Overrun with slugs

[Acai]

My garden has been completely taken over by slugs. None of my plants are able to grow, they get eaten immediately. I have on average 10 slugs on my patio at any one time.
I have 2 cats so I don't want to use anything toxic to them. I used salt a while ago, and also slug pellets. It did kill some but there are too many! It didn't get them under control.
What can I use to get them under control that isn't toxic to cats?

[JCL53]

They are a a pain .They have decimated my lupins and are out in force now with all this rain .
I have had good results for stuff in pots by covering the compost with crushed seashell which you can buy quite cheaply at garden centres or Wilkinsons .Copper tape is good too and another trick is to smear Vaseline round the edges of pots .On the ground you could try gritty sand but of course the rain washes it away or beer traps .They will come miles for a pint ! But ..they are messy to empty .It's a never ending battle .
Wretched things .

[pastafreak]

LOL-see my thread in chatterbank
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/ChatterBank/Que stion607936.html
It won't help much...but it is funny!!

[kira000]

We had the same problem (and 2 cats), and whilst copper tape and beer traps helped, they were still prolific.
I bought slug nematodes online. They are basically microscopic worms that come in powder form,you mix them into water in your watering can and water them around your garden. They get into the soil and burrow into the slug, and multiply inside it killing it. It is very effective as it kills the ones that are buried in your soil, and not just those on the surface.
They are safe for animals and children and effective for about weeks.

[fagidill]

I sprinkle Table Salt on slugs & snail's it works, try it.

[merejeans]

there are slug pellets on the market that are not harmful to pets or birds. I used some this year on my hostas, and for the first time ever, they are still lovely, not lacy as they usually are by now. Before, I had tried vaseline, egg shells, sand, and the pots are already standing on gravel, I think the slugs were abseiling down from the trees. Don,t put salt on slugs if they are on the lawn, it will leave a large black mark that will take weeks to disappear.