I've had the same problem. They've eaten all the leaves off my Edgeworthia and magnolia trees and every petal. The cheap beer here is 2.50 for 4 tins and it takes 6 tins around the garden. I also go out with the secateurs. I've seen a frog and hedgehogs and slow worms but I think they are all vegetarian. Last night's half slugs are happily consumed by the next nights slugs. This is war.

We don't have this issue, but I have heard of beer traps here. Just beer, in a container in a hole in your garden. They just fall in.

Slugs eat magnolia Debster? Good grief! Our frogs seem over-faced with the number of slugs. Mr BW reckons the big slugs eat the little slugs. And yes, it's war!

I had to look up Edgeworthia as I didn't know it - very pretty.

Just a thought... if you could save £1.05 on every 4 tins of beer, so £1.50 every time you recharge your traps, it would be worth your while having a Sainsburys delivery - use a super-saver slot (a 4 hour window, but they email you a 1-hour slot at midnight on day of delivery) for £1 flat delivery fee. You need to have a minimum order of £40, but that's not hard these days. https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-bitter--basics-4x440ml

Putting in yeast and sugar and diluting iwth water reduces the amount of beer you need Scoakat - the beer is the smell and the fermentation of yeast plus sugar continues it over time. Makes it a bit cheaper.

Edgeworthia smells delightful. A really strong smell of honey. And surprisingly the slugs didn't touch the leaves but they were queuing up along the branches for the leaves. This year they've eaten things they've never touched before. I've given up on delphiniums and hostas but they've also done for phlox and tradescantia and several other unexpected things.

Also someone is drinking some of the pots of beer. Several likely candidates include seagulls and cats.

And obviously when I put leaves I meant flowers. About the only flowers they didn't eat. I'm going to try once more but keep it in a pot. Margery Fish has a delightful one.

Do you have cats again now Debster?

Hostas - I've been trying home-made garlic spray. It needs re-applying to the leaves every time it rains, therefore I can't say how successful it's been!

We kept two little bantam hens in our garden for a few years - zero slugs and snails, and I mean zero.
Also they're very cute little friends.
And the eggs are lovely.
But they ate all the heather flowers which kills the plant.

Drunken slugs, drunk cats, drunk gulls ... oh my how much of life's rich tapestry I am missing living in a first floor flat

Joho - Our hens will eat small snails but not slugs, but we have to keep them within electric netting as there are just too many predators around.

Caroline - Ah, new business idea - send the drunken slugs to people who don't have gardens... send me your address and I'll send you a free sample.

Slugs are the bane of gardeners and I have never seen so many this year. We have used beer traps before now to excellent effect but that is an excellent idea to add yeast, sugar and water to eke it out.
Sue found over twenty snails on our back door netting and said it was like a scene from a horror movie! Instead of The Birds, The Snails!

I tried the beer slug remedy. However my wire fox terrier found it and came into the house inebriated

Alas I am still cat less but there are visiting ones that have so far dealt with 4 pigeons.

That's a very thoughtful offer BW ... somehow I don't think I'll take you up on it !!

I'm writing that one down to use in the future Caroline!

And... to those of you having trouble with things drinking your slug traps, one of those nets that oranges/onions etc come in placed over the whole trap and tied off on the side would allow slugs through but not other creatures' tongues/beaks.

At last a good use for those pesky nets!