The fearsome hunter and his weapon
Well, this spring I posted about how something was “missing” from the garden; the slugs were a long time in coming this year, but they’ve finally appeared. Sadly…
Their numbers aren’t as great as they have been other years; this morning I only found 34 while strolling around in the garden with my morning coffee, but I’m sure they will soon regain their former numbers unless I keep at it, so I do. At least now there are 34 fewer slugs that can eat my plants.
It might be a somewhat macabre start to the day, strolling around the garden in my bathrobe with a sharp hoe to cut the little bastards in two, but it’s effective, and when carried out regularly it actually seems to do a better job at controlling slug numbers than pellets did when I tried those.
Further to the 34 slugs, a meagre 4 common garden snails also crossed my way, and these were expedited in much the same way as the slugs.
Got your game face on. 🙂
I’m tough on slugs and tough on the causes of slugs! (The latter meaning slug eggs; those I deal with by boiling water…)
I think most people forget about the eggs!
-At their own peril…
Wow. I wouldn’t want to run into you in a dark alley with that expression! You don’t fool around, do you?
Oh, I’m perfectly harmless as long as you are not a gastropod, don’t worry. Also, I tend not to frequent dark alleys too often; I much prefer a bosky wood or a well-light avenue for my evening strolls.
Well I expect the Japanese beetles to come soon….they are my nemeses.
Well, I hope you have your battle gear all greased up and ready, and may the Force be with you!
(Those 35 during my morning coffee? Just the vanguard… Total for yesterday was a personal record of 218 slugs killed. And it rained last night, so they’re out in force again this morning. DAMN PESTS!)
I am sorry to hear they are back. So far here we have just had the regular kinds as well as snails, but not far from the garden I have seen what are called locally “Banana” slugs, which tells you all you need to know about them. I suppose that now that I have said we don’t have them, they will descent upon us.
Good luck in your hunting.
Invasive species are quite troublesome at times, especially when their breeding habits have been designed for drier climates where perhaps 50-75% of the eggs will dry out without hatching – whereas in the temperate, moist Danish climate they have a close-to-100% hatching rate… It means each slug can produce 200 offspring once or twice a year!
We can only hope for a dry-ish summer; that would keep numbers somewhat down, or at least at a manageable level. (And in the mean time I try not to plant too many vulnerable plants, and kill off as many slugs as possible.)
Soren, It’s nice to think that all your heroic efforts last year might have really reduced the slug population. It’s time for me to start drowning beetles every morning.
It’s more likely that it’s a long, dry winter that reduced the number of slugs in spring to a barely noticeable level, but given that the 35 I killed Sunday morning had become 218 by Sunday evening, I guess it’s fair to say they are back in full force again. So I soldier on… 🙂
Someday they will make a movie about you Søren. It will be rated R for slug violence, but will be otherwise character-driven and full of scenes with sunlight streaming through trees and creative, wonderful conversations over summer suppers in gardens.
I’m looking forward to it!
“Loads of slugs were harmed during the filming of this movie.”
-Do you think I might be played by somebody really attractive? Perhaps once the Bond-roles dry out, Daniel Craig might be interested in playing a lone gardener on a mission to defend his dahlias from invasive slugs?