Hi, Deborah. Thanks for using the UVM Extension Master Gardener helpline. I feel your pain! I also feel like there have been more snails and slugs in the past year or two, perhaps because of damp weather at the perfect time (perfect for snails and slugs, that is....)

There is plenty of good advice around for managing slugs and snails. I'll link to some resources below. To summarize some of the options:

1. Eliminate places to hide near susceptible plants. Slugs like damp, dark places. Scrap mulch and leaves away from the plants. Let the surroundings dry out.

2. Discourage them by sprinkling dry diatomaceous earth or crushed clam shells around individual plants.  However, diatomaceous earth is ineffective after it rains.   Sheep's wool or cotton batting might be a deterrent as well. They don't like to cross these barriers. (Apparently crushed eggshells or coffee grounds are not very effective.)

3. Trap them, by giving them new places to congregate, and then dispose of them each day. They will gather under flower pots, wooden boards, newspapers, melon rinds, potato pieces, cabbage leaves, etc.  Daily hand-picking and trapping for a while can make a big difference, and then might become more of a weekly task.

4. Catch them by watering an area well in the late afternoon and then hunting them on the surface with a flashlight after dark! Also, regularly check the obvious hiding places around the house and garden.

5. Trap them with beer or yeast mixtures: "Beer/yeast traps attract slugs and snails within an area of only a few feet, and you must replenish the bait every few days to keep the level deep enough to drown the mollusks. Traps must have deep vertical sides to keep the snails and slugs from crawling out and a top to reduce evaporation. These types of traps are available at garden supply stores, or you can make your own by burying a coffee can, margarine container, or plastic bottle with the top at ground level and placing a lid with holes cut into it over the container."*

On a personal note, I have recently tried home-made beer traps with great success! Just using shallow containers (like those that hummus comes in), no lid, set into the soil and filled with beer in the evening, I have found them filled with snails and slugs the next morning.

6. Dispose of live slugs or snails in a sealed plastic bag, or by dropping in soapy water.  Snails are easily squished and left in the garden.

As for commercial products, our UVM entomologist says, "I have used Sluggo in the past with good results against slugs. This is an organically certified product made with iron phosphate. Here is the link to the product label: https://www.planetnatural.com/wp-content/uploads/sluggo-label.pdf. I encourage you to read the label before using it to make sure you use it to ensure efficacy. You can purchase it on line or from most hardware stores."

For more detailed info, check out these links:

-* https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7427.html
- https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/slugs#create-a-landscape-less-attractive-to-slugs-298061
- https://extension.umaine.edu/home-and-garden-ipm/fact-sheets/common-name-listing/slugs-and-snails/
-https://extension.oregonstate.edu/collection/gardening-without-slugs-snails

I hope this helps.  Let me know if you have more questions. Good luck!