You need a three prong approach - first use a fork or knife to collect slugs at night or after a rain and slice them or add to a bucket of salt. Then use a pet safe slug bait like \"Worry Free\" or \"Sluggo\" especially in April and August when the slugs are mating and hatching. Third remove the breeding areas such as piles of rocks and rotting wood and pull the weeds to keep them from finding dark corners in which to hide. My own shaded two acres is a slug magnet but over the years I have been able to get the population under control with the three steps above. I also use slug resistant plants with gray or hairy foliage and group the most slug attractive plants together so I can check these often for young slugs. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti