THE SLUG PLAGUE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 46, 18 November 1907, Page 2

THE SLUG PLAGUE.

ELEVEN REMEDIES. Eleven ways of coping with slugs and snails aro given by a writor in " Garden." Slugs are such untiring workers of evil that we suggest that our gardening readers should cut out this list and paste it upon tho walls of their tool-house:— 1. Drainage, because the dampness favours them. 2. Avoid long manure, or, in fact, any organic manure, where slugs aro abundant in tho soil —employ artificials for a time." 3. Dry dressings of somo irritant to kill the pests—(a) soot and lime; (b) salt and lime; (c) lime and caustic 'soda; or, to act mechanically, (d) powdered coke. The lime must be in a very finely divided state, and quite fresh. Two or three dressings must bo given, tho second some 15 to 30 minutes after the first. Lime and caustic soda are found to act best — four parts of caustic soda to 96 of lime, well mixed. Dry dressings, exceptfpowdered coko, should bo applied very early'in the morning. 4. "Rings" of slaked lime or fino ash soaked in keroseno may bo put around 1 choice plants. 5. Heaps of bran-mash or moist oatmeal may bo placed horo and there in the garden. The baits attract tho slugs, which may then bo easily collected. 6. Heavy applications of soot are best to keep off snails, which should be dealt with mainly by hand-picking and by trapping with cabbage loaves.

• 7. Bows of pons, etc., are best protected by spreading barley sweepings or cinders and lime along the rows or by heavy dressings of slaked limo. 8. Rockeries, ferneries, and liedgo bottoms should be cleaned out in winter, and the masses of hibernating snails crushed. 0. Land that is thoroughly fouled with slugs should bo treated with gas-limo, and in the winter deoply trenched. 10. If invasions of slugs como from a neighbouring property, a trench should bo dug nnd fillod with limo or tar, in order to trap the creatures. 11. Ducks and poultry may be kept, astboy greedily devour both slugs and snails. Thrushes, blackbirds and starlings aro fond .of the vermin.