Garter snakes are known predators of slugs. I have friends who semi-commercially garden, and use a 3-4 year cycle from new of cold compost pile to finished compost. The piles are constructed with woody branches and twigs (they add fruit tree prunings), layered with green materials from the vegetable garden. They locate the piles in sunny areas around the garden plot, cover each one with a small tarp when finished, use pavers to anchor the tarp edges and provide basking surfaces. Every year they spread the pile of finished compost and start a new one. The snakes move from pile to pile. Slugs, snails and voles are not a problem in their garden. Kathleen PNW coast, zone 8, cloudy with showers forecast, air quality back in the green _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…