Yes, I bought a whole big can of it!! Are they called cans or tubs or tins? I'm not even sure, but it was a big white, plastic container and cost me a lot! But it was well worth it!! I sprinkled some on the ground around the plants and I soaked some in a five gallon pail overnight. I strained the tobacco out of the water, split the strained water between two five gallon pails and topped up the two pails. The juice was pretty strong! After all, I soaked one third of the white container of tobacco overnight!! And, I started with boiling water! I then used a hand held pump sprayer and sprayed every plant thoroughly. My friend did the same thing with her garden. Even though we didn't see any slugs, we repeated the procedure two weeks later and we haven't seen a slug since. However, we are also vigilant about where we get plants and we NEVER bring other garden soil in without checking it thoroughly!! I don't want a repeat go round with those things!! As I said, I have no idea why it worked. My mother suggested it and I tried it. Maybe an expert could tell us. All I know is I was at my wits end and I was willing to try anything! I was even thinking of salting my entire garden, using alkaline salts from sloughs near the city. Now, that desperation!! But then, I am told I am a rather "crazy" gardener!! I grow roses in raised boxes. I have some of the biggest Japanese Butter Burr you will ever see in SK and instead of grass, I have rug! Yep! My garden is a sight to see! I don't call it sank_chew_airy for nothing!! airy

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 know this post is a bit old, but I wanted to say that I really appreciate the info - especially the background info that Sagae was actually growing in a veggie garden. I think it is kind of neat that we are growing something that is attractive but ALSO edible. Why is it that more Americans don't even consider trying hosta? It just goes to show how our culture and upbringing influence our ideas of what is palatable/acceptable to eat. However, regardless, in some way, it is comforting to know that if I REALLY needed to, I could eat the hostas for sustenance. :)

I'm still a serious newbie to gardening (let alone hosta-dome) but I do love it/them. So hosta veterans, please correct me if I'm wrong. :P AFAIK... just have a beer party for the slugs if they show up. Just place a few small containers of beer here and there in the hosta garden. Slugs LOVE beer to DEATH, so to speak. It's what I plan to do if they show up here. *shrug* But I don't ever see them around here. Saw a snail with shell and all in aged manure pile, though. So I figured they were related. With the TONS of varieties of hostas... I'm sure you can find a slew that are slug-resistant (like the upright kinds?) Good Luck!