Oh my goodness! California has not yet set their best do gooders on the kill Sluggo and Escargo mission. The Swiss are ahead of them. I have used Escargo for years. My worm count at it's best three years ago was twelve to twenty in the turn of a single garden spade from an organic content of seventeen percent. That also was at the height of the largest one time observation of egg laying I have yet to witness. Escargo has been in use here on the same ground for as long as it has been available without any noticeable harm to anything but the slugs. The robins and moles eat more worms than Sluggo or Escargo harm. On that great garden soil I have grown nine hundred pound Atlantic Giant pumpkins, ninety eight inch Long Gourds and up to five pound tomatoes. The Long Gourd was the largest such gourd grown in Pennsylvania a few years ago. The genetics in that seed produced more over a hundred inch gourds in the history of the sport. All of these items grew with the protection of Escargo in close and continuous use to protect them from an army of slugs.

Hey Jennifer: I did use Sluggo once but you have to re apply it often. Seemed like a pain for the cost. We have three cats that are into positively anything so I have to use any chemicals if I can help it. So last year I went out and bought a whole bunch of plastic ashtrays from the dollar store. This is for my hosta beds. Once a week I fill up the ashtrays that are hidden behind the hostas with whatever the single cheapest beer is at the grocery. At that time I might rinse out the slug carcasses or I might not. It is just as effective to pour beer in with or without dead slugs (or what's left of them) in the ashtray. I do rinse them out as needed with the hose and then put them back in place. It works great. Furthermore I like the looks on my neighbors faces when I walk around the front yard at 6 a.m. Saturday morning carrying a six pack:) Kate

I agree with Paul, the most worry free approach is to go out with a flashlight at night and collect slugs, snails and earwigs while they are doing their dastardly deads. If you are not squemish a pair of old scissors works good to curtail slimy crawlers careers. A pair of thin vinyl or rubber gloves works good for picking earwigs off of tender leaves. I give my earwigs a firm pinch and they no longer devour my dalhias. No worry about poisons effecting benaficial bugs you get the offender in the act. I notice a reduction by 75% the next night. A miners light strapped to your head makes two hands free for "de bugging".

Thanks for the heads up. I used to get bags of if when I was working for a auto pts. mfg. co. Had coffee machines all over the offices and factory and I had the maintenance people save them for me. Got about 2 bushels a week. But have been retired for 23 yrs now, and I drink only instance coffee. Max is 2 cups a day. Will check into this as I can sure use them when I'll be making my new hosta beds in the spring.