This year we managed to avoid buying lettuce from April to mid-November. I still have some under the Reemay but with snow in the forecast, perhaps I am pushing my luck.
Every year, I try ten to fifteen different varieties of lettuce but still prefer the Batavia (French crisp). Two summers ago, I noticed that the square of red lettuce (Red Sails, Oak leaf, Cardinale) was untouched by slugs - was this coincidence? No one I discussed this with could give me a plausible explanation. So, in April, I mixed all the varieties in the same row / square. All the green lettuces had damage; worst was the iceberg, but not one bite on the reds. The lettuce does not have to be all red, even with a bit of red pigment the slugs are less interested. I repeated the experiment all summer with subsequent plantings - all with the same results. So slugs do prefer blondes!
My preferred slug trapping method: an overturned grapefruit half. I find the slugs undercover, lying there on their little lawn chair with a cool drink, umbrella and all. SQUISH!
Author: Suzanne Rheaume, MG, Vancouver Chapter
