[Bjeanj]

Planted mums, and found the flowers are halfway eaten. I know I have slugs in the area. Could they be the culprit?

I had previously planted pentas there, and they weren’t bothered at all.

Thanks for any useful feedback.

[Bjeanj]

Thanks! I must have Googled the wrong words or something. This is helpful. Although I may have my husband pick off the slugs!

[Henryk]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

Thanks! I must have Googled the wrong words or something. This is helpful. Although I may have my husband pick off the slugs!

An old-fashioned remedy is to bury, to earth level, a small bowl with beer in it. Purportedly, they like to drink but can't swim.

[CFrance]

I wonder if you could safely put salt around your plants. Salt kills slugs. Actually, it pretty much melts them. I would think rock salt would not dissolve as easily.

[mokey]

Rabbits love mums

[Bjeanj]

I haven’t seen any rabbits around here, and am reluctant to add salt to my garden. Will try the beer, or send husband out with a flashlight.
Thanks everyone!

[renrod]

Go to a nursery and get a bag of Slug & Snail Bait.
Slugs come out after dark, so to "pick" them you need to be there when they are.

[doran]

My mum eats slugs

[TidalWalkers]

Slugs/large snails also ate my marigolds. Went to Ace Hardware and bought a slug bait. Just spread around in flower beds and that night there were about 30 going down the driveway. Worked wonders.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by Henryk

An old-fashioned remedy is to bury, to earth level, a small bowl with beer in it. Purportedly, they like to drink but can't swim.

First of all I thought when we left NY they were not in Florida. I do not see box upon box of the slug baits in the stores.

As to using beer-TEASING but in NY they held out for the more expensive imported stuff. FYI-they have no class at all.Simple yeast and sugar fermenting in water works just fine.

Someone mentioned salt. Salt will kill or damage your plants also it will desolve with the first rain or any watering. Try any of the hot peppers. You can buy them or grow them yourself. They are actually pretty plants. Ground hot pepper in a ring around your plants will last several weeks.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by TidalWalkers

Slugs/large snails also ate my marigolds. Went to Ace Hardware and bought a slug bait. Just spread around in flower beds and that night there were about 30 going down the driveway. Worked wonders.

Slug baits is NOT a repellent. If, anything it arracts them and poisons them. If, you have the snalis with shells you might see some empty shells. If, you have the ones without shells, the body is just soft tissue and it quickly rots. Other than for ones I've picked and put into salt, I've never seen a dead one. If, you want to pick them by hand-bleach will kill them as well.

The 30 you report on your driveway leaving-how do you know they were not coming?

[Bjeanj]

Well, it looks like I was wrong about the slugs. Our dog just scared away a squirrel apparently munching on the mums. Never found any dead slugs. My $10 can of Sluggo is about 1/2 full if anyone wants it. Next spring, I’ll just plant something different.

[CFrance]

I guess the salt idea is not a good one. (It goes back to my teenaged sons...)

[crash]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

Well, it looks like I was wrong about the slugs. Our dog just scared away a squirrel apparently munching on the mums. Never found any dead slugs. My $10 can of Sluggo is about 1/2 full if anyone wants it. Next spring, I’ll just plant something different.

squirrel was going to be my suggestion because the flowers were eaten not the leaves. I have sat and watched them eat the flowers off of Verbena. Not sure what flowers to plant they won't eat.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

Well, it looks like I was wrong about the slugs. Our dog just scared away a squirrel apparently munching on the mums. Never found any dead slugs. My $10 can of Sluggo is about 1/2 full if anyone wants it. Next spring, I’ll just plant something different.

I planted drift roses alongside our driveway. They were lovely — for a brief and shining moment.

THEN something started chomping off the buds and blooms. Had this happened up north, I would have suspected a whitetail deer, but this was in TV.

One night, long after dark, we pulled into our driveway — and there was the guilty rabbit looking at us. I guess he liked to dine fashionably late. I gave up.