Slugs eating my lettuce...

[dhalgren]

Hi.

I've started to harvest some lettuce, and noticed that slugs are starting to munch on them.

I cut off a ton of leaves for a salad (making sure the slugs fell off those leaves) and double washed them.

My question is: can I still eat lettuce that has holes in it? Is it safe?

I can't seem to find any answer online after a lot of searching...Does anyone know if it's safe to eat if I wash the lettuce?

Should I cut around the holes?

Thanks.

[purplesnow22]

haha, i have the same problem. But it's strange, i find slugs have been focused on 1 lettuce. So I harvested others, and left this one alone. :)

[UrbanPoet]

They aren't poisonous. You could actually eat the slugs...
People eat slugs in a different form. Escargot!

[JACKIE26]

Here's a quick easy way to get rid of them.

Take some shallow margine containers and fill them with some beer, the slugs are attracted to it for some reason, once they get in they drown. We have been doing this every year in our garden and it works great,saves my lettuce, brussel sprouts etc. My father did the the same thing for 40+ years in his garden.

[dhalgren]

Here's a quick easy way to get rid of them.

Take some shallow margine containers and fill them with some beer, the slugs are attracted to it for some reason, once they get in they drown. We have been doing this every year in our garden and it works great,saves my lettuce, brussel sprouts etc. My father did the the same thing for 40+ years in his garden.

I will be giving that a try today, seems like such a waste of beer though. :cheesygri

I did spread some of those anti-slug pellets.

At least the tomatoes are doing really well this year. What else are you all growing this year?

:edit

This is what I'm using to combat the slugs this year...and snails..found one last week on a green pepper plant. I guess the neighbours birdfeeders aren't as good for pest control as I'd hoped...

Safer Slug & Snail Bait (http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=909563&Ntt=909563&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber)

[dhalgren]

haha, i have the same problem. But it's strange, i find slugs have been focused on 1 lettuce. So I harvested others, and left this one alone. :)

Are the lettuce the same type?

Has anyone tried growing lettuce on a deck railing planter? I think I'm going to try that out and see how it works, still have some seeds left from last year.

[dhalgren]

They aren't poisonous. You could actually eat the slugs...
People eat slugs in a different form. Escargot!

:eek: I think I'll pass, they don't look so appetizing to me. :)
Hmm, maybe my neighbours would like them?

[camzie]

my mother in law plants rings of copper pennies around her hostas to save them from slugs. seems to work.

not sure if this would affect soil quality for growing lettuce/vegetables however

[purplesnow22]

Are the lettuce the same type?

Has anyone tried growing lettuce on a deck railing planter? I think I'm going to try that out and see how it works, still have some seeds left from last year.

They are not the same type. I have green head lettuce and red head lettuce, and romaine lettuce. The slugs in my garden just focus on 1 red head lettuce.
I've never been successful growing with seeds. They came out soooo weak. So finally I gave up, and bought small pots of baby lettuce from Loblaws.

[JACKIE26]

I will be giving that a try today, seems like such a waste of beer though. :cheesygri

I did spread some of those anti-slug pellets.

At least the tomatoes are doing really well this year. What else are you all growing this year?



We have planted romaine and looseleaf lettuce, string beans green & yellow, tomatoes, green, yellow and red peppers & red sheppard peppers, bananna peppers, carrots, garlic, brussel sprouts, spinach, cucumbers, parsnips, arugala, onions, 2 stalks of corn, peas, various herbs love my chives, and cherry tomatoes. I might still throw in some hot peppers like jalapeno.

We save a ton of money with the garden, only pick enough lettuce etc. that I need for a particular meal then I don't waste anything. I can't say the same for when I get produce in the grocery store produce from there always seems to go bad really quick. With the lettuce I just keep reseeding whenever I pick some so I have a constant supply well into late fall, same thing with carrots and onions, we plant several times.
With the tomatoes we have had them still go into November in the past they don't rippen to red though, we pick them green and have fried green tomatoes and the rest I can to use in the winter.

The garlic I plant enough to last through the winter just harvest it, braid it and hang it in the garage.
I love picking a nice sun warmed tomato, a few lettuce leaves and making a delicious tomato toast sandwich.
I used to plant all kinds of crazy stuff, but just limit it now to the stuff I know we will eat. I have had enough of zucchini & gourd invasions, these all tend to 'breed' like crazy and take over everything.

[JonJubeTube]

I will be giving that a try today, seems like such a waste of beer though. :cheesygri

I did spread some of those anti-slug pellets.

At least the tomatoes are doing really well this year. What else are you all growing this year?

:edit

This is what I'm using to combat the slugs this year...and snails..found one last week on a green pepper plant. I guess the neighbours birdfeeders aren't as good for pest control as I'd hoped...

Safer Slug & Snail Bait (http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=909563&Ntt=909563&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber)

I use a tripple whammy - copper, beer and fireplace ashes.

The copper apparently gives them a small shock. The ash sucks the water out of them and the beer lures them in and kills drowns them.

Lee Valley sells copper tape, but I used off-cuts from a neighbour's copper flashing.

I also use them around the hostas and other slug loving leafy plants.

[Focus]

Patch of grass clip on the flower bed before rain, spend 5min picking them up after rain, throw them into fish tank. Win Win for everyone.