They love the smell and taste. Unfortunately you must then dispose of your catch by committing some sort of atrocity. Gardeners who lack knives sprinkle salt or baking soda on the slimy beasts. Creating barriers to prevent slugs and snails from getting to susceptible plants can be helpful. Try sprinkling rings of diatomaceous earth or ashes around vulnerable plants.
Copper tape is useful because it emits a small electrical charge that irritates a slug's belly.
It seems the slugs generally ignore poisonous baits, while snails are more vulnerable. Cheap generic baits work just as well as name-brand ones. My favorite is Corry's Slug and Snail Death. I think it is the name that is so alluring. April Garden Checklist Terry Kramer is a Bayside free-lance writer and the owner of Jacoby Creek Nursery.