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He had me on pins and needles for this chapter, folks...

How could you possibly spin one of gardens most hated villains into a good thing and necessary part of the soil food web?

Ahh. Seems as long as we are maintaining the rest of the soil food web in good shape they aren't so much an issue. And glycoproteins sure are important to soil tilth.

Okay I'm out. I just can't bear to say nice things about slugs. I'm still busting out the Sluggo when I need it...

Pick your battles...

HG

(He clearly does *not* garden in northern California. )

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Well, at least I can have peace in knowing that although I lost a few lettuce leaves during the night, at least my garden was pirated, my soil particles were aggregated, and some organic matter was made available to the microbes . I guess that's worth a lettuce leaf or two.

What surprised me was that the majority of a slugs time is spend underground and that they can range a mile a night .

It says that the slime the slugs leave behind consists of sugars and proteins. I wonder if bacteria feed on this residue.

After learning of their benefits, I suppose I'll let the occasional one go, but if things get too out of whack......well, I'll have to get the salt out .