Before considering chemicals or pestidices, many gardeners look for natural slug control solutions. Many of the commercial slug killers available are not ideal for the common gardener because they may expose a health risk to domestic animals such as dogs and cats, or wild animals such as rabbits and squirrels.

Non toxic, organic slug control solutions are therefore a better option. Although they may require a little more effort than simply spreading commercial slug killer in your garden, natural slug control methods are still very effective.

There are a number of ways you can achieve garden slug control naturally, without the use of any commercial products. Here are the key factors to organic slug control:

• Understand why your garden attracts slugs in the first place
• Learn why slugs keep coming back, no matter how many you kill
• Understand how slugs live, what they eat, and how they reproduce
• Learn what natural slug control solutions work and which ones are just old wives’ tales
• Discover how to make your slug control efforts permanent so you don’t get caught up in an endless battle with the slugs in your garden

The key to getting rid of slugs, whether using commercial slug killers or natural slug control methods, is killing off the adults and breaking their reproductive cycle.

For a step by step guide on how to get rid of slugs naturally, without the use of any chemicals or pesticides, please see the main page of this site on garden slugs.

- Jill Haskins is the author of Garden Slug Control: The Ultimate Guide on How to Get Rid of Slugs.

Slugs will eat almost anything you can grow in your garden. They primary targets are soft-leaved plants and berries. Here is a list of the most common plants that slugs eat:

• Hostas
• Corn
• Lettuce
• Beats
• Strawberries
• Artichoke bushes
• Raspberry bushes
• And much more…

And, of course, slugs drink water. Water and moisture are essential to the survival of slugs. It is what keeps them slimy and alive. If slugs dry out they will die!

If you’re asking the question “What do slugs eat?” – the plain fact is that slugs will eat almost anything. They are ruthless creatures and can easily destroy a garden in no time.

For a step by step solution on slug control see our main page on how to get rid of slugs.

Slugs have very soft bodies and will hesitate to cross an egg shell barrier because of the threat the sharp edges of the broken shells pose to their soft, vulnerable bodies.

Advantages of using Egg Shells for Slug Control:

The two main advantages of using egg shells for slug control are that it’s cheap and egg shells are easy to come by. And some people have reported significant success with using this strategy. However, many also report that egg shell slug control methods don’t work at all.

Disadvantages of using Egg Shells for Slug Control:

Slugs are persistent little creatures. Egg shells may deter them from accessing your garden, but they will keep looking for a way in until they find one. They can access your garden by crawling up plants or trees and use them as bridges to cross the egg shell barrier.

Another thing that many gardeners do not realize is that it is very common for slugs to live under the soil in their gardens. Creating an egg shell slug barrier won’t have any effect on slugs that are already in your garden. This is where they thrive and breed.

Lastly, egg shell barriers are an unsightly addition to a garden. They just plain don’t look good!

Conclusion

Although commonly suggested as a slug control strategy, egg shells *may* be helpful in some cases but it will not resolve the problem of why you have slugs in the first place. Even if you have some success, you will have to keep crushing eggs and putting them in your garden, week after week, year afte year.

For information on the best, most effective natural methods for achieving permanent slug control see our main page on garden slugs.

The effectiveness of using diamataceous earth for slug control is questionable, especially if not used properly or if used in the wrong environment. Diamataceous earth is not very effective if it gets wet, so it is essential to keep it dry!

Diatomaceous earth can also be harmful to the touch and very irritating if it comes in contact with your eyes, nose, or lungs. If you use diatomaceous earth slug control strategies, wear rubber gloves and sprinkle it around your garden with care.

One of the main disadvantages of using diatomaceous earth is that it is a very time-consuming and costly strategy for slug control. It usually isn’t a very effective strategy because you will need to constatly re-apply it and hope for the best!

And lastly, although commonly suggested as a slug control strategy, diatomaceous earth will not resolve the problem of why you have slugs in the first place!

See our main page for highly effective methods to achieve permanent slug control.