I've heard that an effective slug trap can be made by burying a small container like a dixie cup into the ground so that only a half inch or so of the rim is above the soil level. Pour in some beer to the soil level. The slugs drop in, have a quick drink, pass out and drown, reportedly. Don't know if ashes deter them but they do add a bit of phosphorus. But the description of your plant's damage sounds more like rabbits or voles. Doubtful it would be hornworms on such small plants but they would put a serious dent in your foliage, down to the ribs.

The bottom of the plant being devoured sounds like a varmint problem, not a slug problem. Slugs will leave a tell-tale trail of slime, it's sorta sparkly--like an oil slick on a wet road. Slugs like to eat leaves and tender stems, they don't dig up plants, well, I've never seen it.

Just the same slugs are always going to happen, you can reduce their numbers, but it is impossible to completely remove them from your garden. I'll paste in a link with slug info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Slugs and Snails

Yeah, I have only had slug problems with my lettuce, but slugs seem to prefer the soft parts of the plant.

I have tried the beer solution for slugs. I have read that a million times now, so it must work for some people, but it didn't for me. Maybe I did it wrong.

If you're really worried about slugs, get some Sluggo. It's iron-based instead of copper-based, and it's far, far, more effective than the useless copper-based treatments like Snarol.

thanks for the information. I will try your suggestions
Cheers
Alan

Get agricultural diatomaceous earth and spread it around the plants. When the slugs attempt to cross it, the tiny little shards disembowel them (yay!). You can also spray them with soapy water--that dissolves them instantly (yay!).

The beer or dough bait didn't work for me. Sluggo is very expensive and needs to be replied. So does the diatomaceous earth but you get 50 lbs of that for what you pay for a small container of Sluggo.

Someone mentioned on one of these posts to use mashed up egg shells and that it would cut them to ribbons as they try to cross, eggs anyone.

Sluggo is absolutely great stuff and lasts for about a month. It's non poisonous to pets, birds and the rest of the natural world and is OK for organic gardening (it's a mined product). There are generic forms of iron phoshate which work fine and are not as expensive but I think the original is worth the price - slugs just disappear.

I don't think I would call Sluggo safe for pets. I used it last year and after a $1100 vet bill, tossed it. I can easily ID sluggo as the problem because I put it down and 2 hours later I was at the vet. Be careful of what you put down.

This year, I'm just squashing them as I find them.

Bill