Gardens

Sluggo Slug Bait

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Seriously non-toxic slug bait

Living in the Pacific Northwest, slugs are a continual problem in my garden. But Metaldehyde slug baits are toxic to pets, and beer is messy and gross. What to do? Fortunately, there’s Sluggo, an iron phosphate-based slug bait that is enormously effective on slugs. I sling it around the garden out of the shaker jug it is sold in, and the slugs go away. It’s that simple and easy. According to the websites I’ve visited, Sluggo works at concentrations of as little as 1/2 teaspoon per square yard. The slugs eat it, lose their appetite, and crawl off and die. It’s one down side is that my chickens love it! Though it does my chooks no harm, it means I have to keep them out of the garden so that the slugs get their share. Which, since the chickens are worse garden pests than the slugs, is a good idea in general. I started off by buying it in the 5 pound jugs with the flip-top lids, but I’ve found that professional landscape supply houses sell it in great big sacks, which are expensive, but cheaper per pound. I just refill the jugs from the sack, and I’m back in business. One big sack of the stuff will last me well over a year.

-- Amy Thompson 09/14/16

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