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How to Get Rid of Garden Slugs  
HOW TO 

Tags: Garden Slugs, Slugs, Removing Garden Slugs, Garden Pests

Get rid of these garden pests safely, without endangering kids or pets.

1.	Cornmeal :Put a tablespoon or two of cornmeal in a jar and lay it on its side wherever there is slug activity. The slugs love this stuff and after eating it they die. When you go out in the evening, you should find many slugs in and around the trap. It is also quite easy to pick them up at this time.
2.	Beer: Dig a hole approximately 4-6 inches deep. Place a plastic (disposable) cup inside the hole. Fill the cup about 80% full of beer. Yes, beer. Check daily. Empty out the slugs and refill with beer as often as needed. The slugs are attracted to the yeast and barley in the beer.
3.	Ammonia: Mix plain household ammonia (or sudsy ammonia if that's all you can find), 1 part ammonia to 6 parts water. This dilution doesn't seem to burn foliage. Spritz onto slug, come back in 5 minutes and slug will have dissolved. A pressurized garden sprayer, or a trigger sprayer will work.
4.	Organic Deterrents:Use salt. Spread salt on the surface where they are crawling around and they will dry up. However, if you plan to use the soil to grow plants in, salt can very easily ruin the soil for plants. Coffee grounds and egg shells will also deter slugs. Place used coffee grounds (the stronger the better) or broken egg shells in a circular perimeter around the plants you are trying to protect. Buy copper strips as an alternative. While these are expensive, they are also a good alternative for protecting small areas or individual plants. They react electrostatically with the slug or snail slime. The pests dry up. Consider the other organic slug deterrents that generally contain sharp, water-absorbing, stone chips. Slugs don't like to slide over sharp stone on their delicate tummies and if they do come into contact with it, it acts rather like salt and desiccates them.
5.	Chemical Methods: Consider the remedies available that involve toxic materials (neatly disguised with slug/snail attractants). Unfortunately, dogs are also attracted and can consume the poisons and become very ill. If you have a dog, avoid pesticides that contain toxins.

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