I was just in my garden contemplating a similar issue. I am planning to give 40 plants to a friend who is turning 40. I was wondering if there were a way to do it w/o giving her slugs. My idea was to #1 dip the entire root/dirt in an ammonia solution. or #2 rinse all dirt from the roots then pot them up with fresh potting soil. As far as the left over hole being infected, any where in your bed there could be slugs/slug eggs. All you could do would be to treat it with sluggo or sprinkle the area liberally with that dirt they hate. I can't think of the name off hand.

Get some iron phosphate bait and sprinkle it around.
Slugs travel great distances....well relativly for slimey sluggy things.
Don't worry about moving plants.
Linda C

I just received a batch of hostas in the mail from a private seller in Illinois, and the leaves had so many slug holes in them that it looked like someone had taken a shotgun to the poor things. A few plants had major petiole damage as well, and some varieties had the actual slugs still on the plants! Needless to say, I was not amused, and almost packed the whole order up and returned it. However, since I got 17 varieties that I've been wanting to add to my garden, some of which are not commercially available, I decided to make the best of the situation. I stripped all the packing material off the plants and packed them all into a trough. I added 5 gallons of water and a bit more than a half gallon of bleach, weighted the plants down with a bucket so everything was underwater, and let them soak for about an hour. Then I dropped them roots first into buckets of clean water and rinsed the leaves off, let them sit overnight in the clean water, and potted them up. It's been a bit over a week and there is no further slug damage, but these plants will remain potted and quarantined for at least another week. Then before planting I will sprinkle them liberally with diatomaceous earth. They are going in a brand new area of the garden, so even if some super slug survived, my regular hostas won't be damaged.

dhaven--wow that was one big mess you found yourself in. But it sounds like you conquered your problem. But why Hilex instead of ammonia or vinegar as the latter is what most people use for killing slugs. Also how do you use that DE? Does it kill slugs or is it just hard for them to crawl over. Thanks for your input. Arcy, what did you end up doing with your 40 plants? I'm not sure I want to de-dirt my plant as it's a big clump and would be so much easier just to drop in a hole. Anyway, tomorrow I am buying some Sluggo and DE, and I will then plan my attack!!!! Mary

The birthday isn't for another month so I am in the planning stages. If I start too early I have pots to babysit, and I hate that. I am off to Fleet Farm to see if they have iron phosphate or diatomacious dirt, in bulk. I CANNOT afford commercially packaged sluggo, anymore.

I would take a big pail, put a lot of water in it and a little dish liquid--I use Palmolive. Then I would put in the plant -- not for a long time, 10 - 15 min.

Dish liquid makes bugs/slugs unable to "hold their breath" because it's a surfactant. Air can't stick to the animal's skin.So they drown, quickly.

If there are slugs on the plant, they should die & either stay behind in the bottom of the bucket or become obvious enough for you to see them & remove.

Man dhaven,that was one big mess to find yourself in.
I always wash all soil off any hosta i buy,just for that reason,it takes awhile to get all the soil off, i spray with a heavy water spray,turning the hosta often, to make sure i get all the soil,then i let the poor baby rest after such a hard shower,and plant it after that.
One time i did bring home LOTS of slugs,and their eggs,it was a hard lesson to learn,i would much rather get bare roots from some one,at least that way, you know what you are getting.
I hope you got every thing under control,i don't envy you that problem.
I too, am interested in this iron Phosphate,what can you tell me about it?
Would it be organic in nature?
cAROL

Greenthumbz--Bleach instead of vinegar or ammonia partially because it was at hand, since I keep it around to sterilize tools between diggings. Vinegar and ammonia are okay for spritzing on slugs, but these plants were getting a total emersion bath for an hour, and I didn't want them either pickled or burned. Bleach will also kill off most if not all of the eggs.

On using the DE, here is part of an email I sent to someone earlier this week who had a terrible slug infestation.

Okay, now to solve your slug problem quickly, cheaply, and organically, three things I strive for in my garden at all times. Go to your local feed store (as in horse and cattle feed) or your local pool supply store, and ask for a large bag of diatomaceous earth. You want the pure stuff, NOT the kind with any added chemicals, or the pelleted kind, just the straight, unadulterated, powdered diatomaceous earth. This is composed of the microscopic skeletal remains of tiny sea creatures, and viewed under a microscope it is very spiky and sharp. Without a microscope, it looks like talcum powder. If a slug touches it, the tiny particles work into its body and kill it. But itÂs harmless to pets, birds, and most other wildlife. It will kill fleas and sowbugs, too, by blocking their breathing apparatus, so it may also do in some of the smaller insects, but mostly itÂs just fatal for slugs. In my garden earthworms are not bothered by DE.

Now find yourself one of those parmesan cheese shakers that you see at the local pizza place, or a fine sieve with a handle, or even an empty talcum powder container and fill it with the DE. Shake it around the base of every plant, very close to the base and make a ring around the plant 2 or three inches wide. For plants that are already infested with the slimy critters, shake some right down into the crown of the plant. Then if you are feeling really ambitious, you can also put a line a couple of inches wide around the perimeter of each bed to prevent any more slugs from crawling in. You will want to pull any mulch back from the base of the hostas before applying the DE.

I did this in some of my beds 20+ years ago, and still donÂt have any sort of a major slug problem, and I live in the country and have 12 acres of totally naturalized landÂslug heaven. I havenÂt gotten around to doing the newer beds yet, but by now my toad population is such that they deal effectively with most of the slugs. Rain will wash the DE into the soil, and partially off the plants, but there is still enough residue to keep the slugs away, even though it's not readily visible. If you have a really severe problem, you might want to spread the DE around a second time in about a month, then just use it on individual plants that might still have passengers.

Feed stores carry DE because itÂs an effective and safe way to deworm sheep, cattle, dogs, horses, and alpacas. Pool supply stores carry it because itÂs used in pool filters. The feed stores are more likely to have or be able to get the pure product, whereas pool supply stores usually stock the stuff with extra chemicals that you donÂt want on your hostas. Both places should be able to easily order a 40 or 50 pound bag for you, and although itÂs probably gone up in price since I last bought it, that size used to be about $10.

Hope that helps. It's been almost two weeks now, and the new hostas don't have any new slug damage, so the bleach soak did the trick.

dHaven--Thank you so much for the above info. The DE sounds like a very natural way to control slugs. I"m thinking that Fleet Farm might carry it--I'll look tomorrow. I got a kick out of you not wanting to "pickle" your plants! I always look forward to your informative posts. You are so generous with your knowledge. Mary

Mary - I got my DE from a pool supply store, but I seem to remember seeing it this spring at the Home Depot near me. Maybe near the water features areas.

Paul

Soaking in water alone can also help - the slugs often just come up to the surface and then you can pick them off.

If you are moving from an area with slugs to one without, I bet the reason the other spot doesn't have them is that it is just inhospitable to slugs. Otherwise it would already have them. Like mentioned, get a little slug bait and sprinkle it around both areas and that should help a lot.