Catch slugs in the fall -- before they lay eggs in your garden

(NOVEMBER 4, 2022) Oregon has many slugs. Gardeners don't like them. Slugs eat plants.

Slugs eat at night. They hide from the sun. They're often in the shade or under things.

Slugs like the fall weather in Oregon. It's not too hot. It's not too cold. And it is wet.

Slugs also lay eggs in the fall. The eggs hatch in the winter. Then more slugs are ready to eat new garden plants in the spring.

Oregon State University has ideas to control slugs in a garden. Do these things in the fall, they say. Then slugs can't lay eggs in the winter. Here is what to do:

• • • Clean the garden. Pull weeds. Raise pots off the ground.

    • Water in the morning. This keeps things dry at night.

    • Use beer traps. Slugs like beer, but they cannot swim.

    • Don't use salt. Salt can hurt plants.

    • Get frogs, ground beetles, snakes, or even a duck. They all eat slugs.

    • Put a strip of copper around a pot. Slugs won't cross it.

    • Catch the slugs and remove them by hand.