Pulling the mulch back may help with the slugs, I don't know, what I do know is that bare soil invites weeds. So I try to keep my soil mulch as much as possilble. Any bare spot in my garden is almost immediately infested with weeds, I try to keep everything mulched. I am still using diluted ammonia to spray my hostas and daylilies with, they are not 100 per cent slug and snail free, but compared to last year I am way ahead and we have had lots of rain this year so far. I still feel slug and snail bait attracts the very things your are trying to repel, its like attracting deer to your yard and then trying to use a spray to repel them (that is just my personal opinion).
