Intoxicating the slugs?

I've been getting a pretty decent garden patch this summer, we may have a few zuch's and summers for the party, and also some assorted hot peppers and herbs if people want them.

However I've recently found that I'm sharing to much of my garden with the slugs. One of the suggestions I got on how to get rid of them was to get them drunk - though nobody explained how I was supposed to check their ID... I went out and bought a 6-pack of the cheapest stuff I could find (Miller "Milwaukee's Best ICE" - if that's the best they can do in Milwaukee, I feel sorry for them, that stuff is NASTY! :sick: ) I poured out three cans into assorted dishes scattered around the garden, and it appears that slugs have no taste - they like the stuff :bug:

My question is how long does "Slug Beer" work? When do I need to poor the buggers another round?

Gooserider

lol. Goose, I can't really comment on the effectiveness of the method..but you might be on the right track. Back in high school days 'Milwaukee Best' was affectionately reffered to as "The Beast"...lol

My wife is a pesticide-free gardener so she uses the beer method. The beer will stay effective until it either evaporates or the slugs carcasses fill up the container and have to be dumped. She also uses "Escar-Go!" made by 'Gardens Alive', and said this works well and is safe around all other critters including cats and dogs. Lastly, to protect certain plants, you can make a "defensive line" around them with busted up egg-shells.

They won't cross copper, so if you've got some old copper wire or pipe laying around, you can put around special plants to keep the slugs away. I realize that with the price of copper these days, that may not be practical.

Another organic possibility is wood ashes. It doesn't work as well when they're wet, but the ashes apparently irritate the soft underbody, like the eggshells, and discourage the slugs.

One of the most effective methods is to just go on a murderous rampage, killing all the slugs you can find on a rainy day. Do that a couple of times, and you'll notice a big drop in the number of slugs.

If your hunting them, pour some salt on each one. Tedious yes, but the salt immediately eats at them killing them.
The copper suggestion also works. You could even make a perimeter of copper around the garden. They just don't like copper.

Well, I'm not using the beer as fertilizer, so it may still be OK - will remember when dumping it to pour it out AWAY from the garden, or possibly around the outside of it to try and pull them away from the good stuff... (I don't mind if the slugs help with weed control...

Gooserider

Jags, I sent coffee out of my knows with the Milwaukees best and slug jerky comment Hell I am in the Milw area and once your out of college you switch to lienenkugels (sp) The other stuff is just high octane water.

We called it Meister chow. Don't forget Old Milwaukee. Looking at my quote I guess I don't know how to spell nose. Must have been the Old Milw.

You're supposed to put the beer in a cup or bowl, then place tht in the garden. The slugs are attracted to the beer and enter the container then drown. We've tried it with poor results.

Just spray your garden with bonide fruit tree spray (not seven) or neem.

If we did that just how would we end up with slug jerky? More like slug gelliten(sp)