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Home My WebLink AboutAugust 28, 2003 - Garden friends and foes The Suffolk Times • August 28, 2003 � ar en rlen s an oes � � �,, ti,��A. , � r��'� �,„ ,� ' ,r��- � , ' ,��,��i� ,.,,, � �, � . , �ru�� ,,, �,' c�� - '�u�� z�ml�. , � � ,��,, , ��, ,�"^a�r• ,,� , �� r „�'''' y` o�� . . � . l �h �� . . .: ��N;l�Y��,�",� � � .1. �"� , . rr � ':� �� .: �. ;�. �" xF, �f_r r '� � �°�, ��1�Y' ' � � "ar,'r � �n� � �� '� �l i ' � n��,� r,�� a r � � ,. rY', ,�!%''h"� 0 IiineS/Rcvicw pholo by Barbara Slou�enburyh This common garden slug comes out at night to raise havoc with our plants and flowers. Proof of this destruction can be seen in the riddled leaves of plants they have feasted on. The only sign of them in the morning is the sil- very trail of mucous they leave behind. I'LL BGT'I'HLRL'S NOT ONE O y0U reading this column who has not are lobsters,crabs,crayfish,barnac es, experienced picking up a i7ower pot,a etc.,which are found in the marine piece of old damp wood or a rag that world.Yet there are a few that are was left out overnight and found terrestrial or land-loving crustacean�. under it a collection of little critters Along with the familiar sow bug is it� called"sow bugs."These scurrying lit- close relative>the pill bug,that rolls tle bugs seem to show up wherever up like an armadillo for protection. there is dampness,and we've surely When it rains,you'll find sow bugs had our share of almost everywhere it's damp.These FOCv$ that this summer. sow bugs hold on to their ancient Sow bugs are crustacean heritage in many ways.For O1�( not classified as instance,crabs and lobsters carry their NATURE insects but are eggs underneath them;so do our sow part of the ordcr bugs.It seems most likely that these by Paul of crustacea.The sow bugs evolved from marine forms StOUtelibut'gh hest known of that crawled up on the land from the -- th�sc cr�ustaceans sea eons ago. we'd be buried miles deep in debris. When you lifted up that flower pot or old damp board and saw all those sow bugs,you might have also seen a slug or two.Slugs are sort of repulsive An old home remedy is to place things.They're kind of a soft glob that about an inch of old stale beer in a moves along on a trail of silver pie tin or other similar container. mucous.These slugs are actually snails What I'm told is that the slugs are without shells that hide during the attracted to the beer and crawl into day and attack your garden at night. the pans and drown.So if you want to These litt e rowms -gray crea- How many of you have found the give that a try,place the stale beer tures,about a quarter of an inch long, leaves of your garden plants riddled attractors about every l0 feet are perfectly harmless—they don't with holes. And yet,when you look throughout the garden.If it rains, bite.They're sort of a nuisance but under the leaf to see the culprit, empty the containers and put in new they're part of the great scheme of there s nothing there.The culprit was stale beer.(Isn't that a contradic- things and by doing their part of eat- probably a slug that traveled at night � ing up decayed matter,they serve a and therefore wasn't there to be seen tion.) useful purpose.So,if you can stand during the day.I had some zinnia Another thing you can do to pre- them,let them be.If you can't,sweep seedlings out in the garden that I was vent damage from slugs is to keep the them away and they'll find another nursing along very carefully.Then one Plants off the ground the best you spot to inhabit.They are not at all day I looked and they were all gone. can.This is particularly true of tomato particular. The culprit was a slug that at night ate Plants.If you can keep the plant upright so that air can circulate over The reason we find them under my tender seedlings. the roots and around the stems,it will flowerpots is that it's usually damp The trouble people have with slugs make it less moist and less inviting for there.I can always count on finding starts in the springtime.The slug eggs the slugs.Remember,they need that them under my work shoes out on the that were laid the previous fall winter moisture,so if you can prevent them brick patio.They have a delicate gill over and hatch out in the warmth of from getting on the plants by keeping system that they breathe through that spring.The young slugs resemble the �t dry around the plant,you have must be kept moist all the time.You'll adults and immediately start their done your best to prevent slug dam- ardly ever find them in your house, ravenous life chewing away and rid- dling the leaves of your plants.Wet age. ere�t s ry; ut outsi e,w ere it's It's interesting to note that some damp like it has been this summer, springs and early summer rains usual- snakes will eat slugs.The trouble is they can show up anywhere.The uz 1Y result in a rapid buildup of the slug p population.This accounts for our et- �'e've practically eliminated snakes zling part to me is where they come g on our East End,what with lawn- from,for they appear overnight from ting more plant damage this year than mowers and population buildup with seemingly nowhere. others.If the weather turns dry and houses and blacktop and,of course, Sow bugs have seven pairs of legs stays that way for a long time,slugs the feeling by some that"the only and a segmented body.They are not can die because they must have mois- good snake is a dead snake."Simply considered an insect,as insects have ture.To escape the dry weather some put,we've lost the snake's habitat and six pairs of legs;even so,the 're bury themselves deep in the soft eart y where it's still moist. its ability to help control the slug. sometimes included in insect books Again,slugs are just another type of since there are too few of them to be �e silvery trails of mucous that snail without a shell.We do have considered as a group by themselves. they leave are best seen in the morn- �,00d snails that have shells.Perhaps Some of you might know these little �ng before the sun dries them out and some of you might have come across creatures by another name,"wood they lose their sheen.Some slugs a snail shell in the woods or found lice."They're all about us,doing their grow qu�te arge;two inches is noth- one alive.Looking closely at it,you job of cleaning up decayed matter. ing for a garden slug.The ones that can see how the wood snail looks like Have you ever thought about how are eating our plants are not that big a slug,with its two big prongs with fortunate we are in having sow bugs, as yet.They are only about an inch eyes at the end.Slugs and wood snails worms,fungus,mold and all sorts of long. aren't as bad as they look.Get insects that do their part in recycling How do you control or manage acquainted with these guys. all the grass clippings,leaves,dead these things?Well,you can pick them We did the other night when the wood,weeds,etc.?They all do their off.That's the surest way,but it takes power grid went out and we were part in the great scheme of things. time.A lot of people don't like this without lights.We were outside walk- Without this huge army of recyclers, method for the slugs are sort of ing around with a flashlight,when all squishy,but after a few you get used of a sudden we spotted six good-sized to them.Those of you who don't want slugs eating away on a large pot of to control them by picking them off impatiens.By morning the slugs had can buy poisonous baits to put out far completely disappeared,leaving only them.I'll take the hand picking or just their slimy mucous trail behind that ]eave them alone and take the conse- shone in the morning sunlight.Where uences. could the have gone?