So, we have this tiny patch of a yard in the new house. Though I know nothing from gardening, I've always had an inner desire to grow something someday. After being in the house for a couple of months, we finally went about "doing something" in the yard. We're talking 1.5x3' of space for this future great garden of ours.
Next, we needed to get some plants. I figured anything would grow here, really. The soil seems rich, it's sunny (though we covered some of the space to have some shade) and best of all, I swear, it rains here everyday -- even if it's for 2 minutes, it rains pretty darn frequently. Yay! I guess I probably woulnd't be the only one celebrating such optimal conditions. Oh oh.
Instead of buying plants and seeds at the nursery, we simply begged friends and family to give us anything from their (mostly overgrown) gardens. We got enough variety of plants to fill at least 3 times the space we had but, we figured perhaps not everything would survive.
Well, everything did survive, the plants took on to the soil and soon thereafter did the SLUGS! They found a cozy home with plenty variety to feed on. It's like an all-inclusive, outdoor vegetarian buffet in the tropics. What's next? A bonfire and a drumming circle? No wonder there are so many of them living with us!
We weren't sure which particular pest was feasting here until like a week of stalking the area to see what was munching on everything. Indeed they were slugs -- elusive, sneaky, slimy...and ready for a party!!!
Not knowing what to do and especially not wanting to use pesticides, I ran to the oracle that is the Internet to find a homemade solution. I ended up finding instructions for a homemade slug trap...one that uses beer as an enticement. All the slugs need on their holiday was literally a beer garden. I didn't quite believe it but it was an easy and cheap solution that would take me less than 5 minutes to implement.
By God, it works! It works really really well. Come early evening, the slugs can't resist the sweet smell of beer in our lovely garden. They take a hypnotic stroll to the trap which consists of a buried plastic container, lidded, with some holes for easy entry. Once they make the journey to the pool of beer, they simply dip in, and as I understand it, get anesthesized by the alcohol. I can't think of a better way to die...in the garden, at a nice time of the day, drowned in beer.
That't not to say that there are no more slugs. They seem to reproduce faster than dying from drunkenesss but, this is a great start. I'm very optimistic! We catch an average of two slugs per night but I'm thinking of installing some additional "cocktail lounges" in the garden.
For those interested in how this trap works, check out one of my sources here:
Also here are some pictures of the trap I made with a medium-sized yogurt container:
Who knows, you might find homemade solutions for any pests in your life. I'm definitely turned on by the idea of using (semi) natural ways to deal with problems like these. I'll tell you later about this garlic-chile spray I've been using.
Good luck if you're a gardener, if not, heck, just think how great the Internet is.
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