This year, for whatever reason, has been the worst year in my memory for slimy pests. Perhaps it's been the first real wet Winter and Spring we've had for years in California. Who knows?
Well, I was seeing peculiar damage to new Sarracenia pitchers and couldn't quite tell what had been doing it -- until last night. Just after midnight, catching some air, I saw that one of the taller flower stalks was arcing like a damn metronome -- and there was no breeze. I came to find a honking snail devouring the sepals and had no idea that it could -- or would -- saunter up a thirty inch stalk for a salad.
Needless to say, it and several others I found hiding in the lower leaves were treated as fastballs and/or crash-test dummies. Then came the half hour of removing tiny slugs from the pots, with a diving flashlight clinched between my teeth. Molluscicide!
"The horror, the horror . . ."
Well, I was seeing peculiar damage to new Sarracenia pitchers and couldn't quite tell what had been doing it -- until last night. Just after midnight, catching some air, I saw that one of the taller flower stalks was arcing like a damn metronome -- and there was no breeze. I came to find a honking snail devouring the sepals and had no idea that it could -- or would -- saunter up a thirty inch stalk for a salad.
Needless to say, it and several others I found hiding in the lower leaves were treated as fastballs and/or crash-test dummies. Then came the half hour of removing tiny slugs from the pots, with a diving flashlight clinched between my teeth. Molluscicide!
"The horror, the horror . . ."