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May 13, 2015 5:24 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Jason
Gold Bar, Washington (Zone 8b)
They decimated our three Joe Pye Weed plants Grumbling chewing off about half of the 2-3 inch shoots, as well as getting to our beloved "Henri" clematis- AGAIN!!! Angry caught one in the act squirming its way up Henri's trellis. I swear, Henri is never going to even reach 3 feet tall if they don't leave him alone Sad then found one on the underside of one of our "dream queen" hosta leaves. just about ready to break out the big guns...
Last edited by riverman123 May 13, 2015 5:25 PM Icon for preview
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May 13, 2015 5:29 PM CST
Name: greene
Savannah, GA (Sunset 28) (Zone 8b)
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What have you already tried to prevent or eliminate the slugs?
Sunset Zone 28, AHS Heat Zone 9, USDA zone 8b~"Leaf of Faith"
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May 13, 2015 5:30 PM CST
Name: Benny Hill
Castle Rock, CO (Zone 5a)
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Hi Riverman,

I had that trouble with my hostas and because pellets aren't a good idea (afraid hedgehogs would eat the poisoned slugs), I ended up creating a barrier. There is this natural clay product you can put down which is in chips and should a slug glide across it, it dries it out coupled with the texture they didn't like. Once I did that, no more slugs on my hostas.

I hope that helps.
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May 13, 2015 5:31 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Jason
Gold Bar, Washington (Zone 8b)
what HAVENT I tried...? landmines. haven't tried landmines yet...
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May 13, 2015 5:36 PM CST
Name: Benny Hill
Castle Rock, CO (Zone 5a)
Making something out of a little bi
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level
Do you have a complete barrier around the plants they are attacking? I am guessing you tried beer traps as well?
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May 13, 2015 5:37 PM CST
Name: Benny Hill
Castle Rock, CO (Zone 5a)
Making something out of a little bi
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level
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May 13, 2015 5:45 PM CST
Name: Jennifer
48036 MI (Zone 6b)
Cottage Gardener Houseplants Spiders! Heucheras Frogs and Toads Dahlias
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I find pine needles work very well
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May 13, 2015 5:49 PM CST
Name: Kyla Houbolt
Gastonia, NC (Zone 7b)
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@bennysplace -- Benny, is the natural clay product the diatomaceous earth? (I didn't think that was clay....) In any case, would you share the name of the clay product? I'm very interested in this! Thanks.
Last edited by kylaluaz May 13, 2015 5:49 PM Icon for preview
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May 13, 2015 5:53 PM CST
Name: Benny Hill
Castle Rock, CO (Zone 5a)
Making something out of a little bi
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level
It took a lot of trial and error for me to combat my slug problems. I set beer traps, I went out at night with a flashlight and hand picked them, etc. I knew I could never use pellets so I did some research and I found the clay type product I mentioned above. I spread this like you would a mulch in a circle that was perhaps 3 feet in diameter. I tried with one hosta at first and noticed no slug damage so spread around all of them. From that moment, I defeated the slugs and these guys were HUGE... some exceeding the size of my middle finger so they could take a full grown hosta down to nothing overnight so you could imagine my frustration. I didn't use DE then but if I had a slug problem today, I would use it.
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May 13, 2015 5:55 PM CST
Name: Benny Hill
Castle Rock, CO (Zone 5a)
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Hi there kylaluaz,

I am trying desperately to find it. :)

I had this problem when I lived in England and I found it at a local garden center that sold only non toxic products to get rid of pests. If I can't find it on the web, I am going to call that garden center tomorrow. :)

It is a God send though. It looked like someone took hard clay and pulverized it into chips.
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May 13, 2015 6:01 PM CST
Name: Kyla Houbolt
Gastonia, NC (Zone 7b)
Composter Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Herbs Daylilies Sempervivums
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Sounds wonderful! I hope you find it and we can source it here. I like DE but the problem there is as soon as it becomes wet it no longer works. Well, maybe it does on slugs, never tried that.

I do sympathize with this challenge, having lived and gardened in the SF Bay Area and in the PNW also. The only thing I found at all effective was to mount twice or thrice daily patrols, hand pick and dispatch the critters. That did work to a sufficient extent they didn't destroy everything, but there was still damage.

I learned these slugs were an invasive import and not the natural fauna of the areas -- I forget the details but they came from Asia somewhere and outcompeted the locals (such as the banana slug which has a viable role in the ecosystem) and did that invasive thing we know and love so well -- Sticking tongue out Thumbs down
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May 13, 2015 6:09 PM CST
Name: Debra
Garland, TX (NE Dallas suburb) (Zone 8a)
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Could you be referring to horticultural grit?
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May 13, 2015 6:26 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Jason
Gold Bar, Washington (Zone 8b)
ive never heard of the clay barrier you speak of. believe me, we've tried everything from elephants to shotguns.... we had record warm temps here in the seattle area last winter as well as this spring. the theory goes the weather was so mild that the slug population exploded due to not being killed off last winter. now we're feeling the full brunt of it. It was very warm this past few days and its been raining for more than 24 hours here. slugs are going gangbusters!
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May 13, 2015 6:27 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
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kaolin clay
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May 13, 2015 6:30 PM CST
Name: Debra
Garland, TX (NE Dallas suburb) (Zone 8a)
Rescue dogs: Angels with paws needi
Dragonflies Dog Lover Bookworm I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Photography Bee Lover
Plays in the sandbox Butterflies Region: Texas Garden Sages I sent a postcard to Randy! Charter ATP Member
Ah, okay, then, might try this one myself. Thank you. Smiling


http://growingsmallfarms.ces.n...
It’s okay to not know all the answers.
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May 13, 2015 6:39 PM CST
Name: Benny Hill
Castle Rock, CO (Zone 5a)
Making something out of a little bi
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level
Hiya... that product looks interesting but it's not what I used. The stuff I used had the consistency of a thicker cat litter (sort of).
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May 13, 2015 6:41 PM CST
Name: Benny Hill
Castle Rock, CO (Zone 5a)
Making something out of a little bi
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level
@lovemyhouse.. it is similar to that but it has something in it that dries the slug out as they attempt to cross it.
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May 13, 2015 9:00 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Jason
Gold Bar, Washington (Zone 8b)
the old "Cory's" slug killer was great! the powdered stuff would kill them on contact, unlike the "baits" that are out there that simply draw the slugs directly to your plants, giving the slugs a choice, the plants or the bait. 50/50 odds are not what I call good when it comes to getting our hostas shredded.
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May 13, 2015 9:05 PM CST
Name: Arlene
Southold, Long Island, NY (Zone 7a)
Region: Ukraine Dahlias I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Houseplants Tomato Heads Garden Ideas: Level 1
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Comet powdered cleaner is supposed to work. I bought three cans of it years ago but never did try it.
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May 13, 2015 9:44 PM CST
Name: Deb
Planet Earth (Zone 8b)
Region: Pacific Northwest Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
I had good success with a copper penny ring and my slug-magnet ligularia. I can see that I need to do another one, as last year's is no longer effective (likely too covered with dirt). I plan to just place a new one over the old one. Here's a link: http://garden.org/ideas/view/B...
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