As annoying as they can be, slugs are actually a benefit in your garden as long as there is a balance between them and their predators.  They provide food for various beneficial insects such as beetles.  Birds, a welcome  visitor to any garden love to devour slugs.  Toads, frogs and even centipedes gobble up countless slugs in every garden, so its essential that whatever method you use to repel slugs from your plants doesn’t harm these other creatures that not only eat the slugs, but naturally take care of other pests in the garden as well.

Various methods of Natural Slug Control

Slugs tend to favour new growth.  Tender new foliage is easy for slugs to chew up and devour, so keep an eye on seedlings as they are most affected by slug damage.  Wilting leaves are another favourite of slugs.  If you are pulling weeds, place the pile a good distance away from plants and the slugs will commonly focus on eating the pile of weeds as they wilt as opposed to staying in the garden.

One of the most common methods of controlling slugs is the use of diatomaceous earth.  Diatomaceous earth is a naturally occurring chalk like sedimentary rock. It consists of the fossilized remains of diatoms, a tiny type of shelled algae.  Because of its sharp edges, when applied to the surface of soil, slugs will do everything they can to avoid it and to avoid becoming scratched and cut but the tiny shells.  It is also effective in dehydrating slugs to some extent.

Copper is another easy way of repelling slugs.  The theory is that when slugs cross over a copper wire, or a copper tube for that matter, they experience a minute electrical charge.  Copper wire and tubing is generally only effective in slug control if the slugs can’t raise their bodies over top of the wire or tube in order to get past.  Using copper as a barrier in a garden, essentially bordering the garden with some sort of copper stripping or tubing isn’t very practical.  However, if you have potted plants that are suffering from slug attacks, consider wrapping copper wire around the pots a few inches up from the base to keep pesky slugs at bay.

Coffee grinds are another way of controlling slugs.  Save your ground coffee after brewing, and apply it around the base of affected plants.  The general theory is similar to that of diatomaceous earth in that the ground coffee having sharp edges will leave minute lacerations on the underside of slugs.  Similarly, finely crushed eggshells are effective for the same reasons.

If slugs are devouring your plants, try these suggestions before going the route of anything chemically related!