Snare those Slugs and Snails!

There’s a scene in the latest Harry Potter movie where Harry’s friend spits up slugs. Yuck! Doesn’t that just sum up the way most of us feel about slugs and snails? The very thought of the slimy little things is not a pretty one, and absolutely nobody wants them ruining their garden!

Stop destructive snails and slugs from snacking on your plants, but without using poisonous baits that can threaten the health of your pets and family. Alternative methods may take just a little patience, but with a bit of perseverance you will be able to rid your garden of these pesky creatures without using harmful chemicals.


  • Remove slugs and snails by hand. By night, use a flashlight and follow
    their shiny trails to find them.
  • Transport them somewhere far from your garden, (not your neighbor’s
    garden!) or squish or drown them in a jar of soapy water.
  • Wearing a face mask, spread natural or agricultural-grade diatomaceous
    earth over the soil in flower beds or around individual plants. Diatomaceous
    earth cuts the slugs and causes them to dehydrate. Reapply after each rain.
  • Deter snails and slugs by sprinkling cayenne pepper along their paths.
  • Place ceramic flowerpots upside-down to attract and trap snails and slugs
    in the shade. Overturn them and remove the snails daily until they are gone.
  • Water your garden and lawn in the morning. Slugs and snails travel at night
    more easily through wet plants.

64 comments

Mary T
Mary Tabout a year ago

thanks for the tips...have slug issue in my house

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William C
William Cabout a year ago

Thanks.

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W. C
W. Cabout a year ago

Thank you.

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Sonali G.
Sonali G5 years ago

I wish I had seen this yesterday as someone was asking me what to do about slugs and threatening to buy slug pellets which I promptly warned them against. The diatomaceous compost sounds like a good idea but you would have to use it sparingly as it is expensive. We have hedgehogs and birds visiting and they seem to do a good job

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Donna Hamilton
Donna Hamilton5 years ago

Thanks for the tips - I'll try the non-kill ones!

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john o.
john o5 years ago

Slugs won't touch Gennessee but will apparently get drunk and drown themselves in Miller's beer. Laying boards in the garden and collecting them off the moist bottom each morning will allow them to be collected effectively. On a larger scale, damage control can become a costly factor. In some parts of the country they are as big as 6" long. In nature, animals and insects aggressively and fiercely protect their food supplies from others. It can come down to, "Which of us will be eating those tomatoes this year?" There may even be laws against transporting various species from one area to another.

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Dale Overall
DaleLovesOttawa O5 years ago

Fascinating, there are people with far too much time on their hands.
The only worry with balcony gardening is not slugs and snail but the diving bombing runs made by pigeons-splat.
When gardening on the farm there was enough room for everyone, plants, snails, slugs and humans.

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Dale Overall
DaleLovesOttawa O5 years ago

In addition to my previous brief comment, it is amazing how grumpy people get with each other on these sites, my, my-try breathing and counting to ten!
Even so, the comments here are relatively tepid compared to the slug fest going on at the In Defense Of Hunting article-or for us Canadians - defence. Wow, talk about vindictive comments!

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wchi wink
.5 years ago

I like Lydia P.'s idea! - right on!

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Michele Wilkinson
Michele Wilkinson6 years ago

I never kill them. I try to plant leafy green plants for them in one area of the garden, so they are happy there and don't eat my more precious plants.

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