I had an insane fear of slugs when I was younger. I could NOT walk in a forest. I once was on a hike with Allan and two friends. There were slugs. After a couple minutes I froze and could not walk. They took sticks and cleared a path for me. I could not garden unless it was super hot and dry. Could not dig my own holes in the earth...I also had an insane fear of earthworms. Both of these fears have subsided through exposure. I still really do NOT like them, but I can be semi reasonable.
I had this experience the other day and emailed my sister Jess. She said I should post it. I just didn't know. Too much swearing. But it's real...so here it is, every so slightly edited. As in %$.
"So. I'm in the garden watering. I notice one of my apples on the ground. It has a claw mark on it and a little branch attached. Damn raccoons. So I'm noticing that Helen's bulbs have been pulled out. There are two little bulbs on the surface. So I figure I'll just push it back in the soil. It was cold and it was squishy. F%$K ME...HOLY SHIT THAT IS A FRIGGIN SLUG. I wipe my finger on my pants. Look up to see if it really is, through my glasses. BLECH. Yes it is. F$&K ME. I spit on my finger....yes really. And wipe on the pants again. Grab the hose. Water the finger and wipe again. Ooooooo, yuch. Okay back to watering. I came inside and didn't burn my pants. Yup still got 'em on. So...I think I've come a long way. I'm proud of myself. Giggle snort."
Love Erin
My Home and Garden
Your restraint is commendable!! You'd have heard me scream!
ReplyDeleteJane x
Yeah, slugs are pretty yukky! But Tomato Hornworms, DOUBLE BLECH! They are awful. Too big and ugly. Gives me the heebee jeebees!! When we first got the chickens my son tried to feed them some hornworms and the chickens actually ran away when the worms moved. Lulu did eat one yesterday though. Yeah Lulu!! Brave girl! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Jane
ReplyDeleteI used to actually get so frozen up I did a weird kind of silent scream. Phobia's...what the heck.
I was doing this weird kind of 'got the willies' kind of dance. Funny in hind sight.
Yes Joan, slugs are yukky. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see a hornworm in real life. They look pretty god awful. I wonder if you could rent Lulu out, with her caregiver of course. How does she feel about slugs?
I'm ok with slugs and worms - perhaps because they move relatively slowly - bur snakes; they are a different story altogether. They freak me out completely.
ReplyDeleteI am so curious. I am going to google this bur snake right now!!
DeleteI cannot find bur snake. Is there another name for it?
DeleteThink that bur might be a typo for but ;-)
DeleteOh too funny. Thank you Brenda!!! I wish I had a blushy face emoticon to use right now. Funny...I'm not all that afraid of snakes. Worm s and slugs, but not snakes. Go figure. I can pick up spiders with my hands, moths and spittle bugs. Sometimes there is no rhyme nor reason for any of it.
DeleteYou have my deepest sympathy. There are not enough swear words in the world to cover encounters with slugs.
ReplyDeleteI lose all sense of professionalism when I accidentally touch a slug. I don't care who is watching, I will leap around, screaming like a 12 year old at a boy band gig. I disturbed a slug eating a worm at the weekend. I still haven't recovered. Never will.
Slugs eat worms. Omg. I am so glad I haven't seen that. God it's giving me the willies thinking about it. I am sure I've accidentally touched slugs without noticing. This was my first ever contact with a slug. BLECH.
DeleteI'm so with you on this Erin - although I can pick them up if I'm wearing my leather gardening gloves and moving them swiftly into the Sluginator (plastic bottle filled with salt water). I almost picked a large one up bare-handed when picking strawberries; it was hiding under the leaves. *Shudder* Like Mark, I also can't bear snakes, even slow-worms, but luckily I've yet to come across any in the veg garden. You're a brave woman!
ReplyDeleteHi Caro. Isn't the wilds of the garden something else. I can totally picture the big slug. Oh yuck. What is a slow-worm?
ReplyDeleteThank you for appreciating how utterly brave I was. :-)
Hahaha, i love this post. I took agriculture in college and had specializations related to it for graduate schools, yet i am still afraid of what you are afraid of too! We don't touch much soil in college and i took the physiology courses to get away from them, not much of slugs but earthworms and larvae! Yes yuck! I want to make my own compost but cannot touch earthworms so till now just let whatever will come to the dump, but i will not touch earthworms even with gloves. I also love butterflies, want to raise them but cannot touch larvae too. Even a pupa which i try to touch, when it wiggle i screech! Can you imagine that. I think i can touch a bit of earthworm but not larvae, OMG they feel so yaicks! They send wiggles to my spine! hahaha!
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