Last Saturday I was going to slide into the slimy world of slugs but got distracted by the Jungle.
This week, as I seem to be inhabiting my own bush tucker lite I can’t dodge this yucky subject any longer.
A couple of weeks ago I thought I saw a small slimy tail sticking out from under the kick board of the kitchen sink unit. I bravely went to pull it but it disappeared back under.
I decided that in hear/speak/see no evil style, that if there was some sort of Borrower’s Jurassic style theme Park going on underneath my Fairy Liquid stash then I didn’t want to know about it.
However a week later, back late one night and under the sudden blazing spotlight of 8 ceiling halogens….. tail and owner were caught mid kitchen floor.
As slugs go this was the Disney version, not too evil looking with almost cartoon like antennae. In true hero’s journey style it’s now been forced into exile in a land far far away (aka the front garden) and we’ll see if makes it back in time to save kith and kin from blue pellet wipe out.
Except that are blue pellets the thing we should be using?
During a recent ‘what to do about slugs’ conversation it turned out most of us had got our thinking on pellets a bit wrong.
Somehow we all thought they repelled slugs… (I think this maybe called Transference).
Not so – they are in fact food and should be thought of more as a Slug Fast Food Slide Through.
Something to distract attention and appetite as they set off from home, bound for the fine dining experience of juicy, tender plants.
But tempted by this roadside offering, they plump for instant gratification and instead of Hosta Heaven go straight to satanic slugdom.
To make this work slug pellets should be positioned at least 30 cm away from plants and placed at 5- 10 cm intervals.
However there’s debate as to whether pellets are an appropriate response. Not for the harm they do slugs but the potential danger they pose to pets and wildlife.
A site I ‘enjoyed’ reading in my sluggy research was Slugoff.
After which I’ve no idea why rabbits are thought of as prolific; one field slug = up to 90,000 grandchildren.
I also learnt slugs belong to the Gastropod family – which makes ordering a glass of wine in a Slug and Lettuce even odder!
So now I just need to be brave enough to work out what to do about any stray Monty Pythonesque stomach & foot combos that are whooping it up under my floor boards.
Photo by Joi ( who not only gets credit for the photo but for taking surely the world’s only beautiful slug shot )
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I noticed a lot of slugs this weekend, all of then looking sad and bloatedly dead on the path. Presumably it was warm enough to hatch, but cold and wet enough to kill them. Who can say?
You seem to have a lot of bold text in your writing. Are they supposed to be links, or are you just going a bit random with your style?
Hello
For many gardeners the words ‘sad’ and ‘dead’ could never appear together when being used re slugs !
For them the best plan of attack involves night raids with scecateurs – I think you have to have a strong constitution for snipping slugs – I’m still at the stage when I come over all squeamish picking them up . I have a long way to go !!!
Hello
Well it was a bit of an experiment – some people like to just scan posts – so I was just highlighting the words that if you read just those might still give you the jist of the article ! But I wasn’t sure – so you’ve helped me decide that’s probably not the way to go…. maybe I think I need to think more about subheadings instead……but glad you are still reading despite the rogue tweakings !
I must say I didn’t realise how you should position slug pellets. I kind of assumed they must taste nicer then the plants, and have been gaily flinging them into the air so they scatter everywhere and ping off the cabbage leaves with merry abandon. It’s amazing the damage even one slug can do to my poor leaves – I’ve had seedlings stripped down to tiny stalks, which has caused certain forbidden words to spill out!
I am guessing that a pellet has nothing on the experience of a fresh, tender plant – but a bit like microwave dinners – sometimes the easy option just wins ! And its never as good – but at least with ping cuisine it won’t be a last supper – unlike the slugs and the pellets – who will hopefully never gain the benefits of hindsight !