How to keep slugs off my tomato & other plants?

Di
by Di

A slug ate up most of my tomato plant - I pulled off the slug and clipped the tomato plant & it grew back nicely until another slug got it - help?

  10 answers
  • Kelli L. Milligan Kelli L. Milligan on Sep 05, 2018

    My grandfather swears that a shallow bowl of beer works. Snails go into the beer.

  • Cindy Cindy on Sep 05, 2018

    Hi Di. I'm Cindy. Coffee will kill slugs and their cousin, snails. Just pour some in a spritz bottle and give those bugs some joe (aka coffee). Good luck with this.

  • William William on Sep 06, 2018

    Sink a few bowls or plates in the ground level with the surface. Fill the bowls/plates with (cheap) beer. The yeast attracts the slugs. They drink their fill and drown. Not their sorrows


    Anything you can make it uncomfortable for the slugs/snails to crawl on will deter them. A combination of solutions from everyone here should take care of them.


    Broken nutshells work in the same way as egg shells when getting rid of slugs. Break up the nutshells into small pieces, and create a protective barrier around your plants. Any slugs that come near your vegetables will soon turn the other way.


    Crushed egg shells work as a great home remedy of slugs. This is because slugs don’t like moving across sharp objects, although it isn’t not impossible for them to do, they just prefer not to. Break up the empty egg shells into small(ish) pieces and place around the flowers, plants, vegetables, and fruits you want to keep safe from slug damage.


    Ash and Cinders make a rough protective barrier, and the fine ash also acts as a desiccant that dries the slug out. Wood ash and cinders are preferable. Avoid direct contact with plants.


    Grit and Gravel. The sharp rasping edges of finely crushed ‘horticultural grit’ makes an excellent slug barrier. Coarser gravel is largely ineffective, other than for decorative purposes.


    Sandpaper. Cut rings of sandpaper and slip them round the stems of vulnerable plants.


    Sawdust makes a good coarse barrier around tender plants, also acting as a desiccant that dries the slug out. Hardwood sawdust is most effective, and some people recommend cedar or oak.


    Copper Rings or Discs. Solid copper rings/discs of various diameter, used to encircle single or small groups of plants to inflict a mild electric shock on the unsuspecting slug. Look for rings that clip together. These are easy to slip round established plant stems, or join together to form a larger barrier.

  • Nunu Nunu on Sep 06, 2018

    Cut straws or other plastic items vertically and wrap around plant stems .it may take more than one straw to depending on how big your plant is .Good Luck

  • Ronda Ronda on Sep 06, 2018

    Plant marigolds with your plants bugs,slugs don't like and neither do deer, rabbits

  • Jeanne Grunert Jeanne Grunert on Sep 07, 2018

    Are you sure it was a slug? They don't usually eat the whole plant. Was it green? If so it might be a tomato hornworm. They will eat an entire plant in a night. They are the caterpillar of the hummingbird moth. To keep them off of your tomatoes, you can pick them off by hand and put them in a bag and throw in the trash. Diotomaceous earth, sprinkled around your tomatoes, will also keep them away.


  • Oliva Oliva on Sep 07, 2018

    Wrapping the stems of tomatoes, starting at the base, with long, 2"wide pieces of newspaper, cut on 45°angle, then taped down usually deters hornworms. Add crumpled pieces of aluminum foil nearby (pinned down with landscape fabric pins or small rocks) to deter aphids and pieces of copper to slice open slugs. The marigolds (as She recommended) are very effective. Diatomaceous earth must be reapplied after rains. Planting basil in front of tomatoes helps, as does a nearby planting of garlic, to repel squirrels, chipmunks, deer. If deer are very problemmatic, you'll need a high, sturdy fence.

    Ground hogs will eat the entire tomato plant, but are difficult to deter, unless you plant castor bean plants far from your garden, or spray castor bean oil near the ground hog holes (but far from your edibles).

  • Wanda oliver Wanda oliver on Sep 07, 2018

    Put beer in a container I used the bottom of a 2 litter bottle about 3inches set it beside the plant for some reason it works 🤗

  • Craft Invaders Craft Invaders on Sep 08, 2018

    Basil is another great herb to grow with your Tomatoes as a companion plant that will deter a lot of pests due to its odour :)

  • Cynthia Lewis Cynthia Lewis on Jul 01, 2022

    What about cilantro