A study was done on using copper. What worked best was two bare copper wires connected to a 9 volt battery. Connect one wire to the plus side and the other to the negative side. Create a barrier by runniing the wires 1/2 inch apart. Do not let the wires touch each other since that will short the battery. When the slugs cross the wires they complete the circuit and it will repel or kill them.

cambse Yes, apparently diatomaceous earth is effective for killing slugs. I personally have reservations about using it because I know it also kills beneficial insects as well, such as pollinators of strawberries. So if I can find a solution that works without killing beneficials or changing the chemical composition of my garden, that's what I'm aiming for. So far, wide copper strips seem to be the best answer, though copper doesn't kill the slugs.

Heather, I'm relieved to find out that diatomaceous earth does not harm earthworms. It makes sense that DE would last in the soil for decades, since fossils don't decay quickly, but the directions tell us to renew the application following rain or watering. Hmmm. That wouldn't be just so we'll buy more DE, would it?? Safer's Slug and Snail Bait works for me, too. Don't know why I forgot to mention it in an earlier post. Probably because I don't see the gratifyingly instant results that I do with ammonia. I used to go slug hunting, late at night, armed with a flashlight, long-handled tweezers and a bucket of boiling water. (I'm surprised the neighbours never called the police! I must have looked quite suspicious!!) I'd pluck the beasts off my plants and watch them disintegrate when I dropped each one into the bucket. I knew the water needed reheating whenever I saw slugs start to escape up the sides. After a night of hunting, I disposed of the carcasses in the back alley, so the birds would have a feast the next day. Once, however, I guess the water had cooled off too much by the time I had caught the last batch for the night. I threw the slug water into the back alley and went to bed. The next day, my DH went to the alley for some reason, and he soon called me over. Not only had many slugs survived the "hot" bath, but all of them were crawling back towards my yard!!! Needless to say, they didn't make it. ;o)

I'd advise against using salt in the garden, with the exception of killing weeds between paving or other contained areas you don't ever want to grow plants. Salt is highly toxic to plants and will dissolve in to the soil where it doesn't break down. About two years back I had a garden party and a small container of salt got knocked over on to the lawn and spilt perhaps a table spoon full. Till this day there is still a permanently dead patch in the lawn that will not grow. I'm going to have to cut it out, discard the soil and re-turf that patch this year. The salt just hasn't washed out like I thought it would. Even if you haven't had any adverse affects yet, it's building up in the soil and will make it toxic. Anyway, about those slugs and snails... I just noticed yesterday while weeding that there was a whole colony of the things living under some stones. I didn't realise they'd be out yet. So, I promptly reached for the nearest can of slug pellets. I'm not a huge fan of chemicals, but really the newer slug pellets are better than ever. They don't poison wildlife, nor the soil (iron phosphate is a trace mineral plants actually need), and they seem to work well. If you apply them at the first sign of slugs and continue thoughout the year then very few will have the chance to lay eggs, thus it will significantly reduce the population this year, and next year there should be very few of the things. The main down side to using pellets is they don't kill the slugs instantly, thus they can still continue to munch through your plants for some hours after exposure. They're a great way to lower the slug population, but a circle of them around a plant won't stop it being dammaged. Conversely, many brands contain something that *attacts* the slugs, so you may even draw slugs towards your plants by doing this. For those slugs-salad plants you're going to have to repell them with something. Copper tape or an inch wide circle of sharp edged gravel should work well. In my experieince slugs hate gravel of any kind, but the sharp edged stuff (I buy big bags of it cheap for the drainage layer in house plant pots) seems to repell them the most. I've mulched whole raised beds with the stuff and not found a single slug or any damage, not even when my garden was infested with slugs. It also looks quite nice and helps the soil stay damp. Going around just after its rained and collecting them in to a bucket can also give fast results and lower the population of them. I've filled a 6 liter buket with the things before now. The one thing people rarely discuss when suggesting this method however is diposal of the resulting 4 lb or more of slugs... I've actually found it quite difficult and don't have any really good suggestions. Everything resulted in either my being grossed out and/or some kind of nasty mess I didn't want.