I ran across a newspaper clipping in some of my mothers garden papers. It was a method of dispensing the slug killer Slugit. I read the article and as things would have it I found something else to quench my curiosity, the paper promptly disappeared into the nest of papers. It will resurface who knows when. It went like this: Cut up a grapefruit into pieces and dry in the sun. When throughly dehydrated place the pieces in a container of Slugit and water and rehydrate. Dispense the yummy morsels where the slugs will find them. The slugs will be eating their last meal. Jerry
Finally, a good use for grapefruit! Almost makes me wish we had slugs. My in-laws used to go to Florida each winter and ship grapefruit to us--a dozen at a time. We don't eat grapefruit, but the neighbors sure did (and none were slugs)!
Feeding slugs....first thought that came to mind was 'that's what Hostas are for isn't it?' I have found a few slugs in the backyard, they found the Bloody Dock I planted last fall almost before the plant had settled into it's new home. Next time they start attacking I will have to try the grapefruit method.
i've been fighting slugs & snails for years and stopped growing marigolds because they seem to love them, but i found a product that works for me and i don't have to worry about the dogs getting into it. it's a product called 'escar-go'.(sorry if i've broken any rules about naming a brand). i find it easy, and it allows me to put a few marigolds in here and there. my ideal solution would be to have a few frogs or toads around, but hey, i can wish, can't i?...lol
I have tons of Hosta including "minis" I use a saucer of old cheep beer around the Hosta and also in the greenhouse. Works wonderfully. I don't have to use anything else. I just have to keep it refreshed. My grandma always taught me that. I guess I could try grapefruit juice as substitute just to try it. The more you learn is better.... Barb in Pa.
What was the Slugit? was it the poison that actually killed the slugs and the grapefruit peels the "bait"? or am I missing something here?
Since there are loads of slugs here where I garden, I would be curious to know what Slugit is and what the chemical make-up of it is. This is a new one for me, Jerry.
I have used the copper tape on pots in the past, it keeps earwigs,snails and slugs from getting to your potted plants. I put it around the pots I have grapevines in after I started noticing leaves being eaten. Worked like a charm too so there were plenty of big healthy leaves for the moth caterpillars to feast on later in the season. The version Jerry is referring to is dry product that you mix with water then you spray on the soil around the plants or soak the dried grapefruit in it. I'm thinking that if you put the fruit pieces on plates level with the ground, the slugs can reach it but the copper won't leach into the soil if that is a concern.
The long explanation: When my father passed 20 years ago I had to clean out the family homestead before I put it on the market. My mother, who had passed 5 years earlier, left many gardening books, several years of recorded 'Crockets Victory Garden' and many newspaper clippings. A yellowed clipping in this collection had the recipe mentioned in the beginning of this thread. As this product is at least 30 years old and older than the WWW, it was not surprising that the article did not have a web reference. Slugit was probably a popular or at least a known method of slug control. The delivery system is the unusual methodology, prompting the question. As the questions mount it would appear that 'Slugit' may be a ghost of gardening past. However, today our e-tools allow us to search the world and provide us with Sherlock Holmes capabilities. I have now put on my sleuthing hat. The yellowed clue led to a web site via google. It seems that the product was manufactured for or distributed by a company in southern California USA. Over 30 years have passed, the product appears to have either gone the way of the slugs or had a name change. Since the need has not gone away and the company still exists, a little more sleuthing has found the company now distributes an organic slug poison called 'Sluggo', in pellet and powder form. The powder form would seem to have the characteristics of slugit and if soluble in water, could be used in a similar fashion. Since the pellet form is not cheap, the powder method seems plausible and less expensive. Local retailers like Ace Hardware, Lowe's and others that may carry Sluggo can be located easily by a google search. While beer will put the slug in a drunken stupor causing it to drowned I prefer to drink all the beer and not share with slugs. I have, on occasion, lost bottles of the afore mentioned beverage in the garden...hmmmmm.....I wonder how many slugs it takes to spirit away a bottle of beer?? Jerry
Those drunken lil fellers..... In the greenhouse at the old location, we used to have allot of them. So I dept a few bottles of beer our there and kept my saucers filled. They always crawled in the drown. It was easy. My grand mother taught me about that. I always try to use a more natural way to solve these problems before I use a chemical thing but when all else fails I do grab the chemicals and use them lightly. Barb in Pa.
If you lay some boards, maybe a foot long around on the ground, the slugs will go under them in the morning when the sun comes out. You can scrape them off into a container of soapy water, that kills them.
