hi bill

you are RIGHT...worst year ever for slugs...

I have used Sluggo for years with good luck...this year was just too much for it alone...

2 nights ago I went out with my scissors (because I already used all the vinegar and ammonia I had in the house) and started chopping them in half...counted 500,,,,hope I didn't just DOUBLE my problem...lol...

yesterday I loaded up with Ammonia and went out and sprayed another 659...some hostas were so infested I just saturated the plant and hopefully got more of the little buggers that were hiding...

the rule,,,i think,,,,is 10 - 20% Ammonia then 80 - 90% water...spray and watch em die...

good luck with your herd of slugs,,,

jill

So ammonia doesn't hurt the plant? I've never heard of this trick before.

So ammonia doesn't hurt the plant? I've never heard of this trick before.

its pH ... basically irritates the little chuckers skin.. to the point that it slimes itself to death .... dessication at its meanest....

every one you kill this fall .... is one hundred less next spring.. full fall cleanup really helps ...

ken

Very dilute bleach, probably 1-2 % directly on old leaves will also kill slugs very effectively.

If you really have nothing else to do in the evenings, use an old fashioned salt shaker; one-two GRAINS only of salt on a slug and you will see how fast they move, then slime themselves to death.

Hosta lovers have no shame!

Please be careful with any ammonia/acid bleach solutions when mixing or spraying as these can cause serious eye injury.

Best to do it on a still humid night when you can push the wand and spray into the leaves and near the soil.

Headlamps sure make this job easier.

Over the last 5 nights I have cut or sprayed 4754 slugs and they are still going strong...

jill

Hi, I must admit I've checked out the forum often, but finally joined after reading this post. Try adding Frank's Red Hot sauce or Louisiana Hot sauce or some such to your ammonia/ water solution for slug control. Spray in the spring as pips are emerging, then again a few weeks later, when leaves are nicely unfurling. I am not sure of exact amount, but I'm thinking around 1/4 cup per 10 cup solution. This will also work with rabbits. The hot sauce and ammonia do not hurt the plants, and there's not much that will have a taste of the hot sauce and come back for more, if done in correct proportions. I will try to find out exact amount of hot sauce and let you know.

I am for throw-pellets-and-forget. I have just cleaned out a new 50x3 ft hosta bed at the back fence and touched many times leaves which underneath had slimy dead slugs, felt good.

I use one part ammonia to ten parts water. I used to use a more diluted mix but found it wasn't killing the beefier slugs. Someone on another board did a more concentrated mix, like 1:5, and it did damage her hosta foliage for that year. My 1:10 ratio doesn't damage, but then I don't often spray the leaves, unless I see a slug there. I do spray around the petioles at times, and have done the Spring soil drench, but get too freaked out at the worms that come writhing out of the ground when you do that. As has already been mentioned, the ammonia spray only works when you make direct contact with the slugs or eggs....just spraying it on naked leaves does not prevent later damage.