They do make slug poisons that are available from places the Home Depot and Lowes, as well as many garden shops. These are usually small granules that you sprinkle around and once the slugs eat these they die. Traps with some beer will also work.

Jim...
I had problems with slugs & snails last year - read using crushed egg shells & coffee grounds help, been trying it & so far so good... :-)
Good luck

Beer works wonders!

I had a slug infestation, and tried the beer-solution first:
I buried 4-5 small containers (jello-ish) to the rim, one in each flowerbed and around the garden, and filled almost full (used regular Bud...)
Next morning: Slug holocoust!

I did this two night in a row, then I did a li'l slug-hunt (looked under debris, rocks etc) & threw the ones I found to the birds - and it took almost a month before I saw any slimy trails again :)

The garden smelled a bit funny, tho'...!

BTW, have any of you noticed slugs or snails to be a problem on ferns? I imagine it depends on your location and on the ferns used, but in Indiana I never saw evidence of slug or snail damage on greenhouse or outdoor plants. Seems like it was the soft watery plants (e.g., hostas) that'd suffer from attack by gastropods...

Patrick Alexander

First, yes I have seen ferns being eaten, though I am not sure what does it - my yard boasts cutworms, slugs, and occasionally weevils as well. Cutworms are easy to find at the base of the plant, and slugs - as brightyblack says, vigilance while puttering in the yard is one of the best solutions (keep an eye out for slugs themselves and for clusters of slug eggs - about 10-20 traslucent orbs about 1/16th inch each or less - and nighttime hunts are great. Just look on the leaves that are being eaten, pluck the culprits and squish. I tried the beer too and it worked - but it also captured several beneficial ground beetles, which broke my heart, so I stopped that. Crushed eggshells have to be used en masse, it has to be an unbroken wall of shells, not just scattered.

I'd begin by planting the thing, and see if anything happens. You may not need to do anything.