Nature bats last

Readers of this column from February of last year may recall my trials of beer traps combined with Sluggo to thin slug populations. Favorite tipples were chosen, innumerable slugs died, and their population hasn't fully recovered in 2022.

Three species of garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) and the narrow-collared snail-eating beetle (Scaphinotus angusticollis) have proliferated as well. I have created habitats for them after reading about their needs.

I have seen these predators eating slugs, and had enough time to grab the popcorn. It's not fast food.

The upshot has been Green Zones, as it were,...