Among other things I am battling slugs and moles burrowing through my garden. Even though I am using Sluggo I can see the slugs in their holes during the day waiting for night fall to munch on my veggie leaves. And now this stupid mole has decided to burrow right through the garden! He/she is coming from the woods nearby, you can follow the burrow. I did apply Milky Spore disease last year and most of the moles have moved to more abundant grub grounds, but this stupid mole @#%(@!
Why can't moles make themselves useful and eat the @#&% slugs!!!!
Why can't moles eat slugs????
Yes, why can't they?? Then die. Two bad birds with one stone. LOL
How about we could feed the slugs something that makes them tasty to the moles in early spring but also kills the moles, but not before they dig up the garden just in time for planting! No more rotor tilling!
Yes. Gardeners Arise. We must get this done. Let's see....We could feed them ground worms marinated in grub goo. Then add a bit of diatomatous (sp?) earth for the killer. Yuk but tasty to moles.
We have had them both really bad this year, so I know your frustration.
Slugs were more abundant in my garden early in the year, but their numbers seem to have lessened. I seem to remember reading that some ground beetles eat slug eggs. I've used Sluggo+ with success.
As to the moles - I feel your pain, I'm having a problem with voles - although they have been quiet for the past few nights. I'm wondering if my neighbor's cat has killed them.
I was just saying the same thing about the birds earlier this season. They were digging around my garden getting stuff for their nests and periodically stopped to grab a worm. "Hey, guys! There are some scrumptious cabbage worms over on the kale! And don't forget the sans-shell Escargot!"
I've noticed a marked difference in the effectiveness between Sluggo, and Sluggo PLUS. Additionally, sprinkling used coffee grinds along with the Sluggo might be a more effective deterrent...
Linda
Ooooo - yes - forgot to mention, I used coffee grounds with the Sluggo+ this year. I bring home the grounds from the office.
Unfortunately, I do not drink coffee and don't have access to used coffee grounds. :(
Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are very happy to give them to anyone who asks.
Lacking coffee grounds I can tell you from years of personal experience that a scissors works very well. I've never had a mole, thankfully, so I have no way of knowing if scissor use would work or even how big a mole is.
Ortho's Bug Getta Plus is what I rely on to get slugs and the miserable earwigs.
Salt works the best. And it satisfies the evil in me. Last year, however, they bested me and I ended up "grounded" for 6 weeks with a broken foot.
I've heard salt is very bad for the soil. I used to use it, long ago, on concrete and bricks but the scissors is faster.
Hope your foot recovered.
My foot healed nicely, thank you for asking. And now I slice with scissors, stomp with feet, and salt with caution! One must ALWAYS watch where the feet are going. And if I didn't hate those slime-balls before, I now have a personal grudge!
My mother always salted slugs, but they looked as though they died in agony, so I don't use it on them.
I rely on beer. I figure they die, but in total oblivion, or even happiness...
catmad - I looked at beer prices, and said "no way" - a little Sluggo+ goes a long way and also kills sow bugs. I also don't have to worry about my dog (or hubby) drinking it.
*G*. I wait for the 2for1 sales at the quick stop, ends up being about $.50 a can. It is undrinkable for me, so no temptation. Can't imagine the dogs being interested, but I've never had problems.
Some of my neighbors might be an issue.
I didn't think of that....
Here is a recipe that works kind of like salt but is actually good for the soil, well, in moderation.
1 spray bottle
fill 1/3 to 1/2 with ammonia
fill the rest of the way with water
Spray a slug and watch it dissolve. I keep 2 bottles of it in my greenhouse and can grab from either end (I have 2 doors) for quick action. Of course, you have to be there. Early morning and evening are best times.
You felt sorry for the slugs???
I feel bad having to kill them but torture is just not something I can do...not even to the rotten deer.
I dislike the slugs as well. I can't see their purpose. Sure, they could be food for birds, but the birds don't eat them! I used slug magic and it seems to work once they find it. However before they find it, they can do some damage. So I just put on a rubber glove, and pick them off one by one and put them onto a paper towel. When I'm done, I fold up the paper towel and throw it in the garbage. No more slugs. Earlier this spring I went out one evening to get some lettuce for dinner and found a million little baby slugs. About the only baby anything I find not cute! I picked them off and it was gross. Really killed my appetite. Lesson learned, pick my lettuce earlier. That way, any slug interaction is somewhat forgotten by dinner time. Ick!
Sequee - Yes, I feel for any animal that does not die a "quick" death, even slugs.
I want to cry every time I see an animal squashed to death by a car, too.
LOL, Jen!
Yes, animals by the side of the road do bring tears to my eyes. (Kind of twisted that I will cry over a dead deer/doe in the road, but have no problem with one on my plate!)
I think if moles eat slugs, they could get caught in their throat and choke the mole. So they don't eat them...(BIG smiley face!)
Bummer, as that would solve 2 big problems.
"Kind of twisted that I will cry over a dead deer/doe in the road, but have no problem with one on my plate!)"
Not really, to me. I think of how the ones by the road must have suffered, and the fear. Hopefully the one on your plate had a cleaner, swifter departure...
When I see a dead animal at the side of the road, I can't help but wonder if it dragged itself there after being struck, and died alone and in pain :(
Why don't they comprehend that cars can kill them? :(
Tom is an excellent hunter! Swift and precise kill = tender meat, and mine is usually fork render.
You are right, of course, though I still thinks it's a tad odd. If I can cry when I see a dead animal - should I be a vegetarian? (Ain't gonna happen, but still I wonder.)
We have a little burial ground for birds killed by cats, one of our favorite neighborhood ducks, Adelaide, and assorted bunnies of all sizes, along with the ashes from a few of our dogs.
I pray that no elephants or hippos get killed around here or we'll have major digging to do.
OMG - that got a major chuckle out of me. I'm sure we can share bizarre tales. Like the time my 18.5 year old cat died in a hotel room...
Yikes!
RE Salt - I think you are supposed to toss the slug on the salt, not the salt on the slug, then dispose of both. I think Garter Snakes eat slugs and snails. Terrier dogs tackle moles - you would want to put the dog between the garden and woods, not in the garden.
Or I'll trade you gophers for moles - I'll take something that eats grubs over something that gnaws on fruit tree roots.
"I pray that no elephants or hippos get killed around here or we'll have major digging to do."
I have pet cows.....sigh
Sequee, I've reached peace with my non-vegetarian status, for now. I buy only pastured, grass fed meat, and not much of that. I then have my cows, and they are safe, from me, anyway. As are my chickens, tho the eggs ar fair game, even the chickens (bloodthirsty critters, they are) eat those. It takes a bit of wiggling in my head to get comfortable, but I will admit to frank hypocrisy.
I tried vegetarian living when I first had cows, but it all got too convoluted for me. I just do the best I can.
p.s. This is where my dream of self-sufficiency falls apart *G*. If I had to butcher my own meat, I'd be an ovo-lacto vegetarian, no question. I even have trouble cleaning fish, which used to be a non-issue. I'm getting old, and soft. Kinda like an aging peach :).
This message was edited Jun 22, 2010 6:15 AM
Yeah - I have friends who won't eat eggs or drink milk. I guess I can see the eggs as would be chickens...but surely they would over-run the earth if left to mature! (OMG - I see a SciFi coming on!)
But MILK? Hey, Lucy, U wan the cows to 'splode???
Sequee, I have no issues with milk, but the simple truth is that milk is only "made" for baby cows. No "need" to milk those with babies, and no milk without babies. If you want a milking cow, you have to breed her. And then you need to either remove the baby, or share with them :). And then what to do with every year's baby. Granted, today's milking cows can produce far more than one calf needs, so both calf and family can survive together. It's a bablancing act for a small holder. I had Lucy, and (long story) her unexpected bull baby, Spam. In order to find a home for Spam (who got his dream job as a herd bull), Lucy had to go with him, as did his sister. He wouldn't leave without them....
Now I just have the steers. Whew....
catmad wrote:
"Sequee, I have no issues with milk, but the simple truth is that milk is only "made" for baby cows..."
I really thought milk was made for coffee...
*G*.....Nope, that's cream.....
I've struck a happy medium - I gave up milk/cream/cheese and subsituted soy. I also eat soybeans more than meat. But there are times I just gotta have some fowl/meat, so I satisfy that need without guilt.
I was thinking, why can't the moles eat poison ivy too? And prevent fungus diseases? Make themselves useful!