happiness, like a dessert so sweet.
May life give you more than you can ever eat...
*** ***

I tried the eggshell option around my hostas last year and it didn't work not because of the eggshells not doing their job but because my dog would take them. Apparently they still smelt like food or looked tasty to him so he would wonder around with eggshell hanging in his beard (he's a terrier mix and has a little goatee). It was quite comical, he had this "who me??" look on his face the whole time. The eggshells never stood a chance to fight off the slugs and snails, not with my wonder dog. I have a feeling he would drink the beer too so maybe I'll try the oat bran this time.

* * * *


Women and cats will do as they please. Men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

We have slugs here too, but the many many many MANY robins, crows, ravins, and turkies seem to love them So ya, not much of a problem. Every once in a while, it'll rain and you can see them crawling around on the pavement, but they just make easy meals for the birds ^.^ izall good!

* * * *
Nako's Webshots!

Look! They actually make bars for slugs!

Slug Pub

* * * *



Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

That was funny. I tried the beer thing before, for snails, but did not have the patience of you. When I saw all the snails gathering at the bottle tops of beer, I dumped a little on them. That worked similar to salt, which is cheaper but does not give me an excuse to drink. See, I am not drinking alone, its a little for me a little for the snails...I had 2, the snails had 2. It was getting expensive so I opted for copper wire. At the time, I had a garden bed that was seperated from the grass by 2x4s. I hammered the wire onto the wood around the whole thing. For whatever reason, it worked. I don't know if it works for slugs. The best part was it did not require any upkeep.