I till every year. I layer my leaves and grass clippings on the garden every fall and till it in the following spring. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's always worked for me. I have plenty of worms every year, so they don't seem to mind it either. I haven't done a no-till garden, so I can't say if one is better than the other. I generally don't have any problems with slugs with the exception of last year. They weren't too bad, but they did eat a few potatoes. I think the only reason they got to the potatoes is because that's the only place that I couldn't see them and the only place that was cool enough for them to live. I haven't mulched before and this will be my first year trying it. Weeding doesn't bother me; I find it relaxing, so there hasn't really been a reason to do so. Our water source recently became unavailable, so I'm thinking about drip irrigation and mulch will help in keeping the water in the soil. Slugs don't like heat and we have plenty of that in the summer, so I just had to find their hiding spots and then squish them. That is the most effective way to do it. There are baits and poisons that work to a degree, but you most likely won't kill them all with bait, so hand picking is necessary to control them. If you're feeling sadistic, you can toss one into a jar of pennies for a light show (at least that's what I've heard, I've never tried it). Copper gives slugs a shock when they touch it, so you could lay a bordering strip around your garden to keep any slugs out. Obviously if it gets buried by anything, it becomes useless.

Tammy, does milorganite help with your deer? There's one nursery around here that sells it. I'm desperate since they ate all the Salvia flower stalks & Caledula blooms then started on the Four O'clocks & Lantana. All in past week. DE wasn't much help this year because of all the rain. Gardens Alive has "Escar-Go! Supreme" this year which says "Kills slugs, snails, earwigs, cutworms, sowbugs, pill bugs, crickets and ants"...all of which present in gross numbers this year. It's expensive when you add shipping but they don't sell that or Sluggo around here...have to order online and have shipped.

Hi Cora! Yes, a 10% ammonia solution in a spray bottle is by far the easiest to kill slugs on sight without damaging your plants or soil. (You should not use a salt shaker.) Just take any old spray bottle and put in 9 parts water, 1 part household ammonia (non-sudsing kind, if you have it). You may read about stronger solutions (more ammonia), but it is not necessary. Since you will be spraying the slugs as you see them, you will also see that a 10% solution works. Have fun! Carol

I used to do that but when I got a bunch of drunk birds I had to cover the containers. You need to have the beer deep enough that they drown in it, not thin so they get buzzed and come back later. Use a small net to scoop out the dead slugs and leave the beer for more. The only alternative is a commercial snail poison which is not good for kids or pets. Sluggo works around these but it is not as good as those that have an attractant in them.