Saturday, January 27, 2007

My wee garden, fighting the slugs and snails

I haven't tried this yet - hmmm, we'll see. Pacific Northwest and slugs are native, I think, so it has become a losing battle for me. My gardening started with no slugs or none that I could see the first couple of years. And in the last three years they have become 'progressive' slugs. So does that mean they are democratic slugs? I don't know, but I do know they can consume in one night more than I can nurture and grow all season. I don't like to kill them, but dang, I am not growing my kitchen produce garden to feed the slugs.



Another good riddance to slugs remedy;

I was told -- and it worked like a charm -- to save my egg shells, dry them out (I throw them in my dehydrator, of if in a bigger hurry, my oven for a few minutes), and run through the food processor. Then scatter them on the yard or garden. The snails and slugs eat them and die as it acts like eating glass on them.

During the 11 years I lived in that home, I did it like clock work
every month and we never had problem again.


Oh, and here's a different take on the egg shell remedy;

Keep your egg shells and fragment them. Don't crush them too fine; each
piece of shell should be about the size of a coin, no smaller than a dime.
Scatter the shells around your vegetable plants. Snails and slugs will
scratch themselves on the shells and die.

(I already do this and my slugs - you know the progressive ones - must be egg shell resistant!)


And my neighbor insists on the beer remedy;

Place containers of beer around perimeter of garden and/or plants. Slugs will be drawn to the beer, fall in and drown.


A complete list of supposedly 'proven' methods to control (or get rid of) slugs

No, I'm not going to put the whole list here - how about a link to Garden Advice though, and go read for yourself.



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