DIY Slug Trap Tricks! {How to Get Rid of Slugs and Snails}

Got a slug or snail problem?  Then it’s time to try these DIY slug trap tricks!

Slugs and snails can wreak havoc on your garden… but these simple DIY Slug Trap Tricks and Snail Tips will help keep them away from your plants!

Now I grew up in Washington state with enormous slimy slugs slithering all over my yard.  Ew, right?  From that childhood experience I can tell you one thing about slugs.  Slugs are not my friends!

I’m not the only one that’s tired of slugs, either.  Frugal friend Melissa asked: “Got any home grown tips for killing slugs?  The slugs out here in Washington are huge… and they’re everywhere!  And they are literally destroying my flower bed… any home grown tips for getting rid of them?”

Don’t just let those snails and slugs eat your beautiful plants.  Get some help to repel slugs and snails with these DIY Slug Trap ideas!  Check out what your frugal friends and I have done to get rid of slugs and snails in our yards…

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DIY Slug Trap + Snail Traps

Oliver: If you do not want a bunch of dead slugs in your garden I put crushed eggshells at the base of my plants. The eggshells act as razors to the slugs.

Mary Lou said: “I save my egg shells, break them a bit and toss them in the garden. The slugs get cut with the shells so they stay away. Gives lots of calcium to the soil also.”

Liz said: “Make a cornmeal trap. Put a tablespoon or two of cornmeal in a jar and lay it on its side wherever there is slug activity. The slugs will be attracted to the scent, but the texture of the meal is too harsh and will kill them.  Leave the jar out overnight or for several hours; when you spot the slugs in the jar, you can dispose of them permanently to remove them from your garden.”

Karen said: “If you have slugs around your hostas plants, put sand around them and they wont bother them.”

Reba said: “I live in western Pennsylvania, and I have had a problem with slugs, UGH!  I found that using any one of these works well to chase them away from your plants: table salt, ashes from any wood, sand. They cannot cross any of these, it burns their tummy! These will keep them away.  Just re-apply as needed, the sand will stay longer and won’t dissolve with watering.”

Amber said: “I remember my Grandmother sprinkling salt on slugs.”

Stephanie said: “Pour salt directly on the slugs, they almost instantly dry up and die.”

Shelia said: “Yes, salt still works on slugs.”

Dawn said: “A water and salt mixture will kill them…but you would have to spray each one individually. Not sure if that is helpful or not…but the salt causes them to dry up.”

Mahala said: “To get rid of slugs all you need is salt! Just sprinkle a little on their backs and that’s it. You can even sprinkle some where they lay or common areas they are seen too.”

Chris said: “You can put dry salt directly on them.  I used to get them at a house I lived at several years ago.  I would go out with a handful of table salt and sprinkle it right on them (ok, more like making a frenzied toss…  because I hate slugs! ew!) and they would shrivel up before my eyes. Gross, but effective!”

Cheryl said: “I know salt works on slugs, but make sure you don’t put too much, I used to live where we had TONS of snails and I just sprinkled salt on them and they die, and it’s cheap too.”

Marlena said: “I throw my used coffee grounds in the flowerbed. I cant see them, it helps the plants, and the best part…..slugs hate the grainy feeling! Win Win!”

Kristie said: “I use a mixture of ammonia, Murphy’s oil soap and water to kill slugs. Kills them in seconds and does no harm to my grass or plants. I just put about a cup of ammonia, couple tablespoons of the soap in a spray bottle and fill the rest of the way to the top with water. Go out in the morning when the slugs are heaviest and spray away. Couple of sprays, slug is dead. After I started doing this my slug population is not so huge. Love it!!”

Binny said: “Beer will kill slugs and snails.  Just put a shallow dish near the plants, fill it with beer and they go in and drown themselves. It works!  Salt works, too.”

Holly said: “My father used to put out metal pie plates with beer in them — slugs dry out in the alcohol. He never had a drink in his life and bought beer for the first time for slugs.”

Mary said: “If you have not tried putting beer out, try it. Slugs are bad in South Carolina. Take a can of the cheapest beer you can find and pour it into several old shallow pie pan. The slugs are attracted to the beer like it is a magnet. They crawl into the pan and die.”

Jewel said: “Put out a flower pot dish with high sides and fill with beer. Put it where you see the most slugs and wait. Slugs love the smell of beer and will fall in and drowned…maybe they get drunk on the smell, fall in and drowned, don’t know.  A slug will almost literally melt if sprinkled with salt.”

Danielle said: “If you use the suggested beer tip be sure to use deep slippery sided containers. One spring evening, my friend Marisa set out containers of beer to attract the slugs. It worked a charm!

When she came out in the morning on her way to work there were dozens of slugs in the pots. Grossed out, Marisa decided to deal with the slugs when she got home later in the day. But when she returned from work the pots were dry. No beer and the slugs were all gone. Apparently they’d had their beer fest, crawled out of the containers that were too shallow, and gone home to sleep off hangovers.”

Peggy said: “Just place several jar lids around the border and/or inside the garden bed. Add beer to the lids. There will be a surprise for you in the morning!”

Heather said: “Yup…the slugs will take their last drink in the beer. It totally works.”

Doni said: “Plant some plants in your garden or flower bed that do not attract slugs. There are lots of flowers and bulbs that do not attract slugs and bugs.”

Shari said: “Diatomaceous earth is the very best thing to use for slugs… you sprinkle it under your plants and the slugs get through it and they are gonners.  Diamatious earth is simply ground up shells.”

Jill said: “Save your eggshells. Rinse them, then crush them and sprinkle around the plant base.  They’re good for the soil, and it slices those little buggers right up!”

Dee said: “You can also place crushed egg shells around the garden beds. When they try to slither in they get cut and die or they just stay away altogether. Or, I just thought of this… try crushed egg shells mixed with salt!  Hehehe that seems really devious.”

Lynn said: “Killing slugs is easy – sprinkle a little salt on them. They will shrivel in front of your eyes! My grandma and I used to do it in her garden for a “fun time!”  For Snails, all you have to do is break their shell.  I saw a pin the other day about putting ground up eggshells around your plants to keep the slugs away, because they don’t like to climb over the rough eggshell. I put it out, and the birds came and ate the eggshells! Too funny!”

Sylvia said: “So here’s a different approach for slugs. I had a sick box turtle that had a badly cut front leg. I had to keep her inside to heal. She didn’t like the dry box turtle food from the pet store so I was trying to think of what she would be eating outside. I went out after dark and since we had tons of slugs, thought I would try one. Well, she went crazy. She gulped it down so fast, I went back out and got a couple more.

I started catching 2 or 3 every night. She was a little box turtle. After about 5 nights, suddenly I couldn’t find any more. We had way more than 15 on any given night and now there were none! I think those little critters sent out the word and they all skedaddled out of our yard.”

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So do you have any DIY Slug Trap Tricks or Snail Trap Ideas?

Share with us in the comments below…