BOOK REVIEWS

50 Ways to
Kill a Slug

Sarah Ford
Hamlyn, distributed by Bookwise
$NZ12.95

IF there's one pest that has the upper hand in the garden, it's the slug. Pyjama-clad forays, torch in hand, come a poor second to carpet-bombing the slimy critters with pellets. But whatever your weapon of choice, you come to learn that submission is a dirty word in the sluggish language.

Take heart, though, because here's a book that's going to restore the amiable gardener's grin and wipe more than the smile from your arch-enemy.

50 Ways to Kill a Slug, a slender offering in camouflage green, is the ultimate handbook on slugicide, giving all the intelligence needed to do battle - some of which can be shared here.

Did you know, for instance, that slugs have 27,000 teeth, can eat double their own bodyweight in a day, and have a lifespan of 2-6 years (during which time they may each gobble nearly 5kg of your favourite hostas).

Given that the average garden harbours an army of about 200 slugs, it's no wonder it looks as though it's been napalmed nightly.

Hey, there are some jokes in this book, too: a slugfest is not all gloom and doom. If its 49 ways to bump off slugs don't work, you could try the book's 50th suggestion - and convert the volume itself into a handy slug-swat. Bound to work!

Weekend Gardener, Issue 141, 2004, Page 26

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH