The Bait Motel

I've been fighting a host of predators in my garden these past few weeks - primarily slugs and these little black bugs that are covering certain branches of the plum tree in the neighbor's yard. Ugh.

Now, I used to think I could deal with bugs in nature. Bugs in my home? Dead. Quickly. But bugs outside? That's where they're supposed to be! However, once they decided that my garden was for their pleasure, I became very unhappy.

Yesterday, I trimmed the branches that were bug covered and hanging over the garden, so I hope that takes care of the gnats (or whatever they are). But the slugs? I wasn't sure what to do with them.

When my teetotaling mother suggested I buy the slugs all a round of drinks, I figured that was a good indication that I shouldn't just ignore them anymore. I knew someone was munching away at my peas as soon as they popped their little heads out of the ground, but I wasn't sure exactly who it was. But in good faith I brought them home a bottle of beer (after studying the multitudes of slug bait that all seemed not nice for a vegetable garden, if I ever wanted to eat them).

Beer was poured into containers, buried in the garden so the slugs could easily access it, and of a depth that would cause drowning the instant they tried to taste.

This morning, however, my anticipation for drowned slugs was not fulfilled, as I had filled the containers to the brim, allowing everyone to just get tipsy before visiting the salad bar. And visit it, they did, as one entire lettuce plant was brutally devoured.

This afternoon, the gloves came off. No more offering slugs a drink to stay away from my plants - they are getting a full buffet of slug bait. It's supposedly safe for dogs and cats, in case any eat some while passing through the yard, so I didn't feel as unorganic as I might have had I gone straight for the poison. Hopefully, it works.