Slug pellets. Now I'm going to hide in a cupboard before everyone starts telling me off for saying this, lol...

Bamboo - how could you...

I have used copper tape around pots and tubs and this seems to work. Beer placed in bowls also seems to work as well I use Tesco value they love it.

I agree with you, Bamboo!!!! I use a newish pellet, Growing Success's 'Advanced Slug Killer' which uses Ferric Phosphate as it's active ingredien which is harmless to birds and animals unlike the traditional slug pellets based on m...... (can't remeber the name) which is toxic to creatures which eat the dead slugs. Whilst not organic, it is recommended and sold by Garden Organic.

I've never had any real success keeping them away from plants in the beds but in pots I've had some success by spraying WD40 on them (the pots, not the plants... lol)

WD40 now that is an interesting thought Dioritt.

Double sided cellotape round pots is quite effective. You mustn't be squeamish about pulling the slugs off though. It's a bit like ripping a child off a plaster, rather than the plaster of the child.

Try Murphy's sluggitt. It's quite expensive - about £5-£6, you add it to your watering can and water all the green bits of the plant (leaves, stems etc). I found this very effective in keeping them off my hostas. Unfortunately, when it rains, it washes all this off and you have to do it again. The treatment makes the water blue and this tends to discolour any white bits on the plants but at least they are slug-free. My daughter reckons tea and coffee dregs keeps them off as well as they don't like caffeine! - haven't tried it myself though.

Not sure about daughter's advice, Sheilar. I once made up some 'beer' traps but, having better use for the beer, filled them with coffee dregs. The slugs jumped into them like kiddies into a paddling pool!

Just make sure that whatever you use can't harm other wildlife like birds and hedgehogs. Himself will not like me for saying this but I'd rather put up with slugs than mess up the eco-system.

I've not tried this yet, but neighbour with stunning garden uses this recipe :- put 5 cloves of garlic in 2pints of water and boil for 10 minutes. Once cooled, put into a spray bottle and spray plants with the solution. I forgot to ask how often. Apparently slugs don't care for the taste of garlic.

Definitely worth trying...

It certainly can't hurt to try. I'd rather just keep them away than kill them (as much as I dislike them).

There are two types of slug pellets out there - ones based on Metaldehyde and Methiocarb which are potentially lethal to pets, wildlife, children etc. - and Ferramol's "Advanced Slug Killer" Organic slug pellets which are based on Ferrous Phosphate - which is a form of iron.

These last ones are considered to be "organic" because they are based on a naturally and widely occurring substance (iron) which is not supposed to be harmful to anything aside from slugs and snails. Having said that iron can cause acute liver damage and death in mammals in even moderate doses, so there must still be risk attached to these too.

This is what the Hedgehog Preservation Society says:

"Although hedgehogs may not necessarily eat the pellets, they are very likely to eat the poisoned slugs and snails and, although these may not be lethal to hedgehogs, they may cause serious internal damage. If you must use slug pellets, put them inside pieces of pipe or under stone slabs where hedgehogs can't get at them. We believe, however, that a "beer-trap" (i.e. a pot of stale beer sunk in the ground) is an equally effective way of killing slugs. In any case, as an extra precaution, all dead slugs should be regularly removed."

If you don't want to use pellets there are all sorts of other options depending on how large an area you need to protect. Barriers can be extremely effective and are much more permanent than pellets. Coffee grounds are successful for some people and less so for others. Spiky things like crushed eggshells, and sharp gravel are good. "Ecocharlie" recycled ceramic shards go one better too since they absorb the mucous and stop the slugs getting across at all, as well as being spiky and sticking to the slugs & snails effectively gumming them up entirely.

You can also use copper bands, as Steve has, which give them a tiny electric shock, and placing traps - beer traps, as above, or just pieces of wood, stone, card or carpet that act as shelters - outside the barriers will allow you to collect them in the day time.

Another option are "Nemaslug" nematodes - parasites of slugs and snails that live in the soil & that you water into the ground, although these can get expensive over a large area.

Great post Ilex!

hi to keep the slugs and snails off my hostas and other potted plants i put vaseline all around pot about half way up, works a treat, for me anyway. best of luck.

Vaseline sounds like a good idea Hopey, will try that. I have scattered lp coins on top of my Hosta pots, also mixed some in with the soil, and so far so good but it has been very dry weather until now so maybe they just haven't ventured out yet.

I put out a dish of beer. Slugs love beer and it will rid your garden of them.

Hello. When we moved into this house the garden had been neglected for at leasr13 years and was just one big mess,garden refuse all over the place.In one of my very old gardening books (1905) it advised the use of lime water (any type of lime will do I used builders lime as we are renovating our house) . It does not kill them but they do not like it,so off the go.Made a big differance in no time at all.(2/3 weeks).Now the numbers are managable.