24. SLUG TO DEAL WITH

The cat the snail and the ball

I have slugs to deal with. Strange naked snails with eyes on sticks, they watch you, while chewing on your succulent lettuce. I wish they will just go eat the weeds, but the problem is that they like my veggies better.  Now I have to use scare tactics. I do not really want to kill them; I just want them to go away.

We made this chili concoction, pretty much chilli and garlic cooked on the solar cooker for the whole day, and then you strain and spray on and around plants. This really works, but it does seem to kill the poor buggers, must be a horrible way to go, death by chili…..

Then we decided to try and make slug traps with beer, from what I hear, they love the stuff. You take a plastic container, like a yogurt container and you cut openings near the top of the container. Dig a whole and plant the container so that the openings are level with the ground. Now you add some beer and put on the lid. You can even cover the lid with mulch and/or soil. The idea is that they come for the beer, fall in the container, and get very drunk very quickly (hopefully) pass out and “wake up dead”. I guess this beats the hell out of death by chili... or does it?

The long term solution will be to attract slug eating birds and insects to the garden, working on that, with the bird bath etc.

The chili also works on “aerial attack” insects. Mostly the smell just puts them off, but they seem to die if they actually make contact with the chili, but I guess the chili is the better option for now. There are a few casualties (on the side of the slugs), but at least it is not mass murder like with the beer. Fact is there are enough other plants for them to eat, not exactly like they are going to starve without my spinach.

Then there is “barb wire” for snails! You simply unravel your potting scourer and put it around the bed or plant and you fence them out, but what if you fence them in?

DO NOT FORGET TO WASH YOUR HAND after spraying with the chili...  And if you do forget, do not worry; you will not forget the second time….

We have a new volunteer, Jenna, she is American, but studies at UCT, busy with her masters in Sociology and Tim is putting her to work planting trees and harvesting soil from worms. She is engaged to a South African.

Geranium leaf

It is just the most perfect day outside, so I am off to the garden and maybe the beach later.