Though I do like the sound of Ninja Slug-Assassin

garden June 2011
It may not look all that impressive, but my garden is coming along quite nicely, thank you.
At least it is now. This has been a tough year so far.
From what I understand, we Oregonians recently came out of the worst spring on record. It wasn’t quite the wettest (I think it came in 4th) nor the coldest (2nd or 3rd) but combining the extreme cold with the extreme wet made it the worst in at least 70 years.
Why did I choose this year to get a little over excited and start planting too early?
Lettuces should be okay in March right? Nothing sprouted.
Okay, trying again in April. Nada.
May? Sorry, but no.
After three tries with seeds, I switched to seedlings. And they were eaten all up by slugs. Apparently, someone forgot to tell the slugs that this was a terrible spring and they should stay home in bed. They loved the horrible weather and expressed that love, by… well, making lots of babies.
So maybe they did get the memo about staying home in bed.
Anyway – I planted some beet and squash seedlings. The next morning they were full of holes. That evening I checked again and ended up picking 20 – twenty! slugs off one tiny plant. Neither the plant, nor the slugs survived that night. I drowned every last one of the slimy little buggers in a jar full of soapy water. And then I threw away the jar.
I really wanted to find an organic method of slug control that did not require me going ninja slug-assassin every night, so I turned to my good friend google for help. He came through, like always.
Turns out that slugs love to eat cornmeal. They can’t get enough of it.
That is, until they gorge themselves to death! [insert evil laugh]
I put a tablespoon or so in each of several plastic cups and placed them on their sides in the garden. I’ve seen slug trails in and around the cups, but the slugs are not bothering my plants any more.
It seems to be working!
Now if only I could find something in my kitchen cupboard that would kill weeds. Or mow lawns.
Any suggestions?

Works for me Wednesday

5 Comments

  1. Heidi! Slugs are HORRIBLE! And I guarantee that your lettuces came up but the slugs ate them before you could see their cute little leaves emerge. I start sprinkling slug bait around on the outside of my boxes in the fall and do it again in the winter and again in the spring. I figure it draws the buggers out and away from my garden and kills them. But I am going to do the corn meal thing next year because that is awesome. I also hear that corn meal is a great pre emergent for weeds. Stop them before they start and if you get a goat for mowing your lawn I will!

    Reply
  2. I have no slugs where I live,but I am impressed at your battles (and your pictures from the earlier posts–blech!)

    But don’t get too jealous–I’m currently doing battle with the Japanese beetles. Squirting them with soapy water and then plucking them off my raspberry bushes by hand. (Well, sort of by hand. They gross me out so I have to wear gloves.)

    Best of luck, and I hope your harvest isn’t too far behind schedule!

    Reply
  3. Thanks for the info! They keep eating my herb garden. Looks like I’m off to get some cornmeal today 🙂

    Reply
  4. I use crushed egg shells to get rid of and keep slugs away. We eat alot of eggs. i keep a small dessert plate on the counter next to our stove and after cracking eggs into the pan, place the shells on the plate to dry out. In the afternoon before I prepare dinner, I just toss the shells into a gallon sized zip lock that I keep under the sink. About once a week I take the bag and crush the shells into small pieces to make room for more shells. During gardening season, I simply sprinkle the crushed egg shells around the plants and the slugs cut their bellies while sliding over the sharp edges of the shells and die. When I can’t see the shells anymore, I just re-sprinkle.

    I have read that white vinegar will do away with weeds….have not tried it tho.

    Reply

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