I haven't experienced slug herbivory before, a bane of rainy climate gardeners. In the Piedmont, even in normal rainfall years, I don't think I've seen any slugs, much less experienced any damage to vegetables.But, as the Ronde de Nice (Eight-Ball) and Zucchini 'Romanesco' squash seedlings started to disappear overnight, hmm, with curiously chewed edges left on the remnants, I started to think about slugs. The slime and a culprit caught in the act confirmed my suspicions.
Hmm, they love to eat seedlings, apparently.
I AM a wildlife gardener, but it's hard to warm up to slugs, and I started searching for organic controls. Beer in dishes was one possibility (but my gardening companion didn't want to waste his craft brews, and it's apparently not all that effective); salt, diatomaceous earth, and coffee grounds are other potential treatments. But the most promising seems to be iron phosphate laced with some sort of irresistable bait (for slugs). They ingest the iron, and succumb to iron overload. I can live with that.
Sold under brand names such as Sluggo and Escar-go, I ended up buying a similar product from a local garden center.
I sprinkled the granules liberally around the squash seedlings early this evening (slugs forage in late evening and at night). We'll see.
