Slug Patrol

Now that my garden's in, I want to keep it healthy. One of my major problems is slugs. They thrive in dark moist corners and come out to munch on my lettuce and juicy red strawberries. I have several organic gardening books, but the best is a pamphlet called The Basic Book of Organic Gardening (1988) by Rodale Press of Emmaus PA. I found it for $2.00 in a used book store, but it's value is much more! It includes a list of the "Terrible 26" pests with organic solutions for their control, tips on composting, and organic materials you can use to enrich garden soil. I'm always pulling it off my shelf to make gardening decisions.

One of their solutions for slugs and snails is crushed egg shells. It seems that their soft bodies can't take crawling over sharp objects like egg shells. Now that I've planted my new bareroot strawberries, I don't want to share their fruits with the hungry little buggers. Each time Wayne and I have eggs for breakfast, I wash the shells and put them in a plastic basket to dry. This makes them easier to crush with nice sharp edges.

After the shells are dry, I put them in a plastic bag, zip it shut, and apply pressure to crush them. I leave the pieces large enough to have lots of rough edges to discourage those soft little tummies from crossing over. And those persistent enough to try scrape their bellies and die from dehydration. Not a very pleasant thought, but it's a necessary evil.

I started with a section of berries that looked like they would be early producers. If I can discourage the slugs from taking up residence, maybe the developing berries will have a better chance. Plus, the garden gets the added benefit of calcium as the shells decompose. A win-win, except for the poor slugs I guess.

Hey Wayne, what do you want for breakfast? How about eggs? We've still got one and a half strawberry beds to go. Eat up!!

If you want to get a copy of this pamphlet, but can't find, it's available online through Amazon.com. Happy slug hunting! - Margy