Pest Strategies

Are you looking for a slug repellent? Learn more about our top recommendations to safeguard your plants and flowers.

If you have slugs and snails feeding on your plants, you’ll see the damage within hours. Slugs can shred leaves over the course of a day, leaving behind ragged holes to undo the hard work you’ve put into your garden.

Whether you’re an avid home gardener or a farm owner, there are a variety of pest control solutions to help get rid of these slimy creatures. Pest Strategies conducted research to help inform you about what to look for in the best slug repellent. Keep reading to learn about our recommendations.

 

Buying Guide

There are several factors to consider when it comes to choosing the best slug repellent for your needs. For example, if you’re treating a field of crops, you’ll probably want a large bag of high-strength product. Below, we take a look at some of the most important aspects of slug and snail repellents.

• Type: Slug repellents and killers are available in a few forms: 

• Pellet: Pellets are granules that are dispersed across the ground. They poison slugs that come too close. They generally last several weeks, even with rainfall. 

• Liquid: Some slug repellents use similar ingredients as pellets but in the form of liquid. These products either come in ready-to-spray containers or need to be mixed with water before they’re applied. One downside to liquid repellents is that they’re more vulnerable to being washed away in the rain. 

• Trap: Slug traps are easy to set away from your plants. Oftentimes, they are reusable and don’t require the use of chemicals or other toxic ingredients to bait slugs.

• Other: There are a variety of other general pest control products that could work to kill or repel slugs on your property, including salt dispersers and diatomaceous earth powder. 

• Coverage: If you have a large property or infestation, consider buying in bulk. This could mean 20-pound bags of pellets, one-gallon jugs of concentrate, or 10-packs of traps.

• Longevity: Although residual effects are possible, most slug and snail repellents won’t work as designed past the manufacturer’s estimated date range. Usually, a thorough application will last slightly over one month. Bear in mind that varying weather conditions can reduce the longevity of slug repellents.

• Ingredients: As with most pest control products, many slug repellents use harmful chemicals, such as metaldehyde and sulfur. Iron phosphate and some other active ingredients, however, may be relatively safe to use around pets and children when they’re applied as directed. You can also opt for a solution that uses natural ingredients, such as a salt disperser.

 

Slugs vs. Snails: Understanding the Difference

You may have heard the terms slug and snail used interchangeably, much like how we’ve referred to them in this review. They’re similar enough to group together, but there are a few key differences.

• Slugs and snails are both mollusks, so they’re close relatives. However, the main difference between them is that slugs don’t have shells, while snails do. 
• During times of low humidity or extreme temperatures, snails can retreat into their shell and seal the opening using a thin layer of hardened mucus and calcium.
• Because slugs don’t have a protective shell, they prefer to spend more time underground. This makes them especially destructive with root crops as well as buried seedlings. 
• Snails and slugs share the same overall diet, require the same environmental conditions, and have the same reaction to bait. As a result, any bait that kills slugs also kills snails, and vice versa. 

 

 

 

FAQs

• When is the best time of day to use slug repellent? 

Slugs and snails typically come out after you water your plants or after a rainstorm. Therefore, that’s the best time to distribute bait. 

• Are slug repellents effective against rodents? 

Granule slug repellents may be effective in killing rats and mice around your yard. However, this depends on how much bait you sprinkle around your property and how much the rodents consume. In terms of ingredients, slug repellents that contain metaldehyde are usually the most lethal to rodents. 

• How often do I need to apply slug repellent? 

When you’re using granules, we recommend reapplying every 30 days. Liquid repellent should be applied every two or three weeks or more frequently if your area experiences a lot of rain. Slug and snail traps should be replaced as soon as they’re full, so make sure to check them on a daily or weekly basis. 

 

 

Pest Strategies provides reviews of select products that are top-selling on Amazon and/or popular in consumer searches. Our team evaluates the products based on industry research, consumer reviews, pricing data, and other objective criteria. Unless otherwise noted, these product reviews are intended to help inform buying decisions for non-professionals. Because pest control products can be dangerous to your family if mishandled, we always recommend consulting with an exterminator, even if just to ask for advice on how to apply pest control products yourself.