Garden Time!

Well, today was the first day I was actually able to make it out into the backyard to check on my garden in probably a week.
I love where we live, most of the time.... But this has been a rough spring! Unseasonably cool. Very, very, very wet.  And get this- we had snow (that actually stuck!) on Cinco de Mayo! Yes, that is the 5th of May! To be honest, it's getting a bit old, and we're going a bit stir crazy stuck in this house. I'm hoping the end is near, however... the forecast is showing 3 potentially dry days next week. In a row. This is huge.
I'm actually considering investing in a rain barrel to collect all this and use it for watering this summer. I love that idea. Anyone have experience in this area?
On a positive note, I haven't had to water my garden, or worry about how to install the irrigation system I so badly want.

But all this rain is creating a bit of a problem with the slugs. Our house backs up to a greenspace with a swampy sort of creek, so we get a lot of slugs. I've been religious about applying Deadline around the outside of my little raised bed, and last year that worked very well. But this year? I had a bit of a slug nightmare recently.

I went out to cut some gorgeous, leafy lettuce for a nice salad, and spotted two slugs IN the garden. Not happy about that. So I threw them out, with my shovel of course. Then, while washing the lettuce, I found a slug IN MY SINK. I must admit, slugs absolutely creep me out. I'm embarrassed to say there was a fair amount of squealing as I rinsed him down the drain and ran the garbage disposal. Then poured bleach down, for good measure. Ooh, was I traumatized. I put all the lettuce in a sinkful of cool water to soak, mostly because I just couldn't deal with it at that moment. 

So, that evening, I fished all the lettuce out of the sink to dry (still not sure if I could eat it), and lo and behold: another slug. Sitting in the drain plug thing. Ewwww. This time my wonderful hubby (not without a lot of eye-rolling) took the drain plug outside and flung the slug far away. 

That lettuce is still in my fridge in a bag. Uneaten. I'm too freaked out, and I know that sounds ridiculous. I just can't explain it. 

So, since I clearly have a childish slug-phobia, I don't want to cut any more lettuce. What do I do, oh experienced gardeners out there??

I've reapplied my Deadline, of course. But the slugs have already made themselves a nice little home amongst my lettuce plants. How can I kill them? Naturally, without using chemicals inside my garden?

Or do I dig up my existing lettuce, throw it into the greenspace for some critters to eat, and start fresh? At least lettuce grows quickly....
Any advice? I heard coffee grounds keep the slugs away. But will they scare off the ones I must already have?

 My sweet little carrots appear to be slug-free. Happy about that. 

I managed to limit myself to two tomato plants this year. Last year I went a bit nuts and crammed FIVE in my little garden. 

Plus one yellow pear in a pot. I couldn't resist. I LOVE tomatoes. 

My beans are a bit behind because the neighbor dog got into our yard and dug up my fresh little sprouts several weeks ago and I had to start over.

These are TY'S strawberries. I get it big trouble if I forget to mention that. He's very proud of them. Last year he ate every last one himself.

And my herb pot. A bit behind on this as well. 

I always need an extra basil plant because I use it so much for cooking. And I'm looking forward to some homemade pesto this year!

My rosemary has gotten huge. At our first house, we had two plants that got so big, they looked like a hedge. I love rosemary. 

Help me out on the slug dilemma. Please.