Salt and slugs.

[Pat]

I have put salt around the base of my plants with harming them.

 

[SirJoe]

I have put salt around the base of my plants with harming them.

So did the salt kill the plant? I know that there are plants that are more tolerant to salt then others but I have always heard that plants don't like salt.

 

[BlueLotus]

If you use salt, used Epson salts which will also help with Magnesium deficiency. Vinegar will dissolve most slugs. If you have a pet like a dog or cat, put the hair around the base of your plants, it'll not only prevent slugs from going but also other little critters. If you find a slime trail, destroy it so other flags don't follow. Try plantings strong smelling plants like mint, chives, garlic ,geraniums, foxgloves, and fennel around your plants or the edge of your garden to keep them out. Coarse, dusty, and scratchy materials like lime, diatomasceous earth, cinders, coarse sawdust, gravel, and sand make great natural barriers that won't affect the pH of your soil. If you live in the country, you could invest in a pet duck which love eating slugs or maybe you can rent some from a farmer.

 

[sixxup]

I like using copper plates or wires since slugs don't like crawling over copper. You can also research on different slug repellent plants in your area and plant around your garden. Others use egg shells but I don't like using them since they attract ants. Birds and ducks also eat slugs, so having them in your compound help to control slugs.

 

[BeautifullyBree]

I've been wandering this also. Did you try it and have luck? We've had a slug problem of them coming on our porch at night. I recently started creating a salt barrier and haven't seen a slug since. They sure are disgusting little creatures.

 

[priticious]

Adding table salt is tricky. I won't recommend using table salt for this purpose. But, you can attract natural predators (birds) for slug hunting

After having slug attack on my garden destroying all young sapling with no mercy , I was sure to find and trash them.

Since then I am collecting all possible method of slug prevention here - How to prevent slug and snail in the garden . you might find it useful.

 

[headfullofbees]

I do not want salt in my garden. (Wasn't that something conquering armies used to do? Raze the buildings and salt the earth?) If @headfullofbees has found it helps certain plants, I won't argue; I've never tried it so I can't dispute it!

But I have lit upon a plan, (insert evil laugh, Mwahahaha... ...) and I'm going to try it next year in my garden.

I have learned that slugs LOVE dry cat food. At least, they love 9 Lives Daily Essentials. Indeed, they crawl through my flower bed and up and across the concrete porch to eat my cats' cat food. They do not touch the plants as long as there is cat food!! They will eat all the cat food. I've seen up to 8 at a time making their way to the bowl!!

I've decided to use this fact to kill the little buggers!!

I'm going to get (or make) something like this, and fill the little bowl with cat food, and the outer rim with salt. That way I have bait I know they love, and a means to kill them without having to salt the earth. I'm not very worried about attracting cats into the garden, they are well fed on my porch , so I think they'll leave it alone.

We do have skunks and possums that eat the cat food from the porch, so I am also considering putting the food in a small sieve and then screwing it upside-down to a metal serving tray, to keep them from getting in it. I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, it's an idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica_oleracea

... It is native to coastal southern and western Europe. Its high tolerance of salt and lime...

 

[MaryMary]

Now, now, @headfullofbees, I said I wasn't arguing, and furthermore, I defer to your broader knowledge.

Let's just go back to the "Compost from sawdust" thread, and have a couple beers. We'll be laughing about this later.



https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/compost-from-saw-dust.9738/

 

[Greenhorn]

If you can get copper around the plants or the bed that will prevent snails and slugs from getting the plants, I would not use salt as most plants are not agreeable to salt in the soil.

 

[headfullofbees]

Now, now, @headfullofbees, I said I wasn't arguing, and furthermore, I defer to your broader knowledge.

Let's just go back to the "Compost from sawdust" thread, and have a couple beers. We'll be laughing about this later.



https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/compost-from-saw-dust.9738/

Similarly, I was not disrespecting your choice not to use salt, nor touting for an argument. I was merely showing that it is usable in some circumstances.

Btw, burn that sawdust, and use the ash as fertiliser, IT'S alkalinity will also deter slugs, which is why my potatoes are seldom troubled.