Never had a slug problem with my hostas and that's even with the 6" long Leopard slugs (European import) we've had around here for the past 5 years.

I only water the hostas when it's been dry for a couple of weeks...they do fine and not nearly as many slugs.

My hostas and coneflowers were hit hard by slugs this year. I usually go out and pick them at night but the weather here in SW Ontario has been a bit on the chilly side lately so I have been unable to come out at night. As a result these plants have been eaten almost entirely.....many holes on their leaves.

A hosta trick is to spread coarse builder's sand around the plants. The slugs crawl across the sand which cuts into their bodies and kills them. It must be coarse sand not sandbox sand-too smooth. It worked for me!

Linda

Buy slug resistant hostas. Many of the newer varieties have thicker more slug-resistant leaves and most of the classic hostas exhibit this trait - which is why they have become classics.
Any reputable garden centre or hosta supplier can help guide you here. Do not buy from box or grocery stores. Plants are usually smaller and too often carry viruses you do not want to introduce into your gardens.
I spray my hostas with a homemade solution of 10 parts water to one part household ammonia. Ammonia is inexpensive, easily available and will kill slugs on contact. I have also heard of gardeners using vinegar and water and salt and water, but have tried neither.
Slugs need to rest in a cool, moist place out of the sunlight, so many gardeners lay traps, like boards, bricks, rocks where the slugs collect and can be sprayed en masse at once. I have heard that orange peels are very effective.
An old remedy calls for laying out bowls of stale beer, buried level to the ground. Slugs are drawn by the aroma, crawl in and drown. Brewer's yeast is an inexpensive substitute.
I grow about 350 hostas in my gardens and many others in containers. I break up the spraying routine over several days. I spray at the beginning of spring when hostas are beginning to emerge and then spray afterwards as needed. I walk the gardens routinely to see my hostas and look for damage and if it appears, I begin spraying again. Because I am a relatively lazy gardener, I stop maintaining the hostas at the beginning of August.
I am also very firm with my hostas. If a variety proves to be a slug magnet, I cull it. There are so many good, easy, beautiful hostas to grow that I will not be bothered with a poor specimen.

Come on over to the hosta forum and let other hosta growers know about your problems with slugs. They will provide plenty of ideas for you.

Placing short pieces of copper wire or even copper pennies
will deter slugs.