How to Prevent Ceiling Slugs

Keep the garden dry. You won’t see immediate results, but keeping your garden dry is the best method for long-term slug control. Here are some strategies to help make your garden less welcoming to damp insects: ^[9]

• Water the plant mid-morning, so the soil will dry out before dark.
• Install a drip irrigation system to limit water usage.
• Keep the yard debris-free, and mow the lawn regularly.
• Avoid using organic mulch, like straw or cut grass.
• Place the plants far enough apart to allow air to circulate around them.

Create mulch or tea from certain plants. Prepare the following plants that will deter bare slugs to some extent, if you can find them at your local gardening store: ^[10]

• Coating of oak leaves or powdered tobacco stalks, strewn around the tree
• Wormwood tea, made by steeping wormwood branches in warm water for 24 hours. Drain and mix with soapy water, then spray onto soil or slugs. ^[11]

Make a fence with copper wire. Buy a strip of copper wire that is wide enough that the slug can’t crawl through. Use them to make a fence around plants or around tree beds.

• Note: Children can cut their hands from these copper strips. ^[12]

Sprinkle salt on a surface other than the soil. Sprinkle salt on where snails often crawl to kill them with the moisture they leave behind. Be aware that salt can easily kill plants and damage the soil. Use salt around the base of the flowerpot on the porch, or place a fence in the soil before spreading the salt to protect the condition of the soil.

• Avoid using salt in situations where the salt can come into contact with water (such as during the rainy season or when the watering can run off). Water can dissolve salts and wash them out of the “safe” zone and into the soil, affecting soil quality.

Build a fence by folk methods. Gardeners were fed up with putting every substance in their garden to deter bare slugs. Here are the most effective at-home methods, but may not prevent 100% of ceiling slugs:

• Coffee grounds can have a slight effect on the health of your garden.
• Coarse, sharp sand scratches ceiling slugs, but may not prevent it completely.
• Seaweed isn’t as effective as granulated salt, but is probably safer for the soil. If you can find it, seaweed food containing calcium will be better. ^[13]

Plant a plant that will prevent naked slugs. Specific plants keep naked slugs away because of the plant’s taste, texture, or poison. Plant them in a hedge around the entire garden, or intersperse with other plants. These plants do not get rid of 100%, but they will stop many slugs with no effort besides the original plants. Try growing the following varieties: ^{[14] [15]}

• Herbs: ginger, garlic, herbs, mint, and chicory.
• Vegetables: Bitter vegetables are generally less attractive to slugs than sweet ones. Try growing kale, spring cabbage, or broccoli sprouts.
• Hosta cultivars with green leaves are better at preventing it.
• Perfectly shade-loving flowers: Astilbe, Dicentra, Digitalis (Cao locust), Lobelia, Vipa (some pansies and vipetals). There are also Ranunculus and Vinca , but they grow very quickly.
• Partially shade-loving flowers: oleander, bellflower, geranium . Like European mint , but this variety grows very quickly.

Consider using a stronger (but more dangerous) fence. There are many materials that can kill bare slugs on contact. They can be used as effective barriers to slugs, but they should be used with care and kept dry. ^[16] Improper use can harm your garden (even the people and animals that use them). Make sure you use these ingredients on a soil-free surface except for the following precautions:

• Safety warnings: Do not inhale these substances or handle them with bare hands. They may not be suitable for gardens with children and pets.
• Diatomite: May be harmful to beneficial insects. ^[17]
• Wood Ash: Increases the pH in the soil, bringing high efficiency.
• Slaked lime: Increases soil pH greatly. It is possible to make the land uncultivable.
• Spray 1% caffeine: Spray directly on the plants you want to protect; Kill slugs when they eat them. Can adversely affect plants in unpredictable ways. ^[18]

Use ground beetles. Beetles are natural slug hunters. You can buy beetle larvae at a gardening store and spread them around your garden in early spring. The larvae will feed, pupate, and emerge as adults in the summer. ^[19] . ^[20]

• Alternatively, you can encourage wild beetles to live near trees by providing shelter under rocks, grass, or straw. This helps the bugs hide from predators, making your garden an attractive home. Fortunately, ground beetles can live almost anywhere that bare slugs live. ^[21]

Use birds to be effective. The largest natural predator for naked slugs is the bird; Ducks, chickens, robins, jays, and other common birds are all very fond of bare slugs. If you’re not terribly upset, you can pick up slugs and throw them to the wild birds in the morning; they will gradually become a condition for finding slugs in your garden, and you don’t need to ‘feed’ them anymore. If you have chickens or ducks, you can also feed them garden slugs every day.

• Always keep an eye on the chickens, as they can eat the whole plant.
• Encourage birds to nest in your garden by creating hedges or dense bushes, food, and bird food containers. ^[22]

Release the toad. Toads love to eat slugs and other plant pests if you give them a home in the garden. If you are trying to attract feral toads to live in your garden, turn the pot or other container upside down and place a rock underneath to provide a dark shelter for the toads. On the other hand, you can buy wild toads to raise in the garden and eat slugs every day for you. You can also add a small decorative pond for toads and frogs to live. ^[23]

• Do not keep fish in the aquarium as they may eat tadpoles.

Cultivate roundworms if necessary. Roundworms are microscopic parasites that live in the soil. You can purchase nematodes that are specifically designed to kill naked slugs at your local garden store. This method is extremely effective, but it is also a double-edged sword. When all slugs are killed, the slug predators (and roundworms) either leave the garden or die. If you don’t buy back the roundworms every few weeks, a huge wave of slugs will flood in and take over the garden as there is no longer a threat. ^[24]

• Roundworms should be used according to the instructions. Usually, they are sprinkled on the soil, then watered.

Spray ammonia on the slug. You can make a slug killer spray by making a mixture of ammonia and water. Mix 1 part raw household ammonia with 6 parts water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, then spray on the slugs whenever you see them. Be careful not to spray directly on the plant, as it may burn the leaves afterwards.

Take iron phosphorus tablets. These small slug killers can be found in the garden center, to be spread around the garden. Slugs will be attracted to them, but when ingested they will die within a week. This method is safe for most pets and edible plants, but is better when used sparingly. ^[25]

• Buy brands like Sluggo, Slug Magic, and Escar-Go.