SLUGS Help

[ali177]

I have a huge problem with slugs. Not on my plants but on my decking. They keep coming through it at nite and climb up the walls and back door and are constantly in my cats food bowl. I have read about pellets,beer,salt etc but wat is the safest way to get rid of them without my 2 cats coming to any harm. There are slug trails everywhere......HELP!!!!!!

[DC_FC]

I know salt works, not sure what you can do about them coming through the decking mind

[Lonnie]

I wouldn't use beer traps or pellets, they do work, but they are designed to attract slugs to them, so you end up clearing your neighbours gardens also,

DC-FC has suggested salt, I think thats probably the way to go, try sprinkling it all over the decking before you go to bed, I don't think the cats will touch it, but keep an eye open just in case, anyway, one taste, and they'll leave it alone.

[sunflower71]

Fill a bowl with beer, they LOVE it and will drown.
try using a bowl/container that is not to high.

[jno]

Lonnie, I guess the answer is to put it in your neighbour's garden?

[Lonnie]

Thats a fair one jno, ali77, take note.

[RATTER15]

You can now buy pet safe slug pellets.

[donella]

slug pelletts are desighned to dehydrate the slug (as does salt) so this only works well if the weather is dry and the slugs arnt able to get to water to rehydrate, id be carefull of using even "pet safe" pelets as they are dehydrating and are likely to cause harm to birds that eat the slugs and then can cause harm to animals that eat the birds....ect ect!
i had a major slug problem in my garden for the last few years, finaly got it under controll by collecting the slimy monsters in sandwich bags (you put the bag over your hand to pick up several at a time the pull the over the slugs so you can tie the top and throw it in the bin- i now use degradeable sandwich bags, and have been told i can put them on the compost heap to rot!)
you need to do "midnight raids" but in just one season i am now at a stage where i have a normal amount of slugs in the garden, not the hundreds that were there before