What a year it has been for slugs! Wow, they are big and everywhere. Not just us, either, almost everyone I've talked to says this is one of the worst years. I even lost a tomato plant to slugs - this was shocking; I didn't even know that would be a problem, earwigs never bother tomato plants. And tiny slugs were eating off the onions and corn seedlings, too (as well as everything else).
But there is a solution. Our ducks are 6 weeks old now. From day 1 (well, day 3) they have been eating slugs - I have to pick them off the plants for them, but they do the hard part. Even tiny little ducklings a few days old will tackle any size slug, although I worried a lot about choking when they were smaller. They can eat an awful lot of slugs and are always ready for more. I can't wait until they can start harvesting their own.
It would have been a very discouraging spring without the ducks... at least there is some up-side to the slug invasion. Picking slugs has some advantages over earwigs... low-tech, no vacuum needed; slugs don't run very fast; and they often come out before dark.
Other than that, we are up to 4 sheep, who are not keeping up with the grass at all; chickens are laying, meat chickens ready to go to the butcher; the garden is in and growing, and the slugs are really not too much trouble any more. Things really are beautiful and bounteous here!
Ancona ducks, from Boondockers farm, south of Eugene. From the left; Duckie, Bill, Donald, Cenk, Ping, and Ryan, and the 7th, Quacky, is not apparently in the photo. (unless I have mixed up Quacky and Ryan)
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