sorry, just got carried away, being so relieved that for once I was faster than those slugs...

It's never too early, Lin. This is a good time to apply your slug bait of choice. You want the first meal of these little slimy nasties to be either Iron Phosphate or Methaldehyde. The ones you kill now will mean exponentially fewer slugs later. It's a good reminder.

Steve

Wow, good job on being early, never occurred to me to apply before plants were even up!

Steve, are Iron Phosphate and Methaldehyde part of common slug bait products, or are they something you purchase on their own? I see that my spell corrector doesn't like how I am spelling methaldehyde...

Thx! Mary

Mary,

Those are the active ingredients of different kinds of Slug Bait. Iron Phosphate is commonly sold as Sluggo. Methaldehyde is often sold under the label BugGetta, I think. Methaldehyde you need to be careful with, as it's very poisonous to pets. But recently they've added a bitter taste to methaldehyde products to make it less dangerous.

The important thing is to use either one sparingly. For Sluggo the recommendation is about 1 pound per 1000 square feet. That's not a lot. After the snow melt, the soil is still a little moist, so that's the perfect time to apply. I take a small amount (not even a handful) and scatter it around the crown of each plant. I've seen the little nasties hiding in there. Needless to say the leaves have to be removed, as Lin did above. Large leaves that are matted down are prime habitat for slugs.

Steve

Thank you, Steve! I will apply as you suggest. Nice reason to be out in the garden...although it's snowing here today, AGAIN. I do not have a huge slug problem, but when they do come, it's always along my front walk where I want my plants to look their best all season long.