Gastropodicides There has been quite an array of responses to this thread, and I bet the solutions all work based on my understanding of chemistry and biology, but I wanted to bring up again one of the original responses = beer. There are several points about the beer method that are worth noting. These may vary with slug and snail species, but with the slugs of European origin that I was dealing with (sorry- don't know the species) this technique was exceptional. I used 4" plastic plant saucers with a .25-.5" (.5-1 cm) of beer (even lite or American beers work!) and with that small amount of beer that is a lot of saucers per can/bottle. What is so great about it, is that is attracts the slugs to it rather than needing to be broadcast, and though refreshing the beer and removing the dozen to thirty pickled slugs was a task and I did worry about drunk slug-eating birds..., I don't think there are any other negative environmental effects which is quite the bonus. Gardens are not natural environments in most cases, so unless the bulbs you like are from similar habits to those you live around, chances are native species are less likely to be affected unless they can adapted to your garden conditions. A selection of species though out the world are so adapted and many of these become "invasive exotic" pests of gardens, but this is an aside. Alani Davis Tallahassee, Florida