The catch is that both only work when it doesn’t rain – and it rains 50-plus inches a year in Oregon, mainly from November through May.
Of course, there are other chemicals that would work awesome for eradication, but they are not registered or labeled for grass seed.
Here are some things you probably didn’t know about slugs:
- You can have up to 500,000 per acre.
- In a field that is high in slug population, they can eat several tons of organic matter per month.
- They lay up to 500 eggs in their two-year lifespan.
- They hatch new eggs every two to three weeks.
- They can move up to 30 feet in one night.
Geese
The Oregon Farm Bureau estimates that geese cause $15 million in damage each year.
They land in fields, eat the crop and make a mess of what they don’t eat and, like slugs, wipe out acres of crop.
The federal government is our biggest obstacle when it comes to geese. The Migratory Bird Act protects the birds.
There are hunting seasons for the geese, but the problem has become bigger than a goose season and hunters can manage.
Our solution is to set up bald eagle decoys, and some have resorted to “cannons” that make noise to scare the birds off.
Grass-seed farmers continue to lobby for more solutions against slugs and geese. All are expensive and involve the federal government for approval.
And I would bet the slugs move faster than government. FG
Marie Bowers is a freelance writer based in Harrisburg, Oregon.
PHOTO
Eric and Marie Bowers of Bashaw Land and Seed Inc. check a slug bait trap in a new grass seeding. Photo by Lynn Jaynes.
