Transcript
Hi, this is Brooke Edmonds with Oregon State University Extension. We're talking about slugs today, so this is a common problem that you're going to have in Western Oregon, and there are a few tips that you can do to get rid of these guys.
The traditional way to manage slugs is to use a bait product. There are a lot of different brands available on the market with different active ingredients, so if you have pets or kids in your yard, always check and read the label thoroughly so that you know what that product is and how it can be used in your garden. If you don't want to use a pesticide, there are a lot of other ways that you can trap slugs and snails in your garden. You can lay down pieces of plastic or cardboard, just lay them down on the ground, and overnight the slugs will crawl under there, and you can lift up the plastic in the morning and handpick them off. Also, check your garden art, anything else that's been laying on the ground; they like to hide under there during the day, so that's a great way that you can handpick them out. If you don't want to touch the slugs, you can also try doing some different types of traps. The common trap is a beer trap, and the slugs are really attracted to the yeast and the sugar. So if you don't want to waste your beer, you can go ahead and make one yourself using common granulated sugar and yeast. Mix that up with some water and add it into a trap. The trap can be anything from a yogurt container to a cup to a cut-off milk container. Mix up the sugar and the yeast and the water, mix it up into that container, and then dig a hole and place that trap level with the ground. The slugs will be attracted to the yeast and the sugar, go down into the trap, and then you can dispose of it the next day. So check that every few days and refill it as necessary. After you've collected the slugs or snails, either by handpicking or in your trap, you'll want to dispose of them away from your garden so that they don't reinvade. Thanks for watching and good luck in your garden this year.
Learn about different methods to keep slugs out of your garden. Make your own traps from items around your house.
