How to Rid a Mailbox of Slugs
In gardens and around homes with leafy plants that are watered regularly, the appearance of slugs is common occurrence. These slimy pests find their way among porches, along sidewalks and even into mailboxes. Aside from manually removing the creatures each day, you may use a few other natural deterrents to keep them out of a mailbox.
Remove any foliage growing up the mailbox post and around the mailbox. Slugs eat tender leaf plants; removal of their food source helps to keep them out of the area.
Place two 3-inch-long pieces of plastic tubing inside the mailbox. Overnight the slugs may move inside the tubing. Early in the morning remove the tubing and shake it over a bucket of soapy water until any slugs inside the tubing fall into the water.
- In gardens and around homes with leafy plants that are watered regularly, the appearance of slugs is common occurrence.
- Early in the morning remove the tubing and shake it over a bucket of soapy water until any slugs inside the tubing fall into the water.
Draw a thick line using sidewalk chalk around the pole on which the mailbox is mounted. The website Pest Control Options asserts that slugs will not typically cross over the line of chalk. Sidewalk chalk can be found at craft and hobby stores.
Sprinkle table salt on the slugs. The salt will eliminate the slugs on contact by drying out the slug's body.
Spread a layer of lava rocks around the base of the mailbox post. According to Eartheasy, the coarse surface of the lava rocks deters the slugs from climbing over them.
- Draw a thick line using sidewalk chalk around the pole on which the mailbox is mounted.
Rid Of Slugs In Your Herbs
Remove upturned flowerpots, fallen twigs and old plant debris from inside the herb bed and from the area surrounding it. So removing those hiding sites minimizes the amount of slugs in the garden. Water the herb garden's soil early in the day. Use a drip-irrigation system if possible, keeping herb foliage dry. Survey the herb garden after dark with a flashlight to locate feeding slugs. Alternatively, mix 1 part ammonia with 9 parts water in a spray bottle, remove the slugs from the herbs and mist the slugs with the solution away from the herbs. The ammonia-water solution will kill the slugs. Those items and locations attract slugs. Wrap herb pots or the sides of a raised herb bed with copper flashing. Sprinkle slug bait on the soil around herb plants that suffer from slug damage, using non-carbaryl slug bait granules or a nontoxic slug bait that contains iron phosphate.
- Remove upturned flowerpots, fallen twigs and old plant debris from inside the herb bed and from the area surrounding it.
- Sprinkle slug bait on the soil around herb plants that suffer from slug damage, using non-carbaryl slug bait granules or a nontoxic slug bait that contains iron phosphate.
Tip
Spread lava rocks around the mailbox much as you would apply mulch. The rocks provide decoration while deterring slugs.
Leave a note for the mail carrier explaining anything left in the mailbox. Put nothing in the mailbox that will interfere with delivery of mail.
Related Articles
References
- Pest Control Options: 17 Non-Toxic Slug Control Methods
- Eartheasy: Natural Slug Control
- University of California Integrated Pest Management Online: Snails and Slugs
- Oregon State University Extension, Growing Your Own: Protecting Your Plants from Dreaded Slugs
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Ocimum Basilicum
Tips
- Spread lava rocks around the mailbox much as you would apply mulch. The rocks provide decoration while deterring slugs.
- Leave a note for the mail carrier explaining anything left in the mailbox. Put nothing in the mailbox that will interfere with delivery of mail.
Writer Bio
After attending the University of Missouri St. Louis, Stephanie Rempe worked as a documentation manager in the finance industry 10 years before turning to her first love, writing, which she's been doing professionally since 2008. She currently divides her time between Missouri and her fiance's hometown in Oregon. In addition to her freelance writing, Rempe is working on a romance novel and short stories.
