Last week, heck, even yesterday the temperatures were perfect. I just couldn’t work in the garden yesterday because it was far too windy. And last week, with pleasant conditions, I was repeating the soil boot camp I attended two years ago. Because I couldn’t remember it all the first time. It was so refreshing to spend time with like-minded new friends and learn from an expert who also continues his education and research.
One of the gems that William shared with the class was a pest guide posted at Territorial Seed. I may have seen it there, but usually when I go to Territorial’s site, I’m just seed shopping. And I try to do that quickly so that I don’t spend too much money.
Anyway, I took a look at it this morning, because, you know, I’M NOT IN THE GARDEN today. (I think there is twice as much snow on the ground now.)
I fortunately do not have a lot of trouble with pests here. Two aphids, two tomato worms, several cabbage worms last year. A whole lot of grasshoppers need to be evicted. And for some reason slugs have moved in.
And so I looked up the treatment for slugs. I read about that last year and put out some jar lids filled with beer for them. Apparently, I had Mormon slugs (which aren’t as bad as Mormon crickets, BTW). Teetotalers. Not a single one was suckered. That or I had fallen prey to another internet myth.
According to the information on Territorial’s site, however, the rim of the lid must be placed at soil level. The slugs won’t climb the lids. I guess I’ll give it another try. I just have to buy the beer again. At a store where everyone knows me, and knows that we don’t drink alcohol. For religious reasons. It’s a little bit of torture. And who’s going to believe I’m buying a can of beer for the slugs? (Yeah, I could go to a different store, but then I’d be even more likely to run into someone I know. Murphy’s law and all that.) Oh, and maybe someone can help me out. What’s the shelf life of beer? Will it be worthwhile to stock up on? Does it matter whether it’s a glass bottle or an aluminum can?
Another suggestion for controlling them, in case you’re out of beer, is caffeine, either from cold coffee or a dissolved caffeine tablet. Spray small slugs with the solution, completely drenching them. Decaf won’t work. Hot coffee could kill the plants. And now, ladies, when your husbands protest taking the coffee packets from the hotel room because you already have enough for medicinal uses, you can simply reply that they are for the garden.
Three inches of snow on the table outside. I’m going back to bed.
References:
https://gardenplanner.territorialseed.com/pests/us-and-canada/
Links to related posts:
Wow. Snow. The high today here is predicted to be 102F. It’s only 97 now, but, still.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll be quiet now. Snow in May must be the price we pay for rarely breaking 95 degrees in the summer.
DeleteWe are only +2c today and extreme fire risk.
ReplyDeleteGlass beer keeps longer than canned. We use beer in a rabbit recipe and so we often keep a box at the house for cooking. I found a precovid bottle lost on a shelf and it was still good. The mother in law found bottles her son had hidden in her basement pantry from a batch he made. About half of those were still good and he passed away in 2002.
For slugs i'd read the bottles at the store carefully as they make lots of weird yuppy bears these days. Sone have no hopps in them, sone have added flavouring included. I doubt a hopps free, vanilla latte flavoured beer would entice slugs very much.
Exile1981
2 degrees Celsius and extreme fire risk? No thank you!
DeleteI thought glass might be better. Thanks for the confirmation.
I would think weird yuppy beers would be more expensive. I just need to kill the buggers. I picked up a can of Pabst yesterday. It was the cheapest. I hope the slugs aren't snobs.
I just finished a meeting with a yuppy slug, who most definitely does have a princess complex. Hopefully the ones in your garden have better taste and avoid the odd flavored stuff.
DeleteYes it is more money, but is often sold by the bottle. Cheaper brands usually come in cases. If your doing a test, most people would buy the singles, hence the note to avoid them.
Exile1981