Aquaponic Gardening

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Comment by Debra Colvin on March 31, 2013 at 1:39am
It looks very much like a leech to me.
you may have a shortage of ducks:D
Comment by Bill Bailey on March 30, 2013 at 8:09pm

1)    Beer. It really works. It’s also the best non-personal way to confirm that overnight damage is due to the slimy beasts. Don’t use the often-cited “stale beer”, which slugs don't like. Place commercial traps or margarine tubs on top of the soil close to the damaged plants, wait until dusk then fill them with the cheap, freshest beer you can find. Next morning they should be filled with dead drunken slugs. Dump this defeated debris nearby (where it will attract their cannibalistic pals). Repeat every evening.

2)     Coffee. New research found caffeine very effective at dispatching slugs. Save your dregs and spray them full strength directly on the beasts in the evening. Surround plants under attack with a mulch of used coffee grounds to deter slugs and feed the plants. 
3)    Iron phosphate. Turns out that iron is very deadly for a slug’s digestion. So a new generation of products with brand names like “Sluggo” and “Escar-Go!” wrap iron in a slug-attracting bait. You simply scatter the pellets around plants in peril to wipe out the pests without poisons. (And a little extra iron is good for your garden soil.)

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Comment by Bill Bailey on March 30, 2013 at 8:06pm

(Continued from 1st Link)

4)    Copper. Slugs get shocked when they touch this shiny metal. You can buy ready-made copper plant guards or just adorn your raised bed frames with copper flashing. Hot-glue rings of pennies around the tops of your containers. Drop captured slugs into a jar of pennies and watch ‘em spark!
5)    Diatomaceous earth. Available at garden centers, ‘DE’ is the mined fossilized remains of dinosaur-era, sea-going creatures called diatoms. It looks like white flour, but is incredibly sharp on a microscopic level, dehydrating slugs on contact. Surround plants under attack with protective rings of DE (wear a dust mask); freshen them up if they get wet.

6)    Boards. Lay some old planks between your garden beds. The vampiric slugs will crawl underneath to hide from the sun. Come morning, lift the boards and scrape the slugs into a bucket with a flat piece of metal. Then pour in some beer or pennies.
7)    Human hair. Surround your plants with a protective barrier of hair. The slugs will get all tangled up in it and strangle (hey—it was them or the hostas!); and the hair will eventually add plant-feeding nitrogen to the soil. 
8)    Citrus. Leave lemon, orange and grapefruit rinds out overnight near slug prone plants, and then collect and trash them—covered with slugs—first thing the next morning. Old lettuce leaves work well too.
9)    Vinegar. A spray bottle filled with plain white vinegar is a great cure for slugs that aren’t on plants. An extremely effective mollusk dissolver, vinegar is also an herbicide—so don’t spritz the salvia.
10)    Toads. Avoid all pesticides, provide water low to the ground and a damp shady spot for them to hide during the heat of the day, and these wonderful nocturnal predators will eat lots of slugs for you.
11)    Rove beetles. These big black bugs don’t bother plants, but do eat LOTS of slugs and their eggs. So don’t hurt them!
12)    Lightning bugs. The larval form of these summertime entertainers, the fascinating “glowworm,” eats slugs and their eggs. To encourage adults to breed nearby, turn off outdoor lights at night, allow a small area of your garden to stay moist and a little weedy, and don’t use pesticides.

Try this ... hope it helps you.

Comment by Theresa Baker on March 30, 2013 at 6:55pm

WHAT IS this thing?  It's actually a lot lighter in color than it looks in the photo. I have them in my beds, and I am losing ALL seedlings. Is it THIS CREATURE?!

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