Expert: C.L. Fornari - 5/12/2007

Question
Oh my!  My petunias are under attack.  It seems my entire garden is infested
with slugs.  We have had a very wet spring here in Dallas and they are taking
over my garden.  While I have found a few suggestions to deal with them ...
slowly ... like handpicking, beer or sugar-water traps, and sprinking
diatemaceous earth .... is there anything to do more on a garden wide scale??  
At this rate, I'll have nothing left but a slug garden come summer.  Any
suggestions?

Answer
Kim,
There is a great product called Sluggo - it is Iron in a bait form - hurts nothing but the slugs, and when they don't eat it it just goes into the soil as iron.  Local garden centers should have it.  Forget the beer and sugar water traps - dead slugs in warm beer? GROSS!  Diatemaceous earth is fine if it's dry out but isn't effective when dampened by dew etc.  Go for the Sluggo.

AND, while you wait for the Sluggo to make a dent in the population, just go out in the evening with a salt shaker and shake a bit of salt on every slug you see - my grandmother's method.  You don't have to handle them at all.

all the best,
C.L.