Slugs and snails are a lot alike, so you can find both of these pests on your porch, deck, or other outdoor structures at any time. But let’s face it – slugs are no fun to have on your porch.
Slugs are unpleasant and can bring along tons of their friends, which means they can easily inundate the porch before you know it. If you’re interested in keeping slugs off your porch, here are a few easy ways to do it.
1. Keep Your Porch Dry and Well-Ventilated
Slugs love moist and cool environments. To the best of your ability, make sure the porch is dry and very well-ventilated.
The ventilation helps keep the porch dry, and the drier the porch is, the less attractive it will be to the slugs. Keeping the porch away from the rain is one way to do this, and while that may be difficult, it is certain to work well.
2. Use White Vinegar
White vinegar dissolves slugs, but you have to make sure you don’t spray it on them while they’re eating your plants because vinegar can kill plants.
Some people use vinegar that’s undiluted, but you can also use a 1:1 vinegar and water solution if you prefer. Both should work fine, but just remember that the mixture has to be sprayed directly on the slugs in order for it to work.
3. Spray Salt on the Porch
Salt is cheap and easy to get, and because it is a good dehydrator, you can pour it directly on your slugs and it kills them quickly
You can also spread salt around the outside of the porch to keep the slugs away. Just remember that salt will absorb a lot of moisture, which is good for keeping slugs away but it can also make things a little too dry. Because of this, you should use it in moderation only.
4. Trap the Slugs With Their Favorite Foods
You can easily set up traps to catch the slugs so you can dispose of them, and you might be surprised by some of their favorite foods.
Slugs love grapefruit and they love beer. If you choose grapefruit, use the rinds for the best results, and you can also place beer in a small trap that will attract the slugs and make it impossible for them to move. Slugs become intoxicated by it before they drown!
5. Put Coffee Grounds in the Soil
For some reason, slugs hate coffee. No one knows if it’s the smell of the coffee or something else, but if you sprinkle coffee grounds (make sure it isn’t decaf!) in cracks and crevices, in the soil surrounding the garden, or in a pot or container, it will repel the slugs and keep them away for good.
6. Sprinkle Sand or Something Similar Around the Garden
As you can imagine, slugs hate slithering across anything that is prickly or sharp because it hurts their bodies.
Sand, coffee grounds and crushed egg shells work well. Anything prickly or sharp will work to repel the slugs, including sharp stones, thistles, or cactus.
Why Do I Keep Getting Slugs on My Porch?
Keep in mind that slugs love moisture and coolness, so if your porch is cool and damp, it’s only natural that they’ll head in that direction.
Slugs also have a very keen sense of smell, so if you’re outside snacking and leave behind traces of food, they’ll know immediately that you did so and will come looking for it. The drier your porch is and the less food you spill on it, the fewer problems you’ll have with slugs.
What Is the Best Deterrent for Slugs?
Many products are proven to deter slugs, and different methods work differently for different people. Many of the experts agree that diatomaceous earth, also known as DE, is one of the most effective ways to deter slugs..
One of the reasons it works so well is because DE contains silica, and silica is too sharp for the slugs to go any further. DE also makes the slugs shrivel up and die, and it works quickly to boot.
How Do I Get Rid of Snails on My Porch?
Getting rid of snails usually means choosing one of two methods: deterring them so they don’t come near your porch, or killing them once they get there.
To deter snails, you can remove bricks and logs from your garden and keep your shrubs pruned so that potential shelters are eliminated.
You can also grow plants that naturally repel slugs, such as fennel, lavender, marigolds, sage, rosemary, and black-eyed Susans.
To kill snails, you can use items such as vinegar or salt, or introduce natural predators that will eat them, including nematodes, toads, hedgehogs, moles, beetles, and ants, to name a few.
Does Vinegar Stop Slugs?
Vinegar does indeed kill slugs, mainly due to its acidity. The only challenge is that you have to spray the slugs directly with the vinegar for it to work, and some people don’t like to get that close to them.
Vinegar does a great job of killing slugs, along with snails and numerous other pests.
What Is the Best Natural Deterrent for Slugs?
There are numerous natural deterrents that work to keep slugs away. These include eggshells, seashells, coffee grounds, recycled pellets made out of wool waste, and even certain plants. The latter include chives, garlic, and lawn chamomile. You can also use organic slug pellets, which are made out of iron phosphate instead of metaldehyde.
How to keep slugs off the porch | Summary
Remember that most of the things that work to get rid of snails will also work on slugs since they are so similar. Whether you choose to deter them or kill them, you’ll find that you really don’t have to use chemicals unless you really want to.
This is because there are numerous natural methods that work great to get rid of the slugs on your porch and in your garden.
I am an accredited practicing dietitian, experienced gardener and a dedicated cook. I love writing and sharing my experience so you can learn from my successes and mistakes.