For years I've been using Iron Phosphate coated in a slug bate. It is sold as Sluggo & Escar-Go and other brands. It is safe for birds, pets, me, etc.

And since it's made of iron phosphate, it dissolves into something the plants can actually use.

Needs to be reapplied after rain or much watering.

Thanks!! I had no idea, I had thought these were poisons...
goes to show I should read the labels!
:)

There was a study in Hawaii that found that coffee can repel slugs. They used it as a spray and it kept slugs away. Extremely strong coffee could even kill them. It's the caffeine that does it, so it can't be decaf.

If I remember, coffee grounds used as mulch help repel them, also.

Well, as I noted in a different thread I have been using tuna fish cans with beer and the slugs LOVE it. I put them out in the evening and collect slug carcasses in the morning.
Depends on when your doggies are outside though. Wouldn't want them lapping that up!

my boyfriend has tons of coffee grounds he usually tosses into the back ... I think I'll try that first.

Thanks all of you...much more fun than going to pick a strawberry only to find a slug has hollowed it out!

gross!

Yes. I hate to waste beer. However, I've been using some skunked beer that one of my tiny ones so helpfully brought out of the mini-fridge to warm up for us in her special hiding place, unbeknownst to me.

J., if you want to check out a link or 2, here are ones on Caffeine Stops Slugs and beer or sugar-water and yeast mixtures in slug traps.

I've tried the beer technique before but like Lnmca, found it disturbing to see the beer go under a board and left out in the dark. But, please note - yeast and sugar in water lures the slugs, too!

digitS'

Thanks for the links, David.

I vaguely remembered that the discovery was accidental, but I forgot that they were trying to test it on frogs.

One thing to note is that the concentration that killed 92% of the slugs was 2%. An average drip coffee is about .05% caffeine. Espresso is probably about .2%, so we're looking at something that's 10 times as strong as espresso and 40 times as strong as drip coffee.

But I've read that even in smaller doses (like regular coffee) repels the slugs.

BP, there's some links at the bottom of that page to more info on slugs, including slugs and coffee.

You know quite a bit about coffee . . . since they are saying that caffeine is highly water soluble, doesn't that mean that it would be washed out of the used grounds? And, therefore, J may not have good success in repelling slugs around her strawberries?

Would fresh grounds work?

I have found that rotenone/pyrethrins spray also repels slugs but that may not be what j wants to use.

Steve's digits

Well, I started with the coffee grounds from a small-ish french press and am thinking of going to the coffee shop to ask for their used grounds. I might even buy a bag of folgers...or does it come in a can?

Nah, not to thrilled about the pyrethrins, but I may try the beer or yeast/sugar if the strawberries don't start ending up in my kitchen instead of the sluggy's tummy!

I don't mind a waste of beer, actually, since I don't drink, but I hate to buy it if the coffee we already have is right here and ready to use.

I've heard somewhere that drip coffee actually has more caffeine than espresso and that light roast has more than dark roast. Also, I've heard that there is such a wide fluctuation of caffeine levels that it can be very difficult to know exactly what amount of caffeine one is getting. I kind of doubt they even know for sure!!! I hear it told a different way every other year :)

Thanks for all the tips, I plan to try them all, mostly, to see if I can't squeeze in some berries before it decides to get cold...

:)

"You know quite a bit about coffee . . . since they are saying that caffeine is highly water soluble, doesn't that mean that it would be washed out of the used grounds? And, therefore, J may not have good success in repelling slugs around her strawberries?"

You raise a good point. I think caffeine is very water soluble. In fact, I think I read someplace that some coffee companies use water to create decaf. It may be that it's the texture of the grounds that bothers the slugs. Or I may be offbase. I think I remember reading that the grounds repel slugs, but it could have been anecdotal, too.

If you don't want to buy beer for a slug trap, I think it's the yeast in the beer that attracts them. I just looked at the articles linked above, and the second one talks about using either beer or sugar water and yeast for the traps.

I had always thought that dark roasts had more caffeine in them, because they tasted stronger. It turns out that they're darker because they're roasted more and the heat destroys some of the caffeine, so the light roasts do have more caffeine.

well, I read the links and did a bit of research on the study and now I am not so sure about coffee. It has to be strong and if I use the grounds in a moist area, which this spot is, then they could become a mold problem. I think I'll just get the Sluggo and a can o' beer :)

Thanks to all of you for helping me figure this all out.

yay, something I actually know :-) The only reason drip coffee has more caffeine than espresso is because espresso is served in demitasse cups (usually only 1-2 ounces) and drip coffee is usually 8 ounces and up. If you had the same volume of espresso and drip coffee, espresso has more caffeine; because the oils are absorbed by a paper filter used in a drip maker. I'm not sure on the light roast versus dark roast, but the longer you roast coffee the more essential oils are cooked off so you lose a lot of the nuances of flavor with a darker roasted coffee. (oops just saw bp's post)

There are two ways to make coffee decaf - the most common process is through a chemical process and the other is a swiss water process and the caffeine is removed while the coffee bean is green, before they roast it. Then they take the caffeine that is removed and sell it to companies that make energy drinks, etc.

Dafy - who in another life worked for the evil corporate empire that has a mermaid in their logo :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Swiss Water Process

Thank you J (for asking these questions which turn into diversions :o),

I like coffee!! Seldom feel a bit sluggish after a cuppa, cuppa, cuppa!

Sluggo works great for the greenhouses in the Spring. The slugs really like basil especially and since I grow a lot and it stays in there in the heat a long time . . . they get quite a few shots at it so I need to take quite a few shots at them.

Caffeine must be found in lots of plants . . . tea, cocoa, etc. etc (maybe!). Like salicylates (aspirin, etc.) are in darn near every plant, it seems. Could there be a plant which acts as a slug repellant?!?

Now it seems to me that if slugs are attracted to beer . . . we could spray it on the weeds as kinda left-handed herbicide . . .

Oh boy, must be about time to put this coffee mug down and switch to a beer glass!

diiiiggggiiiiiitS'

me thinks you might have had too much coffee already!!

yeah, somehow I went to McGukkin and forgot not only how to spell it but also to buy the Sluggo!!

that's fine, we have Ace up here, but still...

I wonder if there is a plant to repel those little squishy monsters? I'm going to do some research later today and if I find anything good, I'll post it here.

Have a great weekend, all!!