How to get rid of slugs and slug slime, and other slug stories.

Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 16:54:43 -0700
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: Francine Krasowska <madrobin.IX.NETCOM.COM>
Subject: Re: slugs & slime

Does anyone know a good way to wash off slug slime? I stepped barefoot on a huge one a few years ago (while 9+ months pregnant, which made it difficult to get my foot up to the sink to wash) and had a helluva time getting the remains off me. Soap, dish detergent, alcohol, shampoo, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda were tried, to little avail. I finally just scrubbed as hard as I could & tried to keep my gorge down!

(But no, it didn't bring on labor.)

From: Marge King <MARGEKING.AOL.COM>

Rub salt on your skin to get rid of slug slime. Salt will also dissolve slugs.

From: Anita F Hales <JSAFH.ACAD1.ALASKA.EDU>

I live in slug heaven. There's zillions of them here. Make sure that the area around the plants is clear of organic matter and go toa nursery and get some slug bait. It does help. A friend of mine puts particularly susceptible plants inside a moat made with bundt (donut-like things with a hole in the center) cake pans (from a second hand store) filled with salt water. It does help as long as the leaves don't get on the ground outside the "moat".

From: milpauls.HALCYON.COM

I live in the NW which has got to have the most and the biggest in the slug department (in the woods I've seen slugs 9" or longer). I use Slug Hotels which are plastic and have a roof over them to keep out rain and animals. Fill them with beer. Does the trick. Nix the slug bait - kills animals - especially birds who eat the slugs. I've lost two cats to other people's slug bait.

Also ducks consider slugs a gourmet treat.

From: "Georgann K. Cunney" <curious.AIMNET.COM>

Howdy all,

I had a garden when I lived near Morro Bay a few years back. The environment was mostly sand, iceplant and SLUGS! Oh, and crab grass!! It was a challenge. Everything you added to the sand (compost, manure, sea grass, etc.) just disappeared, it was like quicksand! And snails appeared from thin (foggy) air.

Feeling that it is very important that we don't put any more toxic chemicals into our soil or anywhere for that matter and if we can learn to work with nature we can have everything and more and healthier. I tried beer. It didn't seem to work so great and I didn't enjoy making these little death traps. I discovered eggshells. They work excellent and they're good for the soil! You need to make a four inch border around the edge of your garden or around the base of your tree. Snails won't cross over, its too pointy, it hurts, and the broken shells get stuck to the snails preventing them from getting any where. They need to be crushed up (not too fine, about eighth inch pieces) you can do this fairly quickly and easy with your hands (wear gloves, they are pointy). I collected my egg shells from a local restaurant. A lot of eggs are prepared and eaten for Sunday brunches. I just asked them to put the shells in a large paper bag or box. I also saved my own, but I don't eat very many eggs.

At first you will still need to go through the garden and collect them, day of night, although they are traveling around at night so its easier to spot them, because the ones inside will still be present and won't be able to cross over the shells to leave (not that they want to). And when you are cultivating you can look for snail eggs and get rid of them. They look like little clusters of white almost transparent eggs similar in size to salmon eggs.

The egg shell border needs to be maintained, its really not too much work and actually kind of fun. Most of the snails won't even attempt to cross.

Good luck!!

Georgann

From: Nancy Solibakke <bach.NETCOM.COM>

If one can afford it, thin strips of copper are an excellent barrier to slugs. It has something to do with electrical conductivity.

From: "Claudette A. Aras" <Carras.AOL.COM>

Q: Are slugs herbs? why are they always being discussed on the Herb list?
A: Slugs can be classified as semi-herbs, but only after they've ingested over 50% of the herbs in your garden.

Lately there have been many suggestions about slugs by many people, all claiming to live in The Sluggiest Places with the absolutely most humongous slugs On the Planet, but what do they know? Have they lived in Oregon's Cascade mountains? So far none of these alleged experts have posted any really good suggestions like these (from the book SLUGS by David Greenburg, replete with instructive and colorful illustrations):

The above is only a sample. The book goes on and on with similar inventive ideas, but that's enough to give you an idea. Hope this has given new hope to those of you out there with heretofore unresolvable slug problems. Now you can stop haunting omelet restaurants for egg shells or hunting in vain for sources of cheap copper strips

From: Jonathan Dill <jonathan.INDIGO1.CARB.NIST.GOV>

> I was shocked to find my vege garden infested with slugs.

2 things that work very well --

1. Create a physical barrier--a boundary of cinders or other sharp stones will keep out all but the hardiest of slugs
2. Pie plates filled with beer or other fermented beverage--the slugs are attracted to the smell, climb into the pie plate, and drown.

If you have pets you have to watch the pie plates--when i was a kid we had a Basenji (dog) who would chug it like tequila, "worms" and all :-P

From: Guenther Frank <frank.KOMBUCHA.PF.BAWUE.DE>

> There was an article in _Natural History_ magazine a few years back about slugs & the slime that they exude... a fine article to discuss over the dinnertable..!!.... anyway, the gist of the story was the marvelous physical properties of the 'slime'... not too unlike the mucous produced in the human nose... but more REFINED. Several photos were an African slug hanging six feet from a branch on a slime-thread, and a slug crawling on the edge of a new razor blade..!!... a doubt if sandpaper would provide anything for the slug, except maybe a foot massage..!!... now THAT'S kinky..!!. {:^)

There were so many interesting messages concerning SLUG SLIME on this list. May I contribute this:
In Switzerland and Germany an old folk remedy is made from slugs. One puts some slugs into a glas and pours sugar on them. In the following days a kind of syrup will form. In Germany it is called "Schneckensirup", translated: slug syrup. It is used as a folk remedy against obstinate cough, asthma etc. One has to take some teaspoons ful a day. Certainly, a little strange and unsavory remedy and it may cost an effort to take this syrup.

I have the exact recipe for making the slug syrup in one of my books. If anyone is interested I will search for it and mail it.

Another folk remedy from Germany: Let a slug crawl (I guess repeatedly for some days) over a WART. It is said the wart will disappear.