An unidentified slug in Vancouver, British Columbia Photo by Magnus Mansk |
The garden slug a
mighty fellow is he; if you’re not careful he’ll eat your whole garden. Yet getting rid of these pests is easy to
accomplish. All they really are is a
snail without a shell. There are many
different ways to attack these varmints that are organic and safe.
One of the most
effective ways to get these critters is with nothing more simple then a saltshaker. You can go slug hunting after it
gets dark with a flashlight in one hand and a salt shaker in the other. Slugs will immediately dissolve into nothing
when a little salt is sprinkled upon them.
Try it and see!
Another way to get rid
of these pests is to get them drunk on beer.
Use the twist-off lid from a jar and place it in your garden where slugs
are feeding. The beer acts as an attraction for slugs. When they crawl
into the lid full of beer the action of the alcohol in the beer also causes the
slugs to dissolve. The next morning if
you don’t find the lid full of dead slugs or you will find you have a drunken
raccoon on your hands. A drunken raccoon
can be pretty amusing in their own right.
The watermelon way of
getting rid of slugs can also be used and is quite effective. This is especially so if you want to catch as
many slugs as you can without exerting yourself. After eating out the melon you are left with
the rind. Place the rind face down on
the ground in your garden. During the
night the slugs will come for a feast, and the next morning they will all be on
the face down melon rind. Then you can
catch them and dispose of them at your leisure.
Sometimes your friendly local raccoon will get to the slugs before you
do having a fine breakfast of slugs.
This takes the execution of the slugs from your hands.
Instead of throwing
away the dirty dishwater you can also use this waste product as another
effective way to deal with slugs. It
seems that a weak solution of soapy water will also do these pests in by
causing them to once again dissolve.
Kitty Litter is
another way to get rid of these pests.
All Kitty Litter really is, is diatomaceous earth. If you sprinkle this around in your garden it
will also suck the water from the body of the slug the same way that salt does.
Another friendly
animal that feeds on slugs is your friendly local snake. Just don’t expect results if the poor fellow
is plum tuckered out from supplying bites to people who only drink when they
have suffered snakebite.
References:
Slugs and Snails, http://www.ghorganics.com/page13.html
Hanna, Wanted Dead or
Alive, http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2006/07/how-to-kill-slimy-bastards-aka-slugs.html
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