As a gardener, I know how frustrating it can be to see slugs munching away on the leaves and flowers of beautiful plants like the African corn lily. These slimy pests can do a lot of damage overnight, leaving behind their telltale slime trails and holes in foliage
If you’ve noticed slugs snacking on your African corn lilies, don’t reach for the pesticides just yet. There are several organic, non-toxic ways to get rid of these common garden pests while protecting your flowers. Here are my top 8 natural methods for effective slug control on African corn lilies:
1. Handpick at Night
One of the simplest ways to control slugs is to head out to the garden in the evening, armed with gloves and a flashlight Slugs tend to come out at night to feed, so handpicking them off plants is easy and effective Drop any slugs you find into a bucket of soapy water to dispatch them.
2. Use Beer Traps
Slugs are attracted to the yeasty scent of beer. You can take advantage of this by sinking small containers of beer into the soil around your African corn lilies. The rim of the container should be level with the ground. Slugs will crawl in for a sip and drown.
3. Sprinkle Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds seem to deter slugs from crawling over them. Spread spent coffee grounds around the base of your African corn lily plants to create a physical and smell barrier. Replenish after rain or watering.
4. Install Copper Tape
Copper gives slugs an electric shock when they slime across it. Wrap copper tape around pots or garden beds to create an effective slug barrier. Be sure there are no plant bridges the slugs can use to bypass the tape.
5. Apply Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is made from fossilized diatoms that have sharp edges. Sprinkle this powdered abrasive around plants to cut and dehydrate slugs that attempt to cross over it. Reapply after rain.
6. Use Slug Predators
Encourage slug predators like birds, frogs, and ground beetles by creating suitable habitats for them in your garden. They will help control the slug population naturally.
7. Collect Egg Shells
Crushed eggshells spread around your African corn lilies can deter slugs from approaching. The sharp fragments are uncomfortable for the soft slugs to slither over.
8. Inspect at Night with a Flashlight
Go out after dark with a flashlight to manually remove any slugs on or near your plants. Look under leaves, mulch, and in moist hiding spots where slugs like to spend the day.
For best results, I recommend combining several of these organic methods to protect your African corn lilies from slug damage. Small steps like tidying up debris in the garden, reducing moisture, and attracting predators can also help make your landscape less slug-friendly overall. With some persistence, you can enjoy your beautiful African corn lily flowers slug-free!
Slugs, Snails and Gardeners
Slugs and snails are the bane of the gardener’s life. They seem to lie in wait until the first green shoots appear….or the moment when you have finished planting your display of beautiful bedding plants – and then attack! The tell-tale signs are slimy trials across the surface of the soil and holes eaten in leaves. If conditions are right, slugs and snails can demolish a whole plant in a very short time. They love damp conditions and are especially active after a spell of rain.
Does it matter? Both are a nuisance to keen gardeners! You can tell the difference by checking the type of damage caused and where it occurs. Both leave slimy trails, but snails are great climbers, so if the plants in your favourite hanging basket are being eaten, it’s probably a snail at work. Snails are also choosy eaters, preferring the softer tissue between leaf ribs. If you spot the skeleton remains of a plant leaf, you know that a snail is the culprit. Slugs tend to operate at ground level and lurk in damp, shady places.
- Mulch Mulch Mulch! The best thing is using mulch, gravel and bark around your plants as slugs and snails can’t move on the dry surfaces. They also will avoid crossing scattered eggshells, straw, ash from wood fires (only use small amounts) and coffee granules. Wool pellets act in the same way as well as adding in nutrients to your soil.
- Cloches and copper tape can help protect potted plants from intruders.
- Alternatively, attract slugs and snails using homemade ‘beer traps’. A cup of stale beer with a stone mostly covering the top will attract and trap them for you to remove later.
- Protect fresh new buds and young plants as they are vulnerable to be munched. Once established, they’ll be out of reach.
- Go out and look, removing them when you see them. They love damp conditions and are especially active after a spell of rain. First thing in the morning and in evenings are also good times to hunt for slugs!
- Encourage other wildlife to your garden. Birds, frogs, toads and hedgehogs are natural predators and will benefit the biodiversity in your garden.
As a general rule, choose plants that are/have:
- Woody Shrubs
- Established Plants
- Spikey Plants
- Silver Foliage
- Hairy Leaves
- Aromatic Leaves
- Hardy
A liberal scattering of plug pellets may seem the obvious solution, but many gardeners prefer to use more environmentally-friendly methods:
Ash. Wood ash or cinders make a good protective barrier round plants, but avoid direct contact with the foliage. The barrier needs to be continuous and at least 5cm wide.
Beer traps. Sink a small plastic pot into the soil and half fill with stale beer. Cover with a flat stone or similar. Slugs are attracted by the smell of stale beer, fall in and drown. Commercially made beer traps are available.
Copper tape. Self-adhesive tape can be wrapped around larger pots. A cheaper version of solid copper rings can be made by cutting a ring of plastic from a discarded flower pot and wrapping copper tape round it.
Egg shells. Crushed egg shells create a jagged barrier which slugs and snails seem reluctant to cross. The decomposing shells work as a soil improver.
Hunt-the-slug. Work out where all the hiding places loved by slugs and snails are in your garden. Create the right conditions: damp, cold and shady, using old tiles, rotting timber, wet newspaper etc. —then round up and dispose of the pests.
Hand picking. A sure way to clear your garden of slimy pests – you’ll be amazed how many you collect. Ensure to wear gloves for this task. Work out where all the hiding places loved by slugs and snails are in your garden. Create the right conditions: damp, cold and shady, using old tiles, rotting timber, wet newspaper etc. —then round up and remove the pests.
Nematodes. Naturally-occurring micro-organisms which are slug parasites and are present in most organic garden soils. ‘Nemaslug’ is a commercially available way of introducing nematodes to protect a specific area of your garden from slug or snail damage.
Sand or grit. Another form of protective barrier. Decorative grits and gravels are also used to show off plants to best advantage.
Slug pellets. Various brands of environmentally-friendly pellets are now readily available.
Spiky plants. After pruning, place spiky or thorny cuttings round your plants—a great way to deter cats too!
Wool pellets. A fairly recent introduction to the commerial market, these take advantage of molluscs dislike of the wools texture and create a fibrous barrier that they wont cross. Plants need to be surrounded by the pellets that expend during wet weather and create a mat around your plant.
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How to Get Rid of SLUGS & SNAILS
FAQ
How do I get rid of slugs around my flowers?
How do you get rid of corn slugs?
Do slugs eat cornflowers?
How do you keep slugs away from plants?
Use crushed eggshells, nutshells, sharp sand, grit, pine needles or thorny cuttings to create protective barriers. Use them to make a circle around a plant that has been affected by munching. Slugs find the gritty edges uncomfortable against their soft flesh. You can use straw as a barrier for slugs in a garden 4.
Does cornmeal kill slugs?
Cornmeal is cheaper, but may not attract as many slugs. Put a tablespoon or two of cornmeal in a jar and lay it on its side. Keep the cornmeal dry, and it will kill slugs by expanding inside them. Lure slugs with humane traps. Slugs will gather in shady, moist areas, such as underneath wooden planks, flower pots, or cardboard boxes.
How to get rid of slugs naturally?
Apart from using beer to attract and kill slugs, you could try other baits to get rid of slugs naturally. For example, you could mix molasses or cornmeal with water and pour the solution into slug traps. However, there is no evidence for the effectiveness of these homemade slug baits.
Does spraying slugs kill a plant?
The spray literally melts the pests before your eyes. Gardeners who use this method believe that the dead slug bodies help deter other slugs from moving into the area. As long as you’re not spraying zillions of slugs every night, the solution shouldn’t affect plantings.