This is the question that many people ask at the beginning of the season when looking for a method to keep slugs out. Does Vaseline stop slugs? Many people believe that it does, and many others don’t. However, you can get rid of slugs in many ways, and Vaseline is just one of them.
We know how frustrating it is when slugs are sucking the life out of your plants. This can happen when you have wet and dirty soil. Ultimately, like in so many other areas of life, prevention is always better than a cure. To prevent slugs from appearing in your garden, it is worth looking into repellents and controls that can keep them away.
Many kinds of homemade repellents exist which can be used by homeowners looking to protect their gardens from the invasion of these unwanted pests. A popular solution is the use of copper tape or salt for large or wide gardens.
However, vaseline is also a good deterrent. The jelly nature of this cream or Vaseline will prevent slugs from crossing over the plant when applied to the stalk or around the pot’s rim.
Slugs are normally harmless, but they can damage plants if left unchecked. They eat leaves and fruit, as well as rotting material. Below is a detailed guide on everything you need to know about using vaseline to stop and deter slugs.
How Vaseline work as slugs deterrent
Vaseline is not only a great natural moisturizer, but it can also be used as a slug deterrent. Vaseline is a petroleum-based product. Petroleum by-products are typically the result of crude oil refining into various products, including Vaseline.
These petroleum-based products can treat or prevent most skin conditions, such as acne and dermatitis. Petroleum is also an ingredient in many oils, like olive oil or soft shea butter.
- POWERFUL PREVENTION & PROTECTION AT ONCE: This 100% Pure White Petrolatum Jelly boasts amazing healing and restoring properties that can prevent and protect your skin from common conditions that may trouble your complexion. A great, fully effective solution against rashes, minor cuts, wounds, scrapes, burns, chaffed skin, flaking, itching, cracked skin and more!
- THE PERFECT DEFENSE FOR YOUR DRY, SENSITIVE SKIN: Packed with proven effective moisturizing emollients, our Petrolatum ointment helps seal your skin’s moisture and prevent itching, flaking and scratching that often comes with dry skin. Plus, your skin will feel more protected against wind burns, chaffing and other painful annoyances.
- GREAT FOR ANY PART OF YOUR BODY, FOR KIDS & ADULTS: This extremely versatile petroleum jelly can be applied to any part of your body that could use instant moisture and advanced protection from further wear. Ideal for repairing and restoring chapped lips, dry hands, chaffed thighs, flaky nose, wounded skin and eczema. It also works wonders for protecting, preventing and healing diaper rash!
Vaseline is one of those options. It’s not a myth that Vaseline can keep slugs away from your garden or lawn. It works by repelling slugs and snails, two types of mollusks that can cause damage to plants and gardens. It is nesserry to know that It is a great natural way to protect your plants from slug damage.
Applying Vaseline around your garden or pot creates a physical barrier that slugs must cross to get to their food. Slugs don’t like crossing jelly Vaseline-covered surfaces, so they’ll avoid the area and find another place to eat.
Another way Vaseline helps keep slugs away is by acting as an irritant when they come into contact with it. When slugs touch Vaseline, they feel itchy and uncomfortable and will leave as fast as possible!
This is why Vaseline works as a slugs deterrent:
- It’s petroleum-based (jelly)
- It acts as an irritant when they come into contact with it
- It smells bad when it comes into contact with water
- It’s sticky, which helps to hold them in place
How to use Vaseline Stop Slugs
Slugs are one of the most common pests we all have to deal with at some point in our lives. They can be found in almost any environment and are really hard to get rid of. Using vaseline around your planter or pots helps prevent these pests from crossing.
This means that whenever slugs try to move through your yard, their bodies will stick to the slippery substance and be unable to move forward. Once they realize that they can’t move forward, they’ll typically retreat out of reach of their homes or gardens.
The good news is that there are lots of ways you can use vaseline to stop slugs from getting into your garden and destroying it. Here are some practical tips on how to use Vaseline to stop slugs:
- Apply vaseline around the edges of the pot. If you are using a planter
- Apply a thin layer of vaseline around the base of the plant to keep them away
- For a small garden, apply around the edges to create a barrier that keeps slugs out.
Apply Vaseline around the base of each plant and generously around the edges of the pot rim and soil in each pot. This will help keep the slugs at bay and prevent them from eating your plants. The slippery texture of the petroleum jelly makes it difficult for slugs to grip the surface of your pot.
The downside of using Vaseline
Vaseline is a great product to deter slugs, but it has some limitations. You can’t use Vaseline to kill slugs; it will only repel them from your plants. If you want to use Vaseline as a repellent, you’ll need to apply it daily, and it must be reapplied frequently. This is because they wash away in the rain and dry up in the sun.
If you are protecting 20 or more pots, then you will need a lot of Vaseline, which can be tedious, coupled with having to apply it frequently. Also, you need to know that Vaseline is not harmful to slugs, and when Vaseline is washed away or dried out due not non-frequent application, slugs will move over the area.
Vaseline will also not help if you’re trying to eliminate slugs already in your garden or on your plants. You can try using garlic and other natural remedies, but these methods may only be able to keep the slugs at bay for a few days before they come back for round two. Here are other various ways to stop slugs from climbing your pots.
Can Slugs Crawl Over Vaseline
Vaseline is a petroleum-based substance that makes it a perfect choice for protecting your lawn from slugs. It’s also excellent for repelling other pests like ants and flies. If you don’t apply Vaseline frequently, slugs will crawl over when it has been washed away or dried out.
However, slugs are no match for this slippery substance when freshly applied; they can’t move quickly enough to get a grip on the slippery texture. In fact, they’ll usually end up slipping right off your yard when they try to crawl over it.
Other Home remedies to deter slugs naturally.
Slugs are a common but annoying problem in gardens and parks. There are several methods to deter slugs from garden and climb your plants. If you want to keep them out of your garden or park, below are some proven effective ways.
Use copper tape
One of the most effective ways to deter slugs from eating your plants or climbing your pot is to use copper tape. Copper tape creates an electromagnetic field around itself, making it repellent to pests like slugs. You can get copper tape at any hardware store or online retailer.
The tape acts as a repellent and will help keep the slugs away from your garden. Slugs do not like the taste of copper, which is why it is an effective deterrent. You can place strips of copper tape around your plants to repel these harmful creatures.
Epsom salt for slugs
Magnesium oxide, also known as Epsom salt, is a natural remedy to deter slugs. It can be used on your lawn and garden plants, as well as in the garden beds. In fact, it’s often recommended for use when trying to control slugs.
Epsom salts are made up of magnesium, sulfur, and carbonate (CaCO3). It’s a natural ingredient used for centuries to treat various ailments, including arthritis, muscle aches, and other joint issues. In addition to being used as a natural treatment for these conditions, Epsom salts have been used over time by people who want to keep their gardens free of pests like slugs.
Epsom salts attract the slug’s attention away from its food source, which results in it leaving the area. When you sprinkle Epsom salt on any part of your lawn or garden, it keeps them away and kills them when ingested. It is safe for kids and pets.
Grow a border of plants slugs don’t like
Another method is to try surrounding your plants with a protective barrier. Slugs are repelled by certain plants and will avoid them. So grow a border of plants that slugs don’t like, like rosemary or mint, dill, and pennyroyal, and they’ll stay away from your flowers and vegetables.
Slugs are drawn to plants with an aromatic scent. Some plants that repel slugs include:
- Catnip
- Lavender
- Basil
- Rosemary
Use coffee grounds
Slugs hate the smell of coffee, so they’ll avoid that area of your garden as soon as possible. Coffee grounds are full of nitrogen, which will deter slugs from your garden. The grounds will also act as a fertilizer for your plants and help keep them healthy.
You can use coffee grounds in the garden by scattering them around where you want slugs to avoid eating your plants and fruits. You can also scatter some on top of the soil before planting your seeds or seedlings to keep slugs away from them during their growth stage (when they’re small and vulnerable).
Create a slug fence
Slug fence is a method of deterring slugs by creating a barrier around your plants and other crops. The best thing about this method is that it requires little effort: all you need is some pine needles, grapefruit skins, oysters, or egg shells.
Place these around the perimeter of your garden and under any mulch that sits on top of the soil surface. The idea is to create a barrier between slugs and whatever they’re eating.
To make a slug fence, simply place pine needles around the base of your plants (you can also use straw bales). You can scatter eggshells around the border of your garden or the base of your plants to keep them away.
Use Lava rocks
Lava is made from volcanic rock and contains silica, which slugs hate. So when they come in contact with the rock, it will make their skin burn, and they’ll be forced to leave your garden!
Slugs are also very sensitive to rough surfaces, so they will keep off your garden or plant surrounded by this rock or gravel. This is the best option if you have a volcanic rock in your garden. Lava rocks will create a barrier between your slug and its home, making it harder for the slug to reach its food source.
Take some lava rocks and form a barrier around your garden or plant area. These rocks will help repel slugs from being near your plants, so they won’t be able to walk on them and get into the soil, where they can eat away at the plant’s roots.
Use Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is a natural way to kill ad deter slugs without harming other plants or pets. It’s made up of tiny fossilized shells called diatoms, which slugs hate.
Diatomaceous earth is highly effective at killing slugs because it contains sharp edges that cut into the slug’s skin, causing it to die quickly. It can be used in a variety of ways:
- Put it around your plants
- Put it in areas where you see slugs, such as under bushes and rocks.
- Mix some with water and spray on plants or into cracks in the soil.
- Sprinkle it over seedlings when they’re first planted outdoors.
Peppermint oil or garlic solution
These two products are both great at repelling slugs and snails while they’re actively making a mess of your garden.
These are both natural repellants for slugs and other pests, so try mixing them together in equal parts and applying them via spray bottle around the plants or paths where you see them more often.
Mix one teaspoon of peppermint oil with two tablespoons of water and one tablespoon of pureed garlic. Then add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to the mixture. Spray this on your plants while they’re still wet, and it’ll act as an insecticide!
This is especially effective against slugs because it’s a chemical deterrent that will keep them away from your garden.