From Derrick:
The slugs are attacking -- again. I have basil plants, which I'd hoped would have been immune because they're in pots. No such luck, as the slimy trails attest. Does beer really work? Salt?
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Slugs! What to do?
Salt will kill slugs but it also kills your plants, so rule that solution out. The use of beer for attracting and drowning them is successful for some gardeners.
There are commercial slug bait products on the market which are effective. Also the use of diatomaceous earth (DE) around your plants will control slugs.
Linda
This may be a tall tale but I've heard that copper pipes on the ground will protect plants. Apparently they generate an electrical charge in slugs that crawl over them. I tried this with some slug-eaten hostas and it seemed to work. -- Craig
I don't know what K-State has to say about copper and slugs, but I can attest to its effectiveness in stopping them.
I do not care for baits such as beer or iron phosphate pellet products. I don't see the point in attracting pests to an area where they don't already exist. I much prefer to use a barrier, and I really like copper. I used coffee grounds for awhile with inconclusive results -- and our coffee grounds are espresso roast with a fair amount of residual caffeine.
For years, I looked for a form of copper that was easy to use in the garden, and a few years ago I found the perfect solution while browsing through a Lee Valley Tools catalog. I know -- I just posted a link to their site for another question, and no, I do not work for them!
This is Copper Blocker, a copper screen mesh material that is extremely easy to use and in my experience, very effective against slugs:
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=51241&cat=2,51555
It isn't cheap, but it's reusable. In the long run, it will probably cost less than iron phosphate products like Escar-Go or Sluggo.
Caffeine is poisonous to slugs and snails. They will avoid it. Sprinkle dried coffee grounds throughout the area where the plant emerges from the ground, and they should stay away. Even used coffee grounds should have sufficient caffeine to keep the slugs and snails away. Good luck!