Operation Dragnet – da de da da
Time: Yesterday evening
Place: my back garden
They were not the friendly slugs known as snail, carrying their own little house on their back and waving hello when they saw you. They can be quite pretty with nice stripy ornament shells and just staying put: yesterday it was raining, just once but all day.
The evening arrived and I was on an inspection tour of my estate. As the estate is not very large, the tour is not a long tour. I checked to see if everything was in place and then I saw them, stealthily creeping up the stalks, over leaves and almost reaching the flower buds. They had no houses, they were slugs and were brazenly showing their slimy naked form as if they were daring me to touch them. I thought at first it was one or two, and so what does it matter when I take one or two between my fingers and throw them into the neighbour’s garden.
I soon realised my mistake, the one or two were just the advance party. Further down there were one or two hundred, all sliming their way slowly but surely. I gave up, but first of all washed my hands with soapy water about five times, although traces of slime were still there. It seems our slugs lay their eggs in the earth and one day, weather permitting, generally after a strong rain shower, they hatch, they emerge, they pick up their knives and forks and begin the search for food.
I also took action and found my box of anti-slug ammunition pellets, remembering that I had used the box to take precautions with my parsley. Slugs love parsley, it is No. 1 on the slug hit list of plants to eat. I was left defenceless, the box was empty. No pellets to melt their sweet little slime covered bodies, transforming them into liquid. I am an animal friend, really, but slugs are not animals, just slimy avengers, destroying everything that lays in their slime path.
Today I returned from my shopping trip with a mega box of anti slug pellets costing 15 Swiss Francs, which is not cheap, but every cent was worth it. I distributed the pellets everywhere and their fate is sealed. Today was a quiet day in the garden, although slugs are quiet in a sneaky way. Not even my cats will eat them.
I am wondering what will be the next enemy to appear. Perhaps Godzilla slug will develop and take revenge.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
Here in Ireland or my part of it we get these nasty, slithering creatures a lot, you can actually see them every few feet along the street and as you know a fence is no barrier, nor sometimes is a door.
I hate to touch them, not that I ever have the very idea of it that makes me feel queasy. Good luck with your slug pellets I do my garden in late evening and the next morning you can see the corpses. A very successful Yuk!
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I also heard that if you put out a saucer of beer (or perhaps Guiness in the emerald isle) they drown themselves in it. Also a good solution and a happy death I would think. Good luck with your efforts.
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Yuck! I didn’t know they travel in packs. When I was a kid I would see them and my grandmother would come out with a box of salt and melt them.
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They just happen to hatch out of the eggs at the same time and all head for the same green leaves I suppose
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Table salt kills (and melts) them too. Shiver. I hate those guys. I stepped on one in bare feet long ago and I’ve never gone outside barefooted since!
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I got used to throwing them out of the garden, although only a couple and not by a mass invasion
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The good thing about slug pellets is you put them out in the evening, just lightly splatter the flowerbeds and paths and everything else if you’re me, then the next morning there are all the evil little corpses rotting into the soil…
Thanks for responding and for the tips.
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complete with slime trail behind them
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When I was very young , my Dad would send me out each evening with a jar of salt and a torch. I would have to sprinkle the salt onto each snail and slug I found. I couldn’t bear to watch as they writhed around before dissolving into a disgusting goo. I didn’t like slugs but I felt like a murderer. I use slug pellets in my herb garden but a garden expert told me to get rid of any ivy I have in my garden as snails and slugs love it. I have lots.
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I have ivy in the garden, although never noticed a snail eating it. I prefer the pellets to the salt, salt seems so cruel
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Oh gosh, slugs… I hate those things, though I do like eating escargot. There’s just something about them.
By the way, this is the most interesting post about slugs I’ve ever read.
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I had an escargot once in my garden
but I did not eat him, although I have eaten them, but not a lot to eat really.
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It’s too dry here for slugs, so we are currently having an invasion of grasshoppers. The little buggers are everywhere.
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I have an online friend who lives in Albuqueque and she said her garden is full of grasshoppers although it seems today they have the long awaited rain at last
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Yep, it’s raining here. Finally! We may even get rain tomorrow too! Yay! Not enough to end the drought, but the trees certainly like it. ^_^
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Have you ever seen a bannana slug? Yes they’re yellow and gigantic. We used to have them rainey Oregon, USA. Sooo disgusting. Ugh, stepped on one barefoot too when little. Scarred for life.
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I muat admit I have never heard of them and looked them up. They seem to be at home in the States and have not yet found they way to Europe. Judging by the look of them, I am not sorry about that.
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