Understanding the Habits of Slugs

Combating slug activity in Pacific Northwest gardens can seem like a full-time job for homeowners, unless the proper control strategies are in place. These pests can destroy unprotected plants including flowers, fruits, vegetables and ornamentals from late winter through fall. Understanding just how much damage they are capable of, when and how they threaten plants year-round and how to remedy the problem is the first line of defense for gardeners.

Each season presents a set of challenges created by these hearty eaters.

Warm false spring days in late winter can inspire Pacific Northwest garderners to plant bedding plants before the threat of frost truly disappears. This warm weather also invites slugs to emerge early and puts unprotected gardens at risk. It is vital to check for slug damage in late winter as these pockets of warm weather start to affect gardens.

Protecting plants during their critical growth stage in early spring is imperative. Slugs are surprisingly ravenous despite their small size. Adults can eat 40 times their weight daily, and completely devour new bedding plants within 24 hours.

Gardeners who frequently water their plants during the summer must be prepared to follow a treatment method to battle an ever-present slug population. Slugs love lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, squash and melons as much as people do. Marigolds, dahlias, hostas and canna plants are also extremely prone to slug attacks.

When the rain returns, slugs breed in moist cracks and holes in soil. Snails and slugs both breed in areas that provide shelter, such as mulch and leaf mounds. Since slugs and snails are hermaphroditic, some have the potential to lay up to 500 eggs each year. It is best to bait just prior to when eggs are laid, and again just when the eggs hatch.

I recently explained to guests at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle and the Oregon Association of Nurseries Yard, Garden and Patio Show in Portland, that I always use baits formulated with Meta^® active ingredient, such as Corry’s^® and Deadline^®, to treat slug problems in my garden. Not only do I find these specifically formulated baits to be extremely fast-working, but the combination of efficacy and specificity in all weather types provides me with the best chance at keeping my garden slug and snail free.

Meta^® slug and snail baits do not fit under the "traditional bait" label. In fact, slug and snail baits that carry the Meta® logo undergo stringent assurances in order to protect gardens. To earn the Meta^® brand seal of approval, snail and slug baits are required to maintain the following formulation standards:

• Meta^® brand metaldehyde must be the active ingredient.
• The bait must pass a stringent efficacy test by achieving a high mortality rate.
• The specificity of formulation is for killing slugs and snails only (with no other active ingredients added).
• An aversion agent is included to address accidental ingestion by children and to deter domestic or large animals from feeding on the bait.
• The pellet size is adjusted to create optimum baiting points on the soil surface.
• The product must remain mold resistant.

Meta^® active ingredient has been specifically developed as a molluscicide – meaning that it only targets snails and slugs, and does not harm beneficial organisms such as bees, earthworms and beetles. It also degrades into CO₂ and H₂O, which means it is environmentally friendly. Baits formulated with Meta^® active ingredient, are available in four different forms: meal, pellets, paste, and liquid. Therefore, home gardeners can select the type of bait that fits best with their application and preference. In particular, I like to use the meal, but since you only need very few pellets per square foot, many of my friends prefer to use the pellets. When using pellets it is easy to see how little bait needs to be applied and just how effective a proper application really is. Using the correct amount of pellets avoids clumping and leaves home gardeners with the security of knowing that their plants and flowers are very well protected. Here are some tips I recommend to maximize effectiveness for snail and slug control with Meta^® products:

• Read all package directions before baiting.
• Regularly bait for slugs and snails, especially before and after rain.

• Evenly spread pellets three to four inches apart to prevent clumping or piling, or spread meal lightly over damp soil.

• Apply bait right before dusk on wet or damp soil, just before slugs come out for their nightly feedings.

• Find snails and slugs where they hide, such as around stacks of firewood, mulch piles, dense ground cover, flower pots, damp and shady shelters, debris, weeds and ivy.

Remember, in order to give your plants and flowers the best chances of survival from slug infestations, home gardeners should employ a year-round treatment method of baits formulated with Meta^® active ingredient, such as Corry’s^® and Deadline^®, that actively seek out slugs before they can attack a garden. As detailed above, simply trying to control a slug problem during spring will not provide enough plant protection.

For more information about general gardening, please visit my Web site at www.inthegarden.com. Visit www.MetaWorksBest.com for more information on treating snails and slugs and maintaining a healthy garden.

Mike Darcy is one of the most respected home and garden professionals in the Northwest. For over two decades, Mike has been helping home gardeners ensure the beauty and health of their gardens through his weekly radio show "In the Garden with Mike Darcy" on 750 KXL. He can also be seen on Comcast 14 each Saturday morning. He shares the same passion for home gardening as his audience.

Mike earned a degree in horticulture and spent years in the home and garden profession before beginning his broadcast career. He has received the Garden Communicator’s Award from the American Association of Nurserymen, the Distinguished Member of the Horticultural Allied Trades Industry Award from the Oregon Association of Nurserymen, and a Lifetime Beautification Award from the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce. Mike is very active in the Portland gardening community, having been a past board member of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, and has been a member of the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce Village Basket Committee since 1993. In addition to his broadcasting, he writes a bi-monthly column for the Oregon Association of Nurseries’ trade publication, Digger, called "What I’m Hearing."