🌱 Round 2? | Garden 3 : Slugs 0


Die, slugs! Die! Recently I had an issue with what appears to be slugs going to town on the bean & pepper plants in my vegetable garden. It has been rather wet lately. It certainly could be other nefarious garden pests, but I may have a prejudice for these creepy little mollusks thanks to my shellfish & mollusk food allergies.

In with the shellfish thing, I’m weird about diatomaceous earth. It; seems like breathing it in can be sus, and it can be harmful to bees. I have crushed up some egg shells and strewn them about, but I’m not certain how effective that is. I try to always rinse them well & add to my compost anyway.

I decided to make some slug traps out of stuff from the recycling bin & a PBR. It was weird to buy 1 can of beer. I rarely drink any more & didn’t need a case or a 6-pack. I did finish off what was left of the 24 oz. can after I baited the traps though.

Slug Traps made from garbage and baited with beer.
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I used two empty sour cream tubs, an empty cottage cheese tub, an iced tea jug, & a coffee container. We are perpetually excepting rain, so that’s why I made the covers. I made the cuts very quicky & very sloppy with my pocketknife because I’m impatient at times and of course decided to do this as the sun was going down.

I probably should anchor the covers somehow… but they have not blown away yet.

This morning, I counted 3 slugs overcome by a compulsion to consume delicious fermented hops.

So, there you have it. Something that works. Unlike the supposed magical marigold repellant.

Pour one out for the dead slugs, and drink to their memory as you listen to my Beer 🍻 playlist. Or, if you wanna get crazy, I have a Pabst Blue Ribbon 🥇 playlist. Why are there so many songs that name drop PBR? All I can think of that mentions Yuengling is Nerf Herder’s “New Jersey Girl.” Do any songs mention Straub?

What has proven to work well for you to repel garden pests? I have a small garden this year. I do like to keep the pollinators happy, and the birds n’ squirrels too.

AiXeLsyD13's Vegetable Garden 2025

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So, I guess I’m a birdwatcher?


I have been feeding the birds forever, and enjoy watching all the critters on our suburban landscape… even down to the bees pollinating in my zucchini flowers. I have enjoyed the Merlin Bird ID app for identifying birds that I have observed at my feeder since we moved here over 10 years ago. There’s a nice flowering tree out back that you can see perfectly from the kitchen window.

A gnome statue, he appears to have been caught mid urination.

This year for my birthday, my wife got me a Netvue Birdfy Feeder with the solar panel.

I started out with it out back by the old feeder, and a picnic table squirrel feeder from Amazon. The deer got crazy close and I was afraid of them destroying it… so I got a pole and moved it to the side of the house, right outside the window… and now the cats enjoy it there, too. I had to get the Pro Perch add-on, too.

So, of course, I got another pole and another Birdfy camera without the feeder attached and a solar panel from Walmart (they’re weirdly cheaper there in person & sometimes on Amazon than they are online at Birdfy). I couldn’t now miss the action at my old traditional feeder & the new squirrel feeder.

I have since caught deer feeding on the corn and bird seed, squirrels, a chipmunk or two, and so many trash pandas in addition to all the birds.

NAUGHTY GNOME NOSHERY

I thought I’d share photos of my setup and some videos that I have taken since I have had people inquire about it. I can see myself getting a hummingbird feeder or the nest camera down the line. Ha ha.

I have dubbed the backyard area the Naughty Gnome Noshery, and I’ll eventually work out some signage. (My wife calls it “Bird Kennywood.”) I planted some pollinator mix around the base of the tree to hopefully obfuscate the seed casings & spent peanut shells… and provide some help to bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, & other pollinators. I hung one of my 3 insect hotels out there, too.

Multiple views of my backyard bird feeder & camera setup, some brick trim around a nice little flowering tree that's hosting a bird feeder, squirrel feeder, corn posts, a hummingbird feeder, and a bug hotel.  There's a funny gnome statue, too.
The Naughty Gnome Noshery

I ought to get a ground level camera for the rabbits, and I have seen the occasional red fox in the neighborhood, too.

I have gone through a few feed mixes, different suet block flavors, even suet pellets that no one liked, but I have arrived on mixing my own from a hot pepper or spicy sunflower mix, safflower seeds, and mealworms all mixed together (for now), with peanuts for the squirrels… but the blue jays and grackles like those, too. I have put out oranges and grape jelly to try & attract orioles to no success.

I do suggest getting both the Netvue and the Birdfy apps. I use the Netvue one for camera setup, and the Birdfy one to watch the videos. Sadly, the AI bird identification subscription service is per camera, not app… so I only have it on the first one, and I still use Merlin Bird ID a lot. I know my friend Jason has the Bird Buddy brand and he’s very happy with it. I’m sure there are lots of cool ones out there.

You into birding, too? Tell me about your setup or ask me questions in the comments! Or hit me up on social media, too. I’m @AiXeLsyD13 on pretty much everything. I put a bunch of Birdfy videos on my TikTok and I share them in a cool Birdfy Facebook Group. I even have an unlisted Birdfy video YouTube playlist.