# Killing slugs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877 "2010-11-16T17:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/1 "2010-11-16T17:49:58Z")
This is inspired by Cecil’s column about killing slugs with salt. > **[If you pour salt on garden slugs, do they shrivel up and scream?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341590/if-you-pour-salt-on-garden-slugs-do-they-shrivel-up-and-scream)** Mike McGrath of _You Bet Your Garden_ tells of his favorite anti-slug method. Simply lay a board on the ground near the place you suspect the slugs are skulking. The next morning, go out with a bucket of soapy water. Lift up the board, and you’ll find a squadron of snoozing slugs on the bottom side. Scrape them off into the soapy water, where the slugs will die. McGrath also mentioned scattering hair around the flower bed. Supposedly, slugs can’t handle creeping over hair. Your barber will give you all the hair you want. As a bonus, you’ll have a bag of hair, and you can compare its intelligence to the kid down the street. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/2 "2010-11-16T21:51:03Z")
My highly successful anti-slug regime is two-pronged: First, get rid of as many of the active slugs as possible with the beer method. I find that three or four styrofoam ice cream bowls around the garden work best, fill them 3/4 of the way with beer and let sit overnight. The next morning, you’ll have the most disgusting slug beer soup, but it does the trick. To keep the slugs away after that, sprinkle some [Ortho EcoSense](http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgfZaqpe/R-202229596/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053) pellets around the garden. Repeat as needed every 3-4 months. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/3 "2010-11-16T23:10:33Z")
I can’t believe this is actually a question someone wrote in about instead of testing it. Especially in an environment that has not only plentiful slugs, but giant disgusting ones. How hard would it be to just go out onto the sidewalk, find a slug, and pour salt on it to see what happens? That’s what I did when I was 8, I don’t see the difficulty. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/4 "2010-11-17T00:10:25Z")
I have never regarded salt as a good thing to put on the lawn or garden ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/5 "2010-11-17T01:52:32Z")
**AskNott** would this be Mike McGrath, former editor of _Organic Gardening_? If so, he is a wise man with a sweet corn obsession. Coming from slug country I concur with the slug/board, only I follow up with a pair of scissors while I am weeding. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/6 "2010-11-17T20:21:20Z")
> [@moorland reiver](#): > > **AskNott** would this be Mike McGrath, former editor of _Organic Gardening_? If so, he is a wise man with a sweet corn obsession. Coming from slug country I concur with the slug/board, only I follow up with a pair of scissors while I am weeding. Yes, he’s the same Mike McGrath. Here’s a link to his radio show & archives of “question of the week.” > **[You Bet Your Garden](https://www.wlvt.org/television/you-bet-your-garden/)** > > Garden Guru, public radio host and former Organic Gardening Editor-in-Chief Mike McGrath tackles your toughest garden, lawn and pest problems every week. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/7 "2010-11-18T03:48:42Z")
Why can’t we simply convince the French that these are just “soft shelled” snails? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/8 "2010-11-18T04:41:29Z")
> [@davekhps](#): > > First, get rid of as many of the active slugs as possible with the beer method. I find that three or four styrofoam ice cream bowls around the garden work best, fill them 3/4 of the way with beer and let sit overnight. The next morning, you’ll have the most disgusting slug beer soup, but it does the trick This doesn’t kill the slugs. They do look dead, and simply float in it. But if you pour them out of the beer, they’ll eventually sober up and wander off. I stopped putting beer out when I realized I was simply throwing slug keggers. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/9 "2010-11-18T05:39:06Z")
A guy I used to work with said that when he was a kid he’d make salt mazes for slugs. ---
**Author:** ![lindaksw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@lindaksw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindaksw)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/10 "2010-12-02T01:08:24Z")
Just wanted to issue a brief warning that Slug bait (metaldehyde) is quite poisonous to pets, and seems to be tasty to dogs, so if you use slug bait (please don’t) be warned that you or a neighbor may wind up spending a bundle at your local Emergency Animal Hospital… ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/11 "2010-12-02T09:13:50Z")
The [Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_Duck) is supposed to be a good slug killer. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/12 "2010-12-02T13:57:33Z")
But then what do you do after your garden is overrun with ducks? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/13 "2010-12-02T14:04:16Z")
Eat them? They are probably more tasty than the slugs (although my mother once ate a live slug (with a slice of lemon) when visiting Naples in her youth). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/14 "2010-12-02T14:04:47Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > This doesn’t kill the slugs. They do look dead, and simply float in it. But if you pour them out of the beer, they’ll eventually sober up and wander off. I stopped putting beer out when I realized I was simply throwing slug keggers. I don’t want to see the video for _Slugs Gone Wild_. ---
**Author:** ![rosella\_alm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/0ea827/32.png) [@rosella\_alm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rosella_alm)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/15 "2010-12-06T02:07:13Z")
Don’t you have opossums up in Washington? They just love to eat the disgusting things, and have totally rid our garden of both snails and slugs. Granted we don;t have the giants you have up there, but I’ll bet a 'possum would find it a heavenly diet delight. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/16 "2010-12-06T19:21:37Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I don’t want to see the video for _Slugs Gone Wild_. No kidding, especially when you consider those nipply-looking parts are eyes! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/17 "2010-12-08T18:18:23Z")
That’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![rick7425](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d6d6ee/32.png) [@rick7425](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rick7425)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-slugs/560877/18 "2010-12-14T21:34:27Z")
…But there are not enough to cause the eradication of the slugs there. I have had some enterprising friends who have talked and planned on marketing the residual foam from the salted slugs as a “Hair Groom” au naturale. Go Green!