Slugs are great eaters of soft and tasty plants. While there are chemicals that rid you of slugs, I've had pretty good luck with slug traps that you load with beer. They seem to enjoy Coors Lite quite a bit.....(insert your favorite Coors Lite/American beer joke here)...... The little buggers drink themselves to death. **grin**

I included a link to one company selling these traps so you know of what I speak.

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardeners Supply - Slug-X Trap

That reminds me of my dear Grandfather. He fell into a whiskey vat and drowned. He fought off three rescue attempts before he finally went under.

Sorry.

If you have chipmunks about, you might want to put some rocks around the base of your plants. They used to dig my Basil up on me.

Leaf Minors? Tiny bugs that like to chew little holes in all the leaves. Give the basil a spray of neem.

Slugs will do that alright.

Lots of things like to eat basil. The best solution would be to keep a close eye out for the culprit, and try to bring in some predators; mantises, lacewings and ladybugs are more effective than any pesticide you'd ever dare expose yourself to.