Escar-go from Gardens Alive will get rid of your slugs quickly and completely.
At the link, there are several other methods that people swear by, such as beer, but I actually used Escar-go only twice and they were gone.

Best things is that Escar-go is safe for children, pets and the environment.

good luck,
ellen

Here is a link that might be useful: 13 Ways to Get Rid of Slugs

The person who discovered quick and complete for this part of the country would now be very wealthy indeed :(

Yes, the little creatures can find their way into the containers. In a damp Spring, they may be spending the day hiding under them, coming up and going in the ventilation openings at night. I bait around my deck where seed pots are placed, and when it begins to warm up will check seedling pots at night with a flashlight - armed with a spray bottle of ammonia/water, 1/4 ammonia, 3/4 water. Spritz any I find.

Sluggo is also a brand that uses iron phosphate and is safe to use. I keep my jugs/containers off the ground so slugs can't get in them. I have found them in containers on the ground, so I don't take chances. I know from experience that my garden beds are full of the little nasties, so I plan to treat the area at least twice, before I plant anything out.

oceanna---as morz said, you need to bait in this part of the country. just the way it is around here. now is a good time to do it.
duane

Thanks very much for your knowlegable answers!

I always bait around baby plants, though I've still lost quite a few to slugs anyway. Yes the slugs are horrid in the PNW. I was just wondering if they get into these containers and I see that they do, so I'll be checking and baiting. I was foolishly hoping you'd all say no these containers protect the seedlings. Ha! In my dreams, eh?

I do have Sluggo. Never tried the other things you mentioned.

I'm having a problem trying to think of how to get these up off the ground. In the back yard dogs would mess with them when they go out potty, and I have no picnic table. I was thinking I'd put them on the 1' wide strip of gravel I have around the house, on the side... but that's on the ground. I have a high deck, but the dogs go across it to go out.

So if you have dogs and no picnic table, where else did you put your planters?

I have some old screens - I put them under the containers and have had good luck using them.

Carrie

Not to sound stupid, but I have them on a corner of my front deck. It's my 1st year wintersowing, and I've never seen them around my potted plants, can they get up there?

Yes, they can certainly go vertically as well as horizontally. I sometimes put some containers on a table and have found slugs up on the table.

Baiting with iron phosphate works well for me. I put a tiny amount around the outside of the patio (not in or too close to containers!) in spring and that has helped a lot. I also use it in my flower beds before planting out. It doesn't take much product and lasts several weeks.

Karen

Iron phosphate doesn't last several weeks here, more like about 10 days with the amount of Spring rain we get.

Oceanna, I apply slug bait regularly, not just when I have seedlings out or in Spring. Fall in particular, when they are laying eggs, is a good time to keep bait out, to go on ammonia/water hunting trips, cut down on the breeding population. Most years I skip only January, this winter December too....Although I don't think the colder than normal weather did a lot to deter them. When we had the warmer heavy rains following our snow, I found slugs and cutworms alive and healthy when doing some leaf raking and cleanup from our storms.

I had some bronze fennel sprouted in a jug. Something has eaten them clean up. I didn't see any slugs, but I guess it could have been a hit and run. I did see a slug in one of my jugs.

In my last garden, 20 minutes south of here, we had slugs. Here we have slugs AND snails. Oh the luck.

Interesting about the screen. I wonder if they don't like the feel of it, or if they just haven't found seedlings yet? Is it metal screen or vinyl screen?

You betcha' slugs can climb into planters. Up stairs, too.

One day I went to let my Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier ladies back into the house after they'd been playing outside. One of them was just all freaked out in a complete tizzy. I discovered a slug hanging from her chest hair. I knocked it off her and she immediately settled down. I got a good laugh over it though. I never knew a dog would care!