Slug Resistant Plants

The true secret to controlling slugs easily is not to battle them with egg shell barriers, beer traps, or other lures, repellents or snares, but to remove the plants that attract them and to replace them with plants that don’t.

The classic case is of course the hosta.

Hostas are renowned for attracting slugs. Yet in fact, only some hostas are to blame. In fact, three hostas – by far the most popular in our gardens – are the main victims of slug damage: Hosta ‘Undulata Albomarginata’, a medium-size hosta with fairly narrow wavy-edged leaves edged in white, H. ‘Undulata Mediovariegata’, similar, but with a reverse variegation (there is a flame-shaped white marking in center of the leaf) and H. ‘Undulata Univittata’, again with the same wavy fairly narrow leaves, but this time entirely dark green, with no variegation. These are the hostas used for mass plantings, grown by millions in temperate climates around the world, largely because they grow and multiply quickly, making them inexpensive. But they also attract slugs like a magnet.

Slugs actually hide in the roots and crowns of these hostas at night. They also lay their eggs at the base of H. ‘Undulata Albomarginata’, H. ‘Undulata Mediovariegata’, and H. ‘Undulata Univittata’ and young slugs get their start feeding on their leaves. Just removing these hostas from your garden can so reduce the slug population in general that even other slug-susceptible plants are largely left alone.

But not all hostas attract slugs. Many are only somewhat attractive to slugs and only suffer minor damage, especially early in the season. And some hostas are out and out slug-resistant. This is the case of many if not most of the modern varieties, since hybridizers selectively breed for slug resistance, but many old-fashioned hostas are slug-resistant as well. H. sieboldiana ‘Elegans’, for example, a well-known and highly slug-resistant hosta, was introduced in 1905! Slugs are not attracted to thick-leaved hostas, nor hostas with blue leaves, for example.

Other Plants

You can almost tell if a plant will attract or repulse slugs just by studying it. Slugs tend to prefer plants with soft, thin leaves. That’s why they do so much damage to seedlings: young plants’ leaves have not yet developed their more leathery final texture. Conversely, slugs tend to avoid leaves that are hairy, tough, fibrous, thick or waxy, as well as those with a bitter taste or with strong odors (many herbs are slug resistant, for example). Oddly, slugs often find plants that are poisonous to humans quite palatable.

Slug-Resistant Plant List

Here is a short list of slug-resistant plants. I’ve included mostly perennials, annuals, herbs and vegetables. Most shrubs, conifers and trees, even if they may be somewhat susceptible to slug damage in their youth, eventually outgrow the damage.

1. Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) annual
2. Alyssum, sweet (Lobularia spp.) annual
3. Anemone, Japanese (Anemone x hybrida, A. japonica, A. hupehensis)
4. Artemisia (Artemisia spp.) zones 2-9
5. Astilbe (Astilbe spp.) zones 4-8
6. Bachelor’s buttons (Centaurea cyanus) annual
7. Bamboo (most species) zones 4-11
8. Bamboo, heavenly (Nandina domestica) zones 6-10
9. Basket of gold (Aurinia spp.) zones 3-9
10. Begonia, bedding (Begonia semperflorens) annual
11. Bellfower (Campanula spp.) zones 3-7
12. Bergenia (Bergenia spp.) zones 3-9
13. Bidens (Bidens spp.) annual
14. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp.) zones 3-8
15. Bleeding heart (Dicentra spp.) zones 3-9
16. Bluestar (Amsonia spp.) zones 3-9
17. Bugleweed (Ajuga spp.) zone 3-9
18. California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) annual
19. Candytuft (Iberis spp.) zones 3-8
20. Carnation (Dianthus spp.) zones 3-8
21. Catmint (Nepeta spp.) zones 3-8
22. Cleome (Cleome spp.) annual
23. Columbine (Aquilegia spp.) zones 3-10
24. Conifers (most species) zones 2-10
25. Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.) zones 3-10
26. Cosmos (Cosmos spp.) annual
27. Crocosmia (Crocosmia spp.) zones 5-11
28. Cyclamen (Cyclamen spp.) zones 5-9
29. Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) zones 3-9
30. Epimedium (Epimedium spp.) zones 3-9
31. Euphorbia (Euphorbia spp.) zones 1-12
32. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) zones 6-9
33. Ferns (most species) zones 1-12
34. Foxglove (Digitalis spp.) zones 4-9
35. Fuchsia (Fuchsia spp.) annual or zones 7-9
36. Gazania (Gazania spp.) annual
37. Geranium, hardy (Geranium spp.) zones 2-10
38. Ginger, hardy (Hedychium spp.) zones 7-12
39. Globe thistle (Echinops spp.) zones 3-9
40. Goat’s beard (Aruncus app.) zones 3-8
41. Grasses, ornamental (most species) zones 2-12
42. Hellebore (Helleborus) zones 4-8
43. Heuchera (Heuchera spp.) zones 3-9
44. Holly, sea (Eryngium spp.) zones 3-9
45. Hosta (Hosta spp.) (thick-leaved and blue-leaved varieties) zones 3-9
46. Houseleek (Sempervivum spp.) zones 3-10
47. Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.) zones 3-9
48. Impatiens (Impatiens spp.) annual
49. Ivy (Hedera spp.) zones 5-10
50. Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium spp.) zones 3-8
51. Knautia (Knautia spp.) zones 3-8
52. Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla spp.) zones 3-9
53. Lantana (Lantana spp.) zones 9-12
54. Lavender (Lavandula spp.) zones 5-10
55. Lettuce, romaine (Lactuca sativa) vegetable
56. Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus spp.) zones 8-11
57. Lobelia, edging (Lobelia erinus) annuelle
58. Lungwort (Pulmonaria) zones 3-9
59. Marigold, pot (Calendula officinalis) annual
60. Masterwort (Astrantia spp.) zones 3-9
61. Meadow rue (Thalictrum spp.) zones 3-8
62. Mint (Mentha spp.) zones 2-10
63. Mock Strawberry (Duchesnea indica) zones 4-9
64. Monk’s hood (Aconitum spp.) zones 3-9
65. Mullein (Verbascum spp.) zones 3-8
66. Nasturtium (Tropaeolum spp.) annual
67. Nemesia (Nemesia spp.) annual
68. Nicotiana (Nicotiana spp.) annual
69. Oregano (Origanum vulgare) zones 4-10
70. Pelargonium (Pelargonium spp.) zones 9-12
71. Penstemon (Penstemon spp.) zones 3-9
72. Peony (Paeonia spp.) zones 3-9
73. Periwinkle (Vinca spp.) zones 4-10
74. Phlox (Phlox spp.) zones 2-9
75. Pincushion flower (Scabiosa spp.) zones 3-8
76. Pink (Dianthus spp.) zones 3-8
77. Poppy (Papaver spp.) zones 3-8
78. Portulaca (Portulaca spp.) annual
79. Potentilla (Potentilla spp.) zones 3-9
80. Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.) zones 3-10
81. Rockcress (Arabis spp. and Aubretia spp.) zones 3-5
82. Rodgersia (Rodgersia spp.) zones 4-9
83. Rose (Rosa spp.) zones 2-10
84. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) zones 8-10
85. Rudbeckia (Rudbeckia spp.) zones 3-8
86. Sage (Salvia spp.) zones 5-9
87. Salal (Gaultheria shallon) zones 6-8
88. Saxifrage (Saxifraga) zones 3-9
89. Sedum (Sedum spp.) zones 2-12
90. Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) annual
91. Snow-in-summer (Cerastium spp.) zones 3-8
92. Speedwell (Veronica spp.) zones 3-9
93. Thrift (Armeria spp.) zones 3-9
94. Thyme (Thymus spp.) zones 3-9
95. Tulip (Tulipa spp.) zones 3-8
96. Verbena (Verbena spp.) annual
97. Violet (Viola spp.) zones 2-10
98. Yew (Taxus spp.) zones 4-7
99. Yucca (Yucca spp.) zones 3-12
100. Woodruff, sweet (Galium odoratum) zones 3-9Zinnia (Zinnia spp.) annual

Slug-Susceptible Plants

The following plants are very subject to slug damage, especially in humid climates or when grown in shade or under moist conditions. They may actually attract slugs to your garden and increase the local slug population resulting in damage to normally less susceptible plants.

Note that many vegetables are susceptible to slug damage as seedlings, but then are left alone when they mature. In fact, one way of reducing slug damage in seriously slug-infested vegetable gardens is to consistently start seedlings indoors and only plant them out after their leaves have hardened.

1. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) zones 10-11
2. Bean (Phaseolum spp., Vicia spp. and Vigna spp.) vegetable
3. Begonias, tuberous (Begonia x tuberhybrida) zones 10-12
4. Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) vegetable
5. Canna (Zantedeschia spp.) zones 8-12
6. Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) annual
7. Corn (Zea mays) vegetable (seedlings only)
8. Dahlia (Dahlia spp.) zones 8-12
9. Delphinium (Delphinium spp.) zones 3-9
10. Hosta (Hosta spp.) (thin-leaved varieties) zones 3-9
11. Lettuce, leaf, crisphead and Boston (Lactuca sativa) vegetable
12. Ligularia (Ligularia sp.) zones 3-9
13. Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majus) zones 2-7
14. Marigolds (Tagetes spp.) annual
15. Mustard (Brassica spp.) vegetable, herb
16. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) vegetable (some varieties are slug resistant)
17. Primrose (Primula spp.) zones 3-9
18. Seedlings of most vegetables
19. Soybean (Glycine max) vegetable
20. Strawberry (Fragaria spp.) zones 3-9 (fruit only)