Hi Patricia, I totally feel your pain. I spent an hour this morning picking slugs off my hostas...easily well over 100 of the little critters. I have found that hand picking them off plants in the mornings...especially after a rain when the leaves are wet...and using latex gloves of course cuz they're slimey!.. to be the most effective way to reduce the populations.

This works for snails as well. And snails are much easier  because you can grab their shell without having to slide them off the leaves and plunk 'em right into a container of soapy water. I used a plastic cottage cheese container, added a liberal amount of dish soap, and picked the slimey pests off and flicked them into the container. This kills them immediately. I inspected every plant and by the time I got around the entire garden, there were more and several had crept up onto the walkway. Those I simply squashed with my foot.

You should do this daily in the mornings. These mollusks like our cool nights and rainy weather. And they are really prolific this year! After about a week, the number should be significantly reduced and once/week may be sufficient.

There are, of course, other methods for controlling snails and slugs. I'll list a couple of websites you can check out. Please understand that we do not endorse or recommend all the methods talked about or the sponsor of the website...and the ideas may or may not work. But if you are interested in protecting our pollinators, as it sounds like you are, some of the ideas may be worth a try.

There are also chemical controls, some more lethal to bees, etc., than others, but all of them are at least partially lethal. Bees are after pollen, which usually appears with blooms, so if you use a chemical when the plants are not blooming, they may do less harm. Further...some of the chemicals in so-called "snail and slug repellents" are also harmful to pets and even children. If you eventually decide to try a chemical, be very careful to read and follow all label instructions carefully.

Here are some things you can do in your garden to make the area less welcoming to slugs and snails:

• Increase aeration (air flow around plants so they dry quicker)
• Water in the morning (allows soil to dry out faster)
• Water at the base of the plant (keeps leaves dry)
• Remove plant litter around the base of plants (Pests hide under the litter.)
• Set out traps (See links below for various ideas.)
• Lay a board in the garden overnight; remove and dispose of slugs and snails from the underside of the board in the morning.
• Bury a container level with the soil surface containing 1" of water mixed with a teaspoon of yeast. (Or beer) Remove remnants of drowned snails and slugs after a couple days.
• Encourage natural enemies of slugs
  
  • Toads, garter snakes, and predatory ground beetles.
  • Chickens, ducks and Guinea fowl provide effective control, but also leave behind unwelcome feces and sometime shredded plants.
  
  
• Here are some ideas promoted by other "organic" gardeners:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/organic-snail-control.htm

https://www.loghouseplants.com/blogs/greengardening/2015/11/we-need-safer-slug-baits/
Chemical Controls (Info from Cornell University)

• Ferric Sodium EDTA—Effective control within a few days.
• Iron phosphate—Kills within a week.
• Metaldehyde—Kills quickly. Caution: attractive to children and pets. May be harmful if swallowed, absorbed through the skin, or inhaled. Keep children and pets out of treated areas!

And finally...sometimes we simply have to be a little more tolerant of holes in leaves of our plants. The rain will eventually diminish and these critters will dry out too! Good luck!