A quick buzz...
Greetings from Bonnie and all of us at Beier's. Don't forget to scroll down for your next recipe!
Banana Slug pic
Help! I've Been Overrun By Slugs!
What to do about this pesky creature

For some reason, the slug infestation around here is worse than some other years. These icky, slimy creatures just love to eat the plants.

Slugs are hermaphrodites: they all have male and female reproductive systems. They can stretch to 20 times their normal length and squeeze through tiny openings to get at food.

Slug eggs are in the soil just about everywhere. They can be there for years and hatch when conditions are right. Adults overwinter in the soil and can live for many years. In the Pacific Northwest they have banana slugs, which are bright yellow and can be 18 inches long. There's a nice specimen in the picture. Yuk!

You could just carry a salt shaker around and salt every slug you see, but here are some other ways to keep slugs out of your garden.

Remove them by hand. Slugs gather in the shade, so look for them under flower pots, pieces of wood, ground cover plants, etc. During the day, they'll be in the shade by the dozen and easy to find. At night, use a flashlight to follow their shiny, slimy trails. Sounds like a fun thing to do with the kids! Just throw the slugs in a dish of soapy water to drown. If you touch one of these nasty creatures, rinse your hands off with white kitchen vinegar.

Kill them with diatomaceous earth. Despite popular belief, diatomaceous earth doesn't "cut" slugs. It's an extreme absorbent, so when slugs crawl across it, they absorb the powder and dehydrate. Since slugs like to live in humid environments, the powder doesn't work very long, because it absorbs water from everywhere. So use the next method, because it costs less and works better.

Beer. Otherwise known as a "yeast trap." Sink a shallow dish or jar in the ground and fill it to within 1/2 inch of the top with beer (regular or non-alcoholic.) The slugs crawl in and drown. Check the trap every few days and skim the bodies out. By the way, my own slugs seem to prefer regular Budweiser as opposed to Bud Light.

If you're a teetotaller, just put 1/2 teaspoon of baking yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar into the water in the yeast trap.

Set up a copper barrier. Once you've removed every slug from a bed, lay a 2 inch or wider strip of copper around the whole thing. Or, dissolve 1 part copper sulfate and 3 parts garden lime in water and spread around and under your plants (avoid the leaves!). Slugs won't cross the barrier, which means if there are any left inside the bed, they'll have free snacks.

Set up a "hair" barrier. This gross method has been said to work. Pile human hair, pet hair, horse hair, etc. around the plants. Decomposing hair also supplies nitrogen to the soil, so what could it hurt?

Sharpen up. People say that crushed egg shells, ground nut shells, or cocoa hulls can cut slugs and cause them to dehydrate. There are mixed reports on effectiveness, however.

Use an ounce of prevention. Make sure your plants get good air circulation and as much sun as they'll tolerate. Remove bits of wood, old flower pots, and other trash. Keep your plants and shrubs trimmed up above the ground if you can. Always remove all dead leaves and last year's mulch from your garden before planting. It's said that cedar chip mulch will keep slugs and snails away, too.

Encourage predators. Garter snakes, beetles, turtles, frogs, toads, lizards and birds are all natural slug predators. Hang a variety of bird feeders around your garden to keep the slug population under control and the birds well fed. Rhode Island Red chickens especially love slugs and snails, so if you've been hankering to keep free-range chickens, here's a great excuse.

Interesting side notes:

Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator.

In 1866, Alfred Nobel discovered that nitroglycerin could be made much more stable if absorbed in diatomite. This allows much safer transport and handling than nitroglycerin in its raw form. He patented this mixture as dynamite in 1867, and the mixture is also referred to as guhr dynamite. (Source: Wikipedia)

So let the dynamite people use diatomaceous earth, and you use beer.

Also, snails aren't indigenous to the United States. The French brought them over to make escargot, and a few escaped. Now, this pest munches our gardens instead of US munching IT. But, if you're in the mood to try some interesting ethnic food, you can use common garden snails to make escargot. (I'll include a recipe in some other Sunday newsletter!)

Slugs and snails are an icky garden pest, but you can control them with any or all of the above methods. And remember, if you've got questions about this or any other pest, call the greenhouse at (218) 326-5357 for the answers.
Pineapple-Granola Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serves 6

3 acorn squash, split and seeded
1/2 cup granola, whatever kind you like
1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple
1 tablespoon minced orange rind
1/2 teaspoon mace
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash in a baking pan with 1 inch of hot water on the bottom. Mix granola, pineapple, orange rind, and mace together and distribute evenly in the cavity of the squash. Trickle honey over the top and dot with butter. Bake for 1 hour, or until squash is tender.


Recipe courtesy of Beier's Greenhouse. Adapted from Creative Cooking With Grains and Pasta by Sheryl and Mel London. Copyright 1982 by Sheryl and Mel London. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.
August 31, 2008
Call Us (218) 326-5357
Extension Office (218) 327-5958

BEIER'S QUICK LINKS
Thanks for your time! We appreciate our customers so much. Drop by anytime to visit.
 
Sincerely,

Bonnie and the whole Beier's Greenhouse team