Check and remove slugs daily and refill. Copper barrier strips or screens are showing some promise as effective slug barriers. You can buy them at lawn and garden stores. Take care not to trap slugs inside your garden plot. Raccoons, opossums, snakes, mallard ducks, bantam chickens and some ground-feeding wild birds feed on slugs.
Mulches usually provide natural places for slugs to hide.
Remove mowed or cut weeds, grass and spent perennials to help reduce slug refuges. Dedicated slug slayers stalk their quarry by night with a headlamp or flashlight. Do not put salt on slugs, as adding salt to the soil makes it less suitable for gardening. Carol Savonen is a writer and editor in OSU's Department of Extension and Experiment Station Communications. For more information on Oregon's Agricultural Progress , e-mail editor Andy Duncan .