I know not where they come from, perhaps an alien life form! All I know; all that shimmers and shines, is not necessarily a pleasant sight.
I speak of slugs! For the last five years I have been invaded by these creatures and boy do they love my garden.
Several years ago I began a garden – the normal staples tomatoes, carrots, peppers, beets, beans, greens, etc. It was a beautiful bumper crop. My strawberry patch was quite exceptional, yielding about 20 plus pounds a year.
And then the following year…
INVASION
I noticed my tomatoes had holes in them and would be all hollowed out. The green beans were decimated – nothing but a thin skin remained. I could not figure it out – I could not find the culprit until one morning after a rain I went to do some harvest. There they were! Thousands of slugs on the grass and all my beautiful produce leaving a glistering slime trail that sparkled in the morning sunlight. If I stepped on the grass at least 100 would be squished under one step. Some were as long as an inch.
My exodus began to RID of these alien intruders, but I needed to keep it as organic as possible. I don’t use any chemicals in the garden at all. I was able to find some granules but that was futile, it didn’t work. The rain washed it away and I would have to redo it.
So I did my homework for the old remedies. Allegedly slugs do not like Hydrangeas, Euphorbias, Lavender, Rosemary, Geranium, and Japanese Anemone. Some of those I have never heard of. Then I found out if you can surround plants with crushed eggshells, crushed seashells, coffee grounds, tin foil, and copper. My garden was too overgrown to even consider that. And don’t’ even get me started on the beer can traps. That was a fail and gross. I remember when I was young my grandmother had slugs in her garden. Grandpa would have my brother and I collect them and put them in a coffee can, then he would cover them up with beer – no more slugs! That was decades ago, and I had never seen a slug since – just snails in the creek (I like snails.)
My research uncovered that they come out at night to feed, and they like cool and damp areas and love wood. They hide under pots, wood, and rocks. I decided to set traps. I put planks of old wood a few feet away from my garden and watered them well, then placed a few bad tomatoes by them. Right before dark I went and flipped the board and voila! Hundreds of them. It was then I discovered salt is the secret, I doused them all and they sizzled away. I did this throughout the summer to break the life cycle.
This year I have less but it appears a few new breeds have emerged. I just carry my box of salt with me to nip it in the bud. The silver trails are fading away and my yield does not have as many casualties, so that is a plus. P. S. Don’t water at night!
I love seafood but escargot for me is a big es car no! Snails can stay in a creek and well slugs can keep melting.
I would love to hear if anyone else is having this problem, because slugs eat everything. It most certainly is an invasion… Of the Garden Snatchers!
And remember… salt is to slugs what sun is to vampires.
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