dare I ask? where are the slugs?

11 years ago

I have waited a month to post this for fear of jinxing us all, but it is now mid April. We have a major slug problem in our one acre kitchen and ornamental garden, abutting as it does a small woods. We have thousands of the big dark banana slug-style creatures as well as hosts of the usual small, voracious ones. I hand pick, I squish, I use organic slug pellets...you name it. Constant vigilance in our 60+ inches of rain up at 1600 feet above Portland. So..... with this no-freeze winter we have had I began the patrol early. But no slugs, or almost none. For the first time my tulips and daffodils are intact, my iris leaves are perfect, my lettuce free of their holes. It's eerie. My theory is that the hard freeze we got early and unexpectedly last Fall may have killed eggs. Has anyone else noticed this?

I have noticed several other odd things: no sap suckers. I have to wrap my paperwhite birch every spring because they riddle it terribly. But not a one. No sounds of them in the woods either. And fewer, far fewer, hummingbirds.

My apples, quince, pears, cherries, damsons, gages and Mirabelles have all bloomed wonderfully and yesterday was sunny-- but where are the bees? I usually have a veritable plague of hymenoptera: bumble bees, honeybees, mason bees and wasps.

Anyone else?

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Comments (10)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Hmmmmm.......slugs and snails are certainly present in my garden this spring. But so far I have seen minimal damage. My theory is our abnormally mild winter provided enough overwintering food sources for them that they are not overly hungry. Yet :-)

And I've seen plenty of bird and bees in my area. Even a few early butterflies. In fact, I've had to chase some birds out of container plantings I preemptively treated with Sluggo, as the birds strangely find this product quite tasty.
greenbean08_gw
11 years ago
They're probably at my house, I have plenty.

I put Sluggo out on my strawberry bed a while back and a few days later it was nearly all gone. I suspected the crows, as they were the most abundant birds I was seeing here at the time.
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julieotoole
Original Author
11 years ago
OK. I'm relieved. Nothing cosmic, just my good luck!
pugetsoundgardener
11 years ago
The slugs are all at my house. I actually haven't seen many, but the magically disappearing leaves on my plants are testament to it. If you're feeling lonely let me know and I'll send them all back. Act fast, I've been spreading Sluggo!

I've barely seen any bees though.
T W Lim (z 8a, Western WA)
11 years ago
It's been pretty dry intermittently at my house this winter so I too have not had a huge problem so far. Regarding Sluggo, the stupid squirrels are eating it up as fast as I lay it down. Very annoying. I have taken to putting it out late at night when they are sleeping.
Olychick
11 years ago
They are all at MY house! I had to give up on Sluggo because, like TWLim, the squirrels think it's chow time when they hear the sounds of it being applied and it's very expensive squirrel food! I reverted back to Deadline, which is really effective, but I don't grow food, only perennials.
mickeymantle
11 years ago
have only seen a few so far , the banana slugs eat the grey slugs , seen a bunch of garder snakes that eat slugs though
briergardener_gw
11 years ago
Every morning I collect a number of those that did not want to eat Sluggo to feed my chicken. Maybe one day will come when I will not see slugs. I will not complain :)
julieotoole
Original Author
11 years ago
My chickens refuse to eat them :(
mickeymantle
11 years ago
try the gel type slug bait , the fuzzy tailed rats don like it , or cover the sluggo with hot pepper like you do bird seed