Slug Defense

I can attest to the slug's love of beer. Last night was a warm one so while waiting for the house to cool, I was outside sipping a cold one in between chucking the ball for my pooch, moving the sprinkler, and doing other garden chores as the dim light from the porch would allow. Got a real shock when I returned to my chair, picked up the beer from the patio table and as I raised it to my lips, noticed a dark blob on the opposite side of the can. Oh yes, you guessed it. An inch long slug curled at the rim. I'm sure you'll understand that I hesitate to imagine what would have happened had I waited a few more minutes before picking up that can. :)

My slugs crawl up on the deck and across it to get to the bowl of cat food. Their sense of "smell" or whatever the equivalent is is pretty amazing.

Very interesting. One of the places find slugs alot are the two areas we feed our dogs. The dogs make a mess when they eat (raw food diet) and often slop it on the ground. I wonder if they slugs are smelling that residual odor and it's attracting them.

Hi AnnieBelle. Glad you caught that in time. Ugh!

I'll bet they are because it's their job to be decomposers. They eat other slugs, so they eat more than plant matter . . .

Hello AnnieBelle - are you new here or am I just way behind? If you are new, welcome! You almost had a PNW version of escargot!

There are fewer slugs in my garden lately, and I have no idea why. I was pretty vigilant for a few weeks in June, and even used the pet-friendly version of sluggo.

My dog eats FreshPet Select dog food, which the vet recommended for her because she has so much coyote in her. But I can't feed her outside because even the empty bowl attracts ants if I don't pick it up immediately. Lots of people in our neighborhood keep bowls of water on the sidewalks in front of their houses for passing dogs. I can't decide if it's ok to let your dog drink from a community water bowl or not. Opinions please!

Judi, if dogs drink from nasty mudpuddles (which mine certainly seems to relish), I don't see any problem with a relatively clean community water bowl. My general impression of dogs is they have pretty strong digestive systems, they certainly eat some nasty things with no apparent problem.

What mix is your dog, other than coyote? I once had a pound dog who I think must have been part coyote. He never barked, did not respond to his name or any other human overture, hunted at night, and it was next to impossible to get him to enter a building. Looked part sled dog, but people often did a double take and then asked, "What IS that?" Aptly named 'Ice,' he ended up answering the call of the wild after a very short time with us. Took off into our back woods one day and we never saw him again.

I think it's okay, Judy, if the water bowl looks clean and your dog has been vaccinated against the commonly transmitted diseases.

You are right to be concerned. Canine Distemper, for instance, can be transmitted (according to a recent notification for an outbreak here) by air or water from dogs and from raccoons. Raccoons can also carry/transmit Feline Distemper. And they're notorious for using a public water supply to clean their food, paws, etc.

There are things like Giardia that your dog is always at risk from. But she could get that from bird poop (licking her paw after stepping in it) or puddles, so I don't think the community water supply is her worst threat.

Lastly, there are some disease that we don't commonly vaccinate for here, but that it's possible for your dog to get. Leptospirosis is one. I think my vet told me that he sometimes recommends the vaccination if the owner lives in certain areas where it's been found. For instance, there was a higher incidence of it on Vashon Island and the thought at the time was that it was being transmitted by sea lions.

I guess it just depends on how risk averse you are . . .

Nice to have you here AnnieBell. OK, except ***ugh, yuck....to close to the mouth with the slug story... gack!***. All the more reason to drink Corona when I garden I am thinking! (Slugs don't seem particularly fond of it!)

I have been having less problem with the slugs now that things have dried up a bit. I think the wet spring gave them the perfect environment to run rampant.

Corona is also clear so you can see what critters might have joined in. My husband once got stung by a wasp who decided to share his beer and his lip swoll up to gargantuan size.

Bonehead, Good thing your DH wasn't alergic! The stinking yellow jackets LOVE any kind of beer.

I drank a spider in mine once, and it scratched my throat (don't think it was a bite). I coughed him up and gagged for quite a while... don't think it was a good experience for either of us. I now inspect my garden beers every time before sipping!

Thanks for all the info about shared water bowls. My dog is well-vaccinated, but I still worry a little. I try to always remember to carry water with me, but sometimes I'm in too big a rush! There is one dog park not too far away that has bowls right next to a hose, so I rinse it out.

Bonehead, Koka is an American Indian dog, and I'm not being disrespectful about using the term "American Indian' instead of Native American. That's her real breed. I got her from a Blackfoot Indian (that's what he calls himself) near Grant's Pass. You can go to www.indiandogs.com. His is an interesting story that would take too long to tell here. Koka is a descendant of the dogs that came across the Bering Strait and became the tribal dogs of the PNW tribes. Many of those dogs bred with coyotes. I became interested in these dogs because many of them are used as Angel dogs, assisting handicapped children. Koka was trained in such a manner, and was with a family with a sick child, but when the child passed away she was returned to the breeder, who suspects she was abused by the family. When I went to see the dogs on his ranch, Koka followed me everywhere, and I brought her home. She is a wonderful companion, and the best dog ever. Once in a while I think there is some wolf in her because she has a "prance" that is typical of wolves. But who knows - the veterinarian thinks coyote, and since he is the expert, I go with coyote.

I hate spiders and yellow jackets. Hate.

Judy
Do you have a picture of your Koka! Like to see what she looks like.

On the indiandogs.com website I mentioned above, if you scroll down to the photo on the right side of the page of two dogs - a black one standing and a brown one lying down - my Koka is the brown one. Her full name is Kokapelli, after that little Indian figure playing the flute. She was named by the Blackfoot breeder. Another fun thing - every year there is a roundup at the breeders ranch and lots of owners gather with their dogs. I was unable to go this year, but I plan to go next time!

Another Koka photo - with one of my grandkids in Park City.

Cute dog. Like the website. Thanks for the picture. Your granddaughter is darling!

She was pouting in that photo - she wanted to take Koka on the chair lift.

Very cool dogs, Judi - love their heritage. Perhaps I'll look into those for my next dog, although I'm currently taken with boxer mixes. They remind me of my childhood (grew up with a father-son boxer pair) with less squished up faces and not so skinny. My current companion is boxer-shephard, prior dog was boxer-lab. Here is Frankie enjoying the snow last winter.

Oh Frankie is so cute. He looks smart. Love his ears! Dogs are the best.

Cute face.

These are my gardening guys. Two are mine and one live next door but spends most of his time with me.

Oh, one is a girl. The back one, Nina. She is new, I have only had her since April. The middle one is Oakley he lives nextdoor, and my old guy Mack. Wish I could get them to dig in the right places. Bulb planting would be a breeze.

I am sensing that they all are expecting a treat of some sort... ???

Labs, they think it is treat time all the time. Yes they got treats.

So... apparently it IS treat tme all the time. Lucky dogs.

What a darling picture. I love that they hang together!

Spring, LOL at that photo. Adorable. I bet they do a number on your yard. Lucky dogs to have good friends next door to each other.

What wonderful furries!

Judi, Koka is such a stunningly beautiful dog. I was not familar with the breed either until you started posting about her, and I find them fascinating. She sounds like the perfect companion for you.

Bonehead, Frankie looks like a doll. Does he have the energy that most boxer mixes have? Bet it keeps you on your toes if he does!

Springcolor, what a beautiful collection of blonde helpers. I bet that Oakley loves to hang with you and yours, especially if his owners don't spend a lot of time outdoors.

Thanks. Yes Oakley likes to hang out here because I let him in or am outside. His family is gone most of the time but I love him and treat him like my own. They have their home for sale and has been for about a year. Not to many lookers so I think he will be here for a bit longer. When they do move that will break my heart and both my dogs and I will miss him.

I think dogs are amazing. They have such a sense of the world. If only we trusted our instincts like they trust theirs. Now that I am older there are few things I regret more than speaking up for myself and others, and trusting my own instincts. Dogs are SMART!

Judy
You are so right!

Frankie is actually a female, although she doesn't mind being mistaken for a guy. Her full name is Frankie Sue (I usually give my dogs a middle name for some reason). Yes, she has lots of energy - she absolutely loves to run at full speed, and will try to engage other dogs in a game of chase whenever possible. Very mellow and non-aggressive. Got her from the local shelter at less than age 2, with two litters already under her belt. Needless to say, she's now spayed.

http://www.seattlepi.com/nwgardens/143052_lovejoy09.html

Have any of you used coffee grounds for slug control or spread around your plants? I thought this article was interesting.

I think we did talk about that in one thread. A couple people used it with mixed results . . .

Darn, thought I had something new!

Well, it's worth mentioning again!! I know I didn't try it and it's a good reminder that there are lots of options.

I just want to know what a slug is? LOL Montana is truely a wonderful place.

The other night when it rained, I went outside to go somewhere and there were literally hundreds of slugs out. It was like they were having a party or something. So discouraging.

Let's bag up all our slugs and send them to Sofer.

Judi, that thought had crossed my mind, too. I see they are starting to mate now on top of everything else, and the big ones just keep coming around no matter how many I squish. (Slugs, I am talking about.)