I want to train slugs to eat only weeds.

Next time you prune something thorny, like roses, briars or blackberries, save some branches and wind them into tight circles or a helix while they're still green and flexible. The circles should be of various sizes, but all small enough to fit inside your pots after trimming leaves and side branches.

After they dry and stiffen, cut off excess leaves and then cut the wound-up branches into circles with around 1/3 overlap. The "split washer" shape is so that you can wrap a few around a plant in a pot, and they will cling together and stay in place despite determined tree rats.

I haven't tried this yet. It's just an idea I'm calling a "thorny helix".

Xeramtheum said:I definitely feel your pain! I have found that a sure fire way to keep them out of beds and containers is to use chicken wire cut to the shape of the bed or container and let the plants grow through it. I also put hardware cloth on top of containers for winter sowing.

This is what I was going to recommend -- it worked very well for me when I had an extensive container garden