Slugotel

I've been taking classes at Whatcom Community College when I'm in Bellingham. Last week there was a free gardening class by Debra Olberg, an experienced gardener who works for nurseries, and has a company called Secret Garden Designs.

I learned lots, and have already put one thing into practice.

Slugs are a big problem in my float garden. I don't know how they arrived, but they are there to stay. Because my garden drains into the lake, I don't want to use poison.

Debra's suggestion was to use a plastic tub to contain the poison. Then it could be disposed of (along with any deceased slugs) in the trash.

That sounded like something that would be good for my garden.


Here's my version. I used a plastic Cool Whip tub. I cut four small doors at the bottom.

I've read that slugs don't like to crawl over rough surfaces, so I covered the bottom with duct tape to make it smoother.

I didn't want to advertise for Cool Whip in my garden, so I got out my acrylic paints to make a quick change.  A blue background gave me a canvas for my own label.

In the garden, I added some slug poison and a sprinkle of water to moisten it.

I capped the slug trap and put it next to my lettuce, one of their favourite munchies.


How do you like my Slugotel? Slugs check in, but they don't check out. I'll let you know how it works.

Do you have any tricks to get rid of slugs? I'd love to add them to my arsenal. -- Margy