I'm still using the slug bait. Any you kill now won't be laying eggs for next season.
Pam

I agree with Pam.
Kill as many as you can now.
Sassy

think of it this way ....

they are both boy and girl in one slimy package ....

every one you kill in fall .. is one less to lay 100 eggs in spring ....

if you use that logic .... you will continue killing until the snow flies ...

in late fall .. after they freeze to the ground... grab the hosta mush ...dispose of it in the compost pile or at the curb .. and drench the crown with your favorite 10% solution ... though never proven .. i like to think it is effective on the eggs .. and any slugs that aren't swooped up in the slimy mess formerly known as your hosta .. will be treated ...

also try a few pieces of lumber laid across the beds.. where they will congregate during the day .. for easy hunting ...

ken

I normally use Sluggo well into November as long as out temps continue to be above freezing. Then I won't have to deal with slugs until beginning-mid of June when new generation appears.

I have used the generic alternative to Sluggo for three years and I rarely see a slug anymore. The only one I have seen this year came from someone that sent me a hosta. I hit them hard early in the season, very early like the fist of March, the fist year I used 8 lb of slug bate, the second year about five pounds, and this year only two pounds & that is by the end of this season. I hit areas that they live in like around old boards and in heavily mulched areas.

Deshima, What is the generic alternative to Sluggo and how can others obtain it?

Mark

Why would you quit, they still lay eggs! Is it true, all slugs that are now alive are killed by winter, or do they just hybernate deep in the soil? I just applied what I expect to be my last round of slug bait. I apply every 6 weeks, thaw to frost.

OK let all wake up here and talk about METALDEHYDE, it can poison children because the bait is sweet, it kills birds, it kills wildlife and it kills all your worms. So why in on earth would you use a poison when you have an alternative that is about the same price. It is called (Green Slug Control Bait pellets )or what ever name you would like, Bayer makes a green slug bate,and so does a Safer Home Brands you can find it for about five dollar a pound at any Lowes or Home Depot. Sluggo is a Rip OFF product so stop throwing your money away and but a generic green slug bate and stop killing the birds, the animals that eat the dead birds, stop killing your worms and other wild life by using a chemical like METALDEHYDE!
Now if you don't like what you just heard, just light up another cigarette and relax because they are very good for you and they will calm your nerves and you know we all have to die of something, plus lung cancer is a very nice disease and it kills you real slow, like the way an apple rots from the inside out.

Here is a link that might be useful: The following report has been verified to be 100% accurate

Sluggo is iron phosphate, which the slugs eat and then they can't eat anything else and they die. It is nontoxic to pets, birds, etc. It biodegrades into the soil pretty quickly. I don't think anyone is talking about METHALDEHYDE.

Yes, Sluggo is as safe as they get.
Plus, buying it in bulk I think I only pay about $4 per pound.

I do not know where/how one would put METHALDEHYDE on their garden, but I have trouble believing with all the new tighter controls on garden chemicals it is for retail sale if it in fact kills birds, worms etc. What gardener would buy it?!

Scotts® Bug-Geta Snail & Slug Killer contains METALDEHYDE.
Deadline contains META® which is, yes, you guessed it... METALDEHYDE.
Sluggo is, as Maureen states above, iron phosphate.

And I almost bought Bug-Geta! WHEW!

Sassy, where can we get it for $4/lb??

Char

Here is a link that might be useful: META® - active ingredient of Deadline for slug control

Char, I buy the 40 lb size bag. Much cheaper!
See link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sluggo in bulk

Buying the 40 lb size bag cost me $165.09 total.
It was $145 + $20.09 for shipping and no sales tax.

To take care of my 850 hostas + or -, I have used about 240 gallons of ammonia solution to kill approx. 6300 slugs up to now. In my zone 5, we did not get the hot weather during the month of July as we normally get. So the slugs came out more...The nice weather is still holding on and many of my hostas are still acceptable looking. September is the month during which I am more vigilant...and will go out early in the morning almost each day. The ammonia treatment ends at about mid October.
After the first frost, hosta leaves fall to the ground creating an ideal place for slugs to hide. So the importance of cleaning up and raking away the hosta leaves and throwing them all in the compost bins.

Papou

I did some searching and found an even cheaper place to buy Sluggo.

I love to save money.

See link below.

Sassy

Here is a link that might be useful: I found a cheaper place to buy sluggo

Thanks Sassy. Even with shipping it comes to less than $3.50 per pound. I will place an order tonight.

Mark

Personally I prefer the products with metaldehyde for slug control since so little product is used, making the cost for slug control very low. I usually use it twice a year - spring and fall - and only spread out 6 to 7 pellets per square foot. That is VERY little, and it is barely noticable. Control in 2005 was so effective that I only had to spot treat in 2006. So a 50# bag of Deadline has lasted me 3 years so far, on over an acre of hostas, and I should have enough for a couple more years left.

I have an abundance of earth worms and have never found a dead bird, animal, or child in the garden. As with any chemical you should follow the directions and use it responsibly. Never pile it up - use it sparingly - and like all chemicals, keep the bag away from pets and children.

For those who do not need to worry about children and pets, does anyone know of a source for Deadline MP? The retail metaldehyde products I have seen like Ortho Bug Geta are granular or powdery and would not hold up to even a little rain.

Mark, if you want some right-away-quick, I can loan you some. You can replace it when you line up a source.

Mark, Conserv in Wauconda has 10# bags of Deadline pellets. They quoted me a price of $23.50

Thanks Maryann. I really appreciate it. I am currently using Sluggo, but I may switch. I sent you an email thru Gardenweb, but I am not sure they are going through.

Mark

I did not get your e-mail, Mark. Did you want to borrow some? Deadline is quick and effective, just a few pellets per sq. ft.