slugs

They eat the garden. Every tender shoot that dares rise above the soil line is chewn upon.( Hmmm, according to my spellchecker, 'chewn' isn't a word. I'm gonna run with it anyway.) Who knew gardening could be such a melodrama?

Slugs are just a fact of life in the pacific northwest. Our rain forest climate makes this area one big slug-growin' petri dish. They aren't typically a problem. Until you decide to actually grow things in your yard. Other than dog and cat poop, of course. I've got a bumper crop of those.

So What are my slug-killing options? Many Oregonians swear by putting beer in little dishes in your garden. The beer attracts the slugs who then drown in it. This little gem of a tip had to come from the old days when women just stayed home and played housewife all day. A few beers and even weed pulling is fun! Or was it conjured up by a couple of guys who thought drunken invertebrates would be a real knee-slapper?

But I had to try it. So I nabbed a cheap can of no brand suds from my 92-year-old grandfather's house and divvied it into custard cups. It worked. Not well enough to keep buying beer for the yard, but it did work.

At the community garden we are only allowed to use organic remedies. They keep a gallon jug of something called "Sluggo" on hand for us to use. It's a great joke to the slugs. The little pellets are sprinkled on top of the ground. Well, that's just fab for the large, above-ground slugs. But guess what I discovered while planting today? Little baby slugs living under the dirt. Holy cow, who knew? I swear they were laughing at me.

Suggestion #3- How about a pellet gun? Next time I spy a slimy critter munching on my would-be salad, it'd be more fun to just shoot it.
-E