Montreal gardeners fending off booming slug population

Montreal gardeners say they've seen a serious increase in the number of garden slugs this year.

Instead of seeing their hard work pay off in the form of flowers and vegetables, some say the only thing flourishing in their gardens are slugs. Experts are blaming the increase in garden slugs on damp and wet weather last July.

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Tereska Gesing, owner of Urban Seedling, says in one day alone, she saw 50 or 60 slugs in her own garden.

"The weather has been pretty wet lately and it's been pretty humid,"said Gesing. "You don't normally see slugs this late. You see them in late May until early June."

At the West Island Nursery in Pierrefonds, owner Teresa Amorosa says the last couple of weeks have been the ideal conditions for slugs to reproduce heavy rain and humidity.

She says that she hasn't personally noticed a boom in the population, but agrees with this kind of weather gardeners will be finding more slugs. She added that she will be on the offensive in the coming weeks.

Both Gesing and Amorosa say that it's better to be proactive than letting the slugs multiply. Gesing suggested that gardeners go out at dawn to inspect plants for damage and remove any slugs they find to keep the numbers low.