6 Weird Slug Hacks Gardeners Swear By – and Which Ones Actually Work

Some pests are hard to hate - like rabbits nibbling the lettuce leaves. But slugs? Slippery, slimy slugs? There is nothing cute or cuddly about them, plus they can decimate your favorite foliage plants as well as seedlings and garden crops.

Yes, there are chemicals you can buy to kill garden slugs and snails, but we’re all trying to keep toxics out of the garden. So let’s get creative. We’ve pulled together the best weird and wonderful hacks we know for “dealing with” slugs in the backyard.

Slugging It Out

Before we get around to ways to eliminate slugs from your garden, it’s a good idea to remember all the harm they can cause. They are not evil creatures, intent on mischief, just hungry terrestrial mollusks. And their preferred food happens to be the tender leaves and foliage of your garden plants. One slug alone can eat big, ragged holes in leaves, but a group of slugs can do even more significant damage.

Slug favorites include soft-leafed plants like hostas, strawberries, lettuce, and cabbage. Seedlings are also favorites. They are tender and can be entirely consumed by a slug. Vegetables and fruit in the garden are also vulnerable. If you aren’t sure your plant damage is due to slugs, look for slime on your plants and also in the soil nearby. The slime trails are more visible in the early morning.

6 Weird (But Effective) Slug Hacks

I've rounded up six of the most effective slug control methods that you may not have heard of. Try them out and see how well they work!

1. Wood Plank Slug Trap

Many of these hacks are not for the squeamish, and this one is included. That’s because they are ways to lure the slugs to a handy pick-up spot. That way, in the early morning you can pluck them up and toss them in the compost or somewhere far from the garden.

To create a slug trap board, water the ground well, then lay wood planks (or large pieces of cardboard) on the soil around your garden plants. A fine grouping of slugs should be gathered beneath the board or cardboard. Pick them up, take them away, then put the trap back in place to get more the next day.

2. Grapefruit Skins

Slugs like it cool and moist and a grapefruit trap will lure them in. Cut a grapefruit (or cantaloupe or coconut) in two, eat out the fruit, then position the remaining shells in the garden. They seem custom-made for slugs to hang out in.

The slugs are attracted to their shape, smell, and cool, moist interior. They use them as lounge sofas overnight, so come morning, you can collect and toss them.

3. Beer Traps

You may like beer, but even if that's not the case, you know lots of people who do. Will it surprise you that slugs like beer as well? That leads us to the slug-be-gone hack: beer traps. Slugs love beer so much that they will not just get drunk, but drown themselves in the brew.

Here’s how to “load” a beer trap: get a container - at least a few inches deep. For best results, dig a hole and sink the container into the ground. Then fill it with beer and you’ll have less slugs in the morning. Replace the beer every morning until things are under control.

4. Diatomaceous Earth

I think of diatomaceous earth (DE) as “diabolical” earth. It is a natural substance, silica-based, and crumbles into fine powder. This powder is abrasive, like pumice powder, and, as a result of its high porosity, it sucks up any moisture that it encounters. Slugs hate it. They avoid crossing a barrier of DE. That makes it a great, easy slug-barrier.

Build a “wall” of food-quality DE, as wide as your palm when dry weather is expected. This is an effective and non-toxic way of controlling slugs, since it injures and dehydrates their outer skin. You can find food-grade diatomaceous earth from P.F. Harris on Amazon.

5. Copper Barriers

Slugs don’t really like to cross copper surfaces, and this can have a protective effect in the garden. It is said that slugs can feel something like a slight electric shock when they touch copper, so they avoid it.

The way to use this in your garden is to use copper tape or copper rings around your plants. The copper tape needs to be 3 inches (7.6 cm) wide to work best. Don’t bet the bank account on this though. In my experience, slugs may not love copper, but they may cross it if there is food on the other side. Like with many other types of pest control, using multiple methods together will yield the best results. Find 3-inch wide copper tape at Amazon.

6. Chickens, anyone?

An obvious way to rid your garden of slugs is to bring in predators who enjoy eating them. Your friends and family are not likely to qualify here, but if you’ve ever thought of having chickens or ducks in your yard, they will act as pest control.

No can do with the chickens? You might be more open to putting in a pond that will attract amphibians, like toads or frogs. They like to eat slugs too. Other slug predators include garter snakes, turtles and salamanders.

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