Just a handful of slugs can wreak havoc on a typical garden. Within just a few days, the little slimy critters can chew through leaves that are important for the survival of leafy vegetables.
Master Gardener Ed Buyaraski suggests caution while using slug bait, especially the types that contain metaldehyde that can poison birds, critters, and pets.
Buyarski placed slug bait underneath bricks that provide a good habitat for slugs.
“Hiding it underneath chunks of boards or shingles, or in containers that you can place among the plants which are being chewed on, underneath cabbage plants, that sort of thing,” Buyarski said.
Other slug eradication measures include using clippers or old scissors to snip slugs in half. You can also squish them, stomp them, spray them with an ammonia and water solution and salt them into oblivion like when you were a kid.
A bottle or a small cup with a few ounces of beer will usually attract slugs. Just place the bottle opening or the lip of the cup at the soil level, and curious slugs will usually climb in, drown and die happy.
You can also keep slugs at bay with borders of crushed shells, small gravel or sand. Although, Buyarski said that some gardeners have had mixed success with a dry sand barrier.
Don’t forget to clean out your garden of dead and dying material that provides good habitat for a burgeoning slug population.
And one more thing: you can make a compost tea with seaweed, weeds and slug remains. Let the mixture ferment for awhile before diluting it and feeding it back to your plants.
Listen to the June 23 edition of Gardentalk about slugs:
Coming up this weekend:
Master Gardener 2016 Garden Tours
Six gardens located from North Douglas to out-the-road will be available for tours 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday.
$20 tickets are available until Saturday at JACC and Hearthside Books.
Maps will be available for ticket holders Saturday morning at Safeway and JACC. Carpooling is encouraged.
