get some coarse D.E and make a small strip around your patch. they dont like to cross it as it cuts them like crushed glass. sold as optisorb at NAPA auto parts. make sure its the D,E one and not the clay. works great as a soil amendment also. may have to add more over time.
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@steveb4 that might work in other locations, but here in the PNW there seems to be nothing that really works (I’m sure there are poison options, but I don’t want to use those). Anything that is a perimeter slugs won’t cross is just trapping in the hundreds of little slugs already hiding in the topsoil inside the perimeter.
mine are planted under my pines with the grass about 7ft. away. there’s no place for them to hide under the trees because there’s no grass there. only mulch.
I like using Sluggo, but it breaks down into inert minerals after a few rains so while it works great it does have to be applied with the upcoming forecast in mind.
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ive used it in the past but the rain here makes it not work well.
I’ve been experimenting with placing the Sluggo under a cover, but would like to have an attractive way to do it. It would be cool if there were ornamental “garden art” sluggo containers that you could leave it in.
I have a bunch of it growing in a place that I spread a couple of 10 wheeler loads of wood chips about 8-10 years ago. Apios grows happily (sometimes a bit too happily!) and is easily harvested by just reaching down into the duff layer: no digging required.
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Sounds wonderful. A loose soil really is a must for harvest to be practical.
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