Slug/Snail Solutions and my Discontents (part 1)

A quick search online will offer up many solutions for slugs. Here's a review of most of them - and my take on what makes the most sense.

I keep a 2,500 square foot garden, and all of my soil is mulched. Soil that is mulched makes a fantastic habitat for slugs and snails - and I have them everywhere. Having slugs everywhere is, generally, not a good starting point for a vegetable garden - but every year I make it happen despite this major obstacle.

Every year I have a great garden, despite the fact that I have slugs everywhere.

Years ago, I had a small garden. I grew many crops that slugs really like - such as kale, collards, broccoli, and other brassicas. In general, I didn’t have any real problems with slugs. They were around, and they did damage - but it was always negligible, and I just let nature take its course. It all worked out fine for years. When I moved to my current location, everything changed. Perhaps it was the conversion to using heavy mulches in every bed - or the fact that the damp environment and ecosystem here was simply more favorable to slugs and snails. Regardless of the cause(s), I’ve been dealing with real slug and snail problems for years. Over that time, I have come across many suggested solutions for them, and most simply don’t work in a large garden with a real slug and snail problem. Here’s a brief overview of many suggested slug solutions, and why they did or didn’t work for me.

Physical Barriers

• Copper Tape

  The idea behind copper tape is that slugs and snails receive a mild electric shock when they come into contact with it. The irritation it causes repels them, and they do not cross the barrier. This makes sense in principle, and it’s true that slugs and snails don’t like the sensation of crawling over copper. I’m sure a lot of copper gets sold based on this idea - but it simply doesn’t work, because slugs can endure the discomfort if they really want to cross the copper.