Slugs
Question from Annelise:
Hats off to you, you are a genius! I live in Dallas and had been noticing a few chewed up coleus and other plants in my garden so I checked your book and the 1/2 grapefruit shell trap for snails has been the solution and then some!!! Really appreciate the organic tip.
Answer from Pat:
Thanks so much for writing to share your success using upside-down grapefruit peels as a trap for slugs. I like this trap better than beer or boards. Problem with boards is you have to scrape the slugs off the bottom of them. YUCK! But with half-grapefruit peels you can just pick them up in the morning and throw them away, slugs and all. Coleus attracts slugs but so also do lettuce and celery. Once slugs have entered a row of lettuce or celery it can ruin one’s crop. With a raised bed the best defense is to nail a strip of copper all the way around the top. This is permanent and stops the marauders at the pass.
This post as well as the post explaining that these snails are likely coming from my citrus tree will help me greatly. We’re in our second season of organic gardening in our yard near San Diego State and last year we lost a lot of stuff to pesky garden snails. I will try this as a step before buying chickens!
It is lovely when people write to me and say they have been helped by what I’ve written. Chickens and ducks get rid of large numbers of slugs but they also eat a bunch of plants.
Years ago I discovered that the inside of most citrus trees is a great place to find and destroy hundreds of hibernating snails during the cold winter months. They congregate together in the crotches of the branches in the center and base of citrus trees. It’s really unpleasant work pulling them off, bagging them and sending to the dump but is a great way to get rid of snails in a citrus grove before the snails launch a mass attack in March.
Hi. When I washing a large package of organic grapes that came from Bakersfield Ca. I found a HUGH SLUG. Inside of the package. Many of the grapes were ruined; the ones that weren’t I washed the entire batch extremely well & put them away, clean into the fridge, but I’m very afraid that, I’m very fearful, that even though I’d gotten rid of EVERY GRAPE THAT APPEARED TO BE BITTEN INTO, OR THAT THE SLUG MAY AVE BEGUN TO CHEW ON, that my family will become sick & or I’ll from, if eaten… Can you please tell me if my fears are correct, or if they’re unfounded…
Thank you very much ……. Sincerely Lori Hynes
Have no fear. The slugs that live in America are not poisonous. Even huge Hawaiian slugs are not poisonous, just disgusting. Slugs are simply snail-like creatures without shells and most snails are edible. The snails that we have here in California are mostly the edible kind that were a major source of protein for the Roman legions in ancient times. (The Roman soldiers carried snails with them in gunny sacks when they marched up through Europe. They skewered the snails on their swords and roasted them over their campfires and ate them. This is how snails got to France, but snails must be purged prior to cooking and then thoroughly cooked—never eaten raw.
One warning about slugs is that they do have a parasite that may carry a disease, so never eat a slug. I think this is why they make us feel so disgusted. Do not put one in one’s mouth, and it is wise to wash everything completely and cut off any damaged portions of the fruit prior to eating, but poisonous?—No. It sounds as if you washed the grapes really well and you did just as was wise. You got rid of all the partially eaten ones. I have often eaten lettuce that had some slugs on it prior to washing. Not pleasant but as long as you wash the fruit or lettuce and cut off any damaged portions, it’s fine. Your instincts seem to have led you in the right direction. It seems as if you protected your family and yourself from any possible harm. Give it a good thought and don’t worry about it.
I hope this sets your mind at ease.
P.S. When I answered the query on squash tonight I looked at videos and saw some by other folks on right hand column, but I did not see my video on mildew on squash among the 24 videos….At one time did we have more than 24?