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.