8A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 20, 2016
Helpful hints from your
Slug it out with spring’s slimy pests
BY KYM POKORNY
OSU Extension Service
F
Pull weeds as they pop
or plants will suffer
BY KYM POKORNY
OSU Extension Service
U
nsightly and seemingly
uncontrollable, weeds
have a way of taking over the
garden in the time it takes to put
the hoe away.
Keeping weeds under con-
trol takes time and patience, but
the effort is worth it, said Chip
Bubl, horticulturist with Oregon
State University Extension Ser-
vice. Plants – especially vegeta-
bles – have a hard time thriving
in the company of unwelcome
neighbors that compete for wa-
ter, light and nutrients. Some
also harbor pests or diseases.
“Weed seedlings are vulner-
able to hoeing, hand pulling or
rototilling,” he said. “Mature
weeds are more diffi cult to re-
move. Since weeds often emerge
before vegetable seedlings,
they’ll suppress the growth of
your vegetable seeds. The time
you spend weeding in the two
to three weeks after you plant
seeds will be time very well
spent. Weed early and often.”
If you keep weeds at a mini-
mum, your vegetables, annuals
and perennials have a better
chance of fl ourishing. Here are
a few guidelines from Bubl on
how to control these stubborn
plants:
Organic mulches such as
leaves, hay and grass clippings
keep weeds under control and
improve soil as they break down.
Apply a layer of organic mulch
two to four inches deep to your
Please see WEEDS, Page 9A
ollow the glistening trail
and you’ll fi nd the gar-
dener’s most familiar, frustrat-
ing and certainly slimiest pest,
the common slug.
It’s spring, after all, and as
soil temperatures start to climb,
slugs rise from their winter hid-
ing place underground to munch
tender seedlings, emerging pe-
rennials and even seeds.
“What slugs want is a place
that’s warm and moist,” said
Claudia Groth, an Oregon State
University Extension Service
master gardener. “That’s why
they’re coming out now. The
soil temperatures are getting to
be above 50 degrees, which is
perfect for them.”
Slugs aren’t crazy about win-
ter and summer. They bail from
cold or hot weather. But fall and
spring are agreeable seasons for
slugs. In the perfect conditions
of autumn when the heat starts
to wane and the fi rst rains come,
the mollusks lay eggs in clusters
called clutches, according to
Groth, a horticulturist who has
made slugs her specialty.
The eggs hatch fairly rapidly
and the fast-growing slugs wait
it out, showing up in spring to
scrape and shred plant leaves
with tongues lined with thou-
sands of tiny, extremely sharp
Birch Avenue Dental
Park W. McClung, DDS • Tammy L. McClung, DDS
Where dentistry is our profession but people are our focus
WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS!
Check out our exclusive Birch Avenue Dental Program that provides
all the rewards of dental insurance without the headaches.
courtesy photo
The fresh growth of seedlings, annuals and newly
emerged perennials are manna to slugs, so start a con-
trol program now.
teeth.
“In fall, you’re trying to kill
them off before they lay eggs,”
she said. “Now that your plants
are poking their heads up, you
need to protect them, because
once the leaves are nipped, the
damage is there all summer.”
The pests are particularly
fond of lettuce and other salad
greens, broccoli, beans, hostas,
strawberries, primroses and
daffodil fl owers. More sturdy
plants like ferns, sedums, orna-
mental grasses, bleeding heart,
heuchera, hellebores and most
herbs fend them off reasonably
well. Woody plants are also usu-
ally unbothered.
Since slugs go on attack at
night and look for protected
places during the day, you’ll
fi nd them under ground covers
or mulches and in thickly plant-
ed perennial or annual borders.
“Many gardeners grow plants
tightly in their beds to keep
weeds from growing,” Groth
said. “That’s an environment
that provides them with a 100
percent hiding place all day.”
Slugs will crawl beneath al-
most anything where it’s dark
and moist, including boards,
bricks, pots, loose stepping
stones and pavers and debris left
lying in the garden.
“So the fi rst thing to do when
starting a control program is to
clean up the garden,” she said.
“Don’t leave things all over the
yard. They can even hide under
garden gloves.”
Raise pots onto bricks or
“legs” purchased for that pur-
pose. Pull mulch away from
favorite plants. Remove weeds
where the pests like to nestle
down. Tidy under porches and
other raised structures.
Although sanitation is the fi rst
line of defense, there are plenty
of other methods for control.
Get started now. Young plants
are most susceptible. Here are
Groth’s recommendations:
Water in the morning. “If you
water in the evening, it’s wet
until early in the morning and
you’ve given them the best en-
vironment when they come out
at night hungry,” she said.
Put out beer traps. Use a pie
plate or bury a plastic yogurt or
margarine container up to about
an inch from the rim. Pour in
beer. Remove dead slugs daily
and refi ll with beer.
Don’t use salt. It can build up
in the soil and damage plants.
Attract predators such as
frogs, ground beetles and, yes,
snakes.
Create an artifi cial hiding
place by placing a board in their
favorite places. To make it espe-
cially attractive, grind up lettuce
and brewer’s yeast (not baker’s
yeast) and put that under the
board. In the morning, lift the
board and remove slugs. Drop
them in a bucket of soapy wa-
ter.
Go out at night with a fl ash-
light or head lamp and handpick
them.
Get a duck, which will make
a quick dinner out of slugs, but
be sure to check with your city
fi rst. Some don’t allow them and
there are restrictions.
Tape a wide (3-4 inches) strip
of copper around the top of a pot
or the top edge of a raised bed.
Also, use bait. There are two
types. One is a synthetic bait that
contains metaldehyde, which is
toxic to humans and can be fatal
to dogs if eaten in large amounts.
The other contains iron phos-
phate, which is considered very
low in toxicity, according to the
National Pesticide Information
Center at OSU. It can be used
around pets and wildlife and in
organic vegetable gardens.
When baiting, scatter rather
than making piles or bands. “If
you use piles or bands,” she ex-
plained, “slugs can go right by.
If you scatter, they’re likely to
encounter it.”
For more information please call
541-942-2471
or visit us at
www.birchavenuedental.com
Mother's Day Brunch
Sunday, May 8, 2016 | 9am- 2pm
Celebrate your mom this year with a delightful
Mother's Day Brunch buffet at the Village Green Resort!
We will be serving a variety of salads, carving stations, and desserts.
CARVING
Baked Ham served with a bourbon brown sugar glaze
Slow Roasted Top Sirloin served with horseradish and au jus
SALADS
Fresh Fruit Salad • Caprese Pasta Salad tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, bowtie pasta and pesto vinaigrette
Tossed Green Salad • Four Bean Salad
MAIN BUFFET
Salmon Quiche • Quiche Lorraine bacon, onions, and swiss cheese
Potatoes O’Brien • Sausage Patties • Honey Glazed Carrots • Fresh Green
Beans
Biscuits and Gravy • Baked Cod and Wild Rice in a mushroom wine sauce
Moroccan Chicken Over Couscous
Customer Engagement 24/7
Web Design & Development
DESSERTS
Assorted Cheese Cakes - New York style, fruit fl avors & chocolate
Assorted Cupcakes - red velvet, carrot cake & lemon meringue
Prices are $26.95 for adults, $23.95 for seniors,
and $13.95 for kids 12 and under.
Please call 541-942-2491 for reservations.
Village Green Resort
725 Row River Rd., Cottage Grove | 541-942-2491
villagegreenresortandgardens.com
Ask us how we can help grow your business.
Cottage Grove Sentinel
YOU ARE INVITED TO
FRIENDSHIP SUNDAY
If you’ve ever wondered if the church has anything to offer you…
If you’ve ever been part of a church and want to return…
…then be our guests for worship on
Sunday, April 24th at 10:30 a.m.
Coffee hour to follow.
Come and see what you have
been missing at
April 18th - 30th
Trinity Lutheran Church
Corner of 6th and Quincy
541-942-2373
www.tlccg.com
A warm welcome to all.
1133 Main St.
Cottage Grove
(541) 942-9580
Monthly fee via EFT required. Offer based on fi rst visit enrollment for a 12 month recurring billing membership.
Offer expires 4/30/16. Valid at participating locations only. No Cash value. 100% of $30 donation is given to the charity of the
center’s choice. Ask you center for more details. Monthly fees vary by location.
@2016 Curves International, INC. (1503)