raccoons are there along with opossiums but the culprit is probably a dog whose owner gives it beer. Some dogs like the yeasty taste some don't.

Of course it could be the beer fairies that hid in your shrubs. They probably did not like your brand of beer so threw away your drinking cup.

:) Any telltale footprints around in your raised bed?

You may want to try one of the non toxic slug baits (to all but slugs) - Escargo, Sluggo, Worry Free etc shouldn't attract your elbow bending wildlife whatever it turns out to be.

Sluggo, et al. are the next step. I'm also trying crushed eggshells around the smallest seedlings, coffee spray on the leaves, and I'll put a board out there as a trap probably tomorrow. Tonight, it's flashlight and squishing time.

I'm going all out.

As for the beer, it was a Guinness, so there should be no complaining about the quality! Granted it _was_ 3 months old...

My yard is completely fenced in, so it's hard to imaging someone else's dog getting in, taking the beer, and then escaping. There was a cat, though, that's been seen once or twice...

What a hoot!!!! Whatever it is at least it has great taste in beer. How did you make out with the coffee spray? If it likes beer it may like coffee!

I'm not sure what to think of my countermeasures so far:

1) Beer trap was stolen. When replaced, I didn't see any slugs in it this morning. Either they avoided the beer (Corona - it's all I had that I would give up to the slugs), or they completely dissolved. Not sure which.

2) Wooden boards placed in garden yesterday. No slugs under them today. May need more time?

3) Crushed eggshells around seedlings. Last night I watched one slug get to the ring of eggshells, recoil, and start turning away. I also saw another slug get to a different ring of crushed eggshells, slow down, and then proceed right across it. Not sure if this works or not. Regardless, both of those slugs were removed and killed.

4) Nocturnal patrols. I went out last night and found and killed over 20 of the slimeballs. Most were these 3-4 inch long brown monsters with leopard-like spots and a kind of a hood around their heads. I only found 2 of the tiny ghost-white ones that had earlier been the main culprit. Maybe a young versus old version of the same slug? Either way, they were removed to the side of the garden and sliced into three pieces with the small garden shovel. This seems effective, but may be time consuming over the growing season.

5) Coffee on the plants. Eh. I busted my spray bottle by getting coffee grinds in the spray mechanism. Ended up just pouring/sprinkling the cold coffee on select plants. Not sure how effective this was, but the basil plant appears to have gone untouched, and it was the biggest target before.

I may go to sluggo, or a similar option soon, but in the meantime, this is what I have been doing.

Still no idea on the original beer thief.