i think i need to follow up on WHEN TO DO THIS ... first.. prevention is much easier than cure ... so the program should start in late fall ... remove the gelatinous goo previously known as your hosta ... and kill all the mommas [actually one slug is both sexes .. go figure on that] .... and kill the ones that lay eggs .... next.. find out where they live.. and attack that area... i found.. back in suburbia.. that they were coming through the chain link from the neighbors.. and from my lawn ... so i actually baited away from the plants ... go figure on that.. why throw ATTRACTANT on your plants ... another go figure.. lol ... take a few scrap of cardboard or wood.. and lay them around the garden.. and a week or two later.. find out which has the most slugs under it ... just drop them into your drench bucket .... i also found.. that they live in some ground covers.. that they do NOT eat .... its just go figure after go figure. .. lol ... bait them there ... the following spring... attack again ... i have no proof that the solution affects eggs... but why not ... then let your hosta come up.. and keep vigil.. and apply as necessary .... i liked ammonia... but i always had to sniff it.. and frankly.. that hurts.. but i figured that if it hurt my sinuses.. it would REALLY hurt the slugs ... but it is no better than vinegar ... think escargot vinaigrette ... lol .. the real key.. is which ever is cheaper in gallon size .... anyway.. this time of year.. YOU ALREADY LOST THE BATTLE.... so plan the siege for prevention ... another thing... mulch should be pulled back.. about half way from the crown to the edge of the canopy .... so that there is a demilitarized zone.. where you can attack.. or bait .... there is no need to mulch right to the plant ... and provide a home and hiding place right next to the plant you are trying to protect ... good luck great slug hunters .... ken ps: the glory of hosta is spring through about the third week of july .... i am not looking for pristine plants this time of year... and i will tell you.. out here in the country ... the birds.. toads and frogs.. sure seem to work a lot harder in scavenging the slugs.. than they did in suburbia .... either that logic.. or my collection is so big.. i just cant worry about some of them getting eaten ...

I am not sure if I got this story right, it's been a while since I heard it. But it is true. There once was a little boy, maybe eight or nine, who wanted to be a gymnast. He spent hours on his jungle gym and monkey bars, building his strength and training himself to do things. That was his only goal, to be a famous gymnast like Olga- she was his hero. (I forget her last name. She won a gold medal in the olympics, I think.) However, he contracted a disease that weakened and eventually killed him before he turned eleven.His parents, naturally were heartbroken to watch him suffer, but even more so in understanding that his one dream would never come true. One year after he died, they happened to look at the mokey bars, now sadly empty. But underneath the bars, where the earth was packed as hard as iron, were two blood-red lilies. It was as if he was saying, "It's okay, mom and dad, I am fine. I can do things here that I could never do at home." The lilies never bloomed again.

Have not been here two days and am overwhelmed with posts! Spent the last two days in the hell hole of a hospital again. dealing with idiots, ignorance, and just plain rabid dog bed side manner from DOCTORS no less! CT scans, Gamama scans, more Xrays and many more lab and blood tests. Now allergic to paper adhesive tape. Both arms all bruised up from it and many needls. Right hand swelled and bruised, as well as two failed 'blood gas' tests that require 'scraping' a bone in your wrist where they take pulses from. Will be charged a second day stay as they delayed my checkout, AGAIN! Will now be writing many complaints to them, along with not paying bills I didn't want and have to deal with. More medications added to the big list (going into two pages now). Weak, short of breath, chest pains, under physical mental stress, even having tears and tirades were no help. More tranquiizers too.. This time its Ativan the 'loopy' drug. Don't need this, just get that hole dug soon. Soory for the sob story, but with things the way they are now, I may not last much longer. 35+ lb weight loss in 36 days?

No Sylvia, I am not the OP .... I'm just one of many who offered my own opinion and heartfelt experience - FWIW. I trust OP and other readers will be grappling with the input and various perspectives here.... as well as their own emotions and past experiences around death.... and in the end it'll be what it is, some combination of grief, relief, regret,and love.... My own experience/knowledge is that "good" deaths are indeed possible - one of my dear kitties died of feline leukemia and got progressively weaker/more frail but purred / recognized and wanted me present til the very end....her last few minutes she became a bit agitated and then she passed... it was simply like a wave going through her and her spirit left.... More recently though.... my old calico faced a death that would have been highly traumatic for both her and me and according to my vet could have quite likely involved many minutes, evem hours of her struggling to breathe.... so that led to a different outcome and a rather agonizing decision to euthanize.... Those two experiences informed my view that I dont think one size fits all and that a good talk with a vet who knows you and your animal well is the best tool for making a decision. Honestly, Syvlia - if I was to choose between one of those two ways of death for myself I would choose the first one - to pass naturally and peacefully - I would so HATE to put anyone through the agony of having to decide what to do .... But alas.... peaceful deaths are not always possible... maybe even a rarity, I dunno..... I do recognize that! I apologize if my words came across as insulting - that was not my intention.