Wednesday, July 08, 2009

The War on Slugs

This is my latest weapon in the war on slugs: Pet fur at the base of the plants.

Eggshells haven't worked, diatomaceous earth didn't work, the beer works but can't be done every night, and spraying the plants with slightly soapy water didn't deter them, either. I read that human hair and pet fur would also work, so when I took Tandi to the groomer's on Tuesday, they were happy to fill 2 gallon-sized baggies with pet fur for me. The white and red fur is Tandi's.

I'm running out of options here. Harvest is puny enough as it is:

I think the garden isn't getting enough sun, or enough food or something. I didn't pick this pepper--it either fell off by itself, or the slugs made it fall.

There's definitely room for improvement here.

15 comments:

audreypawdrey said...

You have already tried everything I can think of for slug control. I hope the fur helps! I am still waiting for my garden to suddenly become prolific too. Good luck!

Julie in the Barn said...

Bummer...I don't know what else to suggest other than getting a goose to eat the slugs. Problem is they eat the plants, too! I hope the hair/fur works. I tried that to repel dear and they (the dear) just laughed at me.

My garden only gets about 5 hours of sun. On the 4th of July the corn was as high as a chipmonks eye. But I did harvest my first ripe tomato today. Yippee!

Cathi said...

I can't help but laugh at the thought of carefully placing pet hair around the base of each little plant. I hope it works for you! If nothing else, it will help keep the little plants warm. :-)

Darling Jill Quilts said...

Woah! That is a puny pepper! I have no advice though cuz I'm not a gardener. Good luck!

Candace said...

That's a new one on me...if it were my garden, I would think the cats currently using it as a litter box were suddenly barfing mass furballs - LOL!! This is just too funny, Stephanie!! Hey - let me know if it works!
Cheers!

Lori in South Dakota said...

you need some of my "compost"!! It would make ANYTHING grow!!

MightyMom said...

what kind of slug do you have?

here's the deal as I read it.

slugs are the larvae of junebugs and there is no cure...only prevention. meaning you have to spray right after the bugs fly (presumably in June) to prevent them from laying eggs in your beds/yard/neighborhood/state.....

once the eggs are in the ground the suckers are gonna eat...that's all they know how todo.

check out Neil Sperry's advice on the matter.....I'll go and look it up for you

MightyMom said...

only for you my dear...this took SEARCHING!!

Dear Neil: Snails are devouring my new transplants. What can I do to stop them?

A: Use snail and slug baits around the plants. You’ll have to replace the bait each time you water or after every rainfall. Sevin dust also works well. Dust it across the plants’ leaves and the adjacent soil. If you have loose, organic mulch that might be harboring them when they’re not feeding, you might want to remove it carefully until the problem abates.

xo.sorcha.ox said...

My plants arent growing as fast as I'd like either! I've been trying to find a solution, also. I've been having problems with grubs and cabbage moths nibbling at my cauli plants, and I was referred onto an organic pest spray, which has worked reasonably well so far. The plants have come back, but now they just arent growing particularly quick. I fertilise, I mulch, I water...Ugh! It's so frustrating!
~S.

Libby said...

Good luck with the taming the slugs. I tried the pet hair thing on the squirrels last year . . . . they ignored it and pressed on. Don't give up - next year will be better. For all the trouble I had last year with slugs and squirrels, this year is totally different. You just never know.

AnnieO said...

I don't even know quite where slugs come from even! I have seen baby slugs and I sprinkle them with salt when I see them, but I don't imagine you want to do that to a veggie garden where you are already having trouble getting things to grow. Wish I could help!

Anonymous said...

It has been a bit since my last visit. I've heard of all kinds of remedys using pet hair...but never this one. :-)

Valerie the Pumpkin Patch Quilter said...

Look at that monsterous pepper! *winks* I bet it still tastes good! Wonder why so small? I was just watching Gardening by the Yard today and they were talking about peppers. The show mentioned that some peppers don't get as hot as they could when they don't get enough sun, so I wonder if yours aren't growing as big as they could without the sun? Huh. Well, who knows, maybe next year you'll have better luck...I say if you love your peppers keep at it! :)

Dawn's Daily Journal said...

We have had so much rain here that everything is soggy. Then we will get a day or two of really hot hot sun and everything wilts. Just can't win for losing!
Let us know what you get to work for the slugs....I have the yucky buggers as well. :(
dawn
p.s. The pet hair made me smile. Great idea!!!!

*karendianne. said...

Oh this is a great idea. I hope to read it works out. Those suckers destroy my Hostas so I just don't get to enjoy them. It can really be frustrating.