People mainly plant hostas because of their foliage which strengthens your planting scheme. They are easy to grow and resilient.
However, they also attract several pests, which nibble holes in the foliage and strip the leaves.
Some of the pests that eat hostas include snails, slugs, deer, rabbits, and field mice.
Snail and slugs love posters, and they’re a particular problem in springtime. Many people avoid planting hostas because of the slug and snail problem.
Table of Contents
How to Prevent Slugs on Hostas?
To prevent slugs on your hostas, first, clean up the area and establish barriers around your hostas. Some people also handpick the slugs off at night. The second approach is using natural methods such as citrus fruits, cucumbers, beer, and nematodes. Lastly, use chemical options like ammonia to kill off the slugs.
How to Stop Slugs from Eating Your Hostas
There are three main approaches you can take to prevent slugs from eating your hostas.
It includes clean up and structuring, use of natural approaches, and use of chemicals.
Clean Up and Structuring
Cleaning up your garden helps remove areas that could hide their clothes, including mulch, leaves, and other debris. You can use a new mulch to replace the debris if necessary.
If you have a small slug infestation, you can control it by simply taking them at night. A flashlight will easily help you to spot them.
Make sure you check the slugs around the hosta’s base as well as on its leaves.
Also, prevent slugs on hostas by watering your plants in the morning so that they can be dry at night and prevent the slugs from forming a habitat in your garden.
Barriers can also help to prevent slugs on hostas. Ensure you set up the barriers before the first leaves sprout to keep pests off from the beginning.
You can use fine Grit around the plant. Some people consider poultry grit or cactus Grit.
Pine needles, holly leaves, fine mesh, and sheep wool pellets also create effective barriers.
You can also use some eggshells around your posters to prevent the slugs from accessing the hostas because the eggshells are too sharp for them.
Another structuring option is to use containers to grow your hostas. Slugs will find it harder to get to the hostas if you store the containers well and establish barriers.
Use of Natural Methods
Natural methods are usually home remedies that can help you prevent slugs on hostas.
Some of the most common approaches include using beer, citrus fruits, coffee, cucumbers, and nematodes.
Beer
To prevent slugs on hostas from using beer, simply take a cup and fill it halfway with beer.
The beer will attract the slugs, and once they climb into it, they drown.
Coffee
Coffee offers two advantages when preventing slugs on hostas. First, it is poisonous to slugs and kills them.
Secondly, coffee is a natural plant fertilizer. You will need to reapply the coffee often because it disintegrates and becomes less concentrated.
Citrus and cucumber
Citrus causes the slugs to shift their focus from your hostas. This will help you to remove the slugs easily.
Cucumber works the same way as citrus in attracting slugs from your hostas. Throw the spent citrus and cucumbers in the compost after slug removal.
Nematodes
Nematodes are a biological approach to controlling slugs. Research shows that they are microscopic kill worms that kill slugs from the inside.
However, they do not help to control snails.
Use of Chemicals
You can turn to chemicals to prevent slugs on hostas. However, we recommend trying chemicals when the slug problem persists.
It is better to try natural and organic ways fast as it also helps to preserve the environment.
Ammonia
Ammonia is highly effective and popular for killing slugs.
Use a sprayer to spray ammonia and water solution on the leaves of the hostess and directly on the slabs. Use a ratio of 10 to 1 (water to ammonia).
Ammonia usually kills slugs on contact. Moreover, it is also a helpful fertilizer as it adds nitrogen to your garden.
Spray the stems, too, because the slugs sometimes chew into them. Consider the leaves that fall on the ground because they are an easy meal for the slugs.
It will be best to spray ammonia in the evening because the slugs start to become active. After all, the temperatures are not hot like during the day.
Sluggo
Sluggo is another chemical option for killing plugs. It contains naturally occurring iron and phosphate, which makes it safe for use around pets.
It’s available in Amazon or in your local store.
How to Tell Slugs Are Eating Your Hostas
You can stop pests from destroying your hostas if you identify the culprits. In slugs, the most common indication is tiny holes in the hostas’ foliage, especially on the leaves.
The holes that slugs leave have irregular shapes and vary from small to large.
A large slug population can cause considerable damage to your hostas. Slugs are usually active when the temperatures are over 50 degrees Fahrenheit during cloudy days or at night.
They usually hide within crevices, in between rocks, in mulch, or in the dark. Slugs love moisture-rich areas.
The damage slugs cause earlier in the year is more stressful than the damage they cause towards the end of the season.
If the damage comes at the end of the season, you will have to wait till the next season to employ preventive measures.
Small damage from slugs only affects the aesthetics of the plant but not the health.
Frequently Asked Questions About How To Prevent Slugs On Hostas
Can I use sand to keep out slugs?
Though it’s quite peculiar sand can help you to keep out slugs because slugs avoid crawling over scratchy or dry material.
Can Coffee ground help to keep out slugs from my hostas?
Coffee grounds are effective in keeping slugs away. However, a caffeine solution is more effective.
Conclusion
Slug infestation can become a huge problem for your hostas. But, you can use 3 methods to remove them.
First, you can use clean-up and structuring approaches such as speaking of the slugs and building barriers.
Alternatively, you can also use natural options such as cucumbers, citrus, coffee, and nematodes.
Lastly, you can resort to chemical measures such as ammonia and Sluggo when organic, and natural approaches fail.
Daniel has been a plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He owns hundreds of houseplants and prepares for the chili growing seasons yearly with great anticipation. His favorite plants are plant species in the Araceae family, such as Monstera, Philodendron, and Anthurium. He also loves gardening and is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, and many more vegetables.