slugs,snails

[glallotments]

That's revolting!

[alan refail]

That's revolting!

song-thrush-eating.jpg (46.23 KiB) Viewed 5706 times

No!!

It's yummeeeeee!!

[PLUMPUDDING]

I've often thought it's a pity Song thrushes aren't nocturnal they could have a wonderful feast every night without searching for slugs and snails.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Plumpudding, they might be!

[Monika]

One year, I thought I might give our visiting hedgehog a little feast and mixed the collected slugs up with some cat food which is supposed to be the correct food for hedgehogs. He/she duly visited that evening , snuffled through the bowl, ate all the cat food and left all the slugs behind! Never tried that again.

[glallotments]

We have has a similar experience with a hedgehog. We put out some hedgehog food and the hedgehog trotted past the dlus and ate the food - maybe we are just too kind to them - after all given the choice would you eat the slug!

[Johnboy]

I suspect that if you actually feed Hedgehogs then they will not do for you the job you expect them to do!
If you give them the option of eating something other than slugs, which they have to search out and eat, then you will not be decreasing your slug population.
I'm afraid I do not hold with the feeding of wild animals because there is plenty of natural food available for them and then they become dependant on the food you give them and they become lazy and then when you cease feeding them they will find life pretty difficult.
Best left to their own devices, unless in times like the extreme weather we experienced this last winter, then, and only then, is when food is needed but not at any other time.
JB.

[Primrose]

Slug Bouillabaise, Yum Yum.! It's terrifying to see that photo and realise just what's out there lurking in the darkness. It's amazing, given that that's the content of a normal garden, that any of us manage to grow anything at all. But actually, it's amazing too, to see the wide variety of slugs collected. I didn't realise there were so many different species - a whole hidden world.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Yes, Primrose, I'm always amazed by how many different kinds of slugs are in the garden as well as their sheer number. Just this one slug hunt has helped tremendously as the chewed shoots are managing to grow again on plants that I thought were lost.

It does make you realise why you never even see some seedlings and just think they haven't germinated when in fact they've been eaten.

[Primrose]

Your photo certainly illustrates why it's worth the time and trouble to sow seedlings in pots or trays in a greenhouse to get them started, rather than trying to sow direct into the ground. I've just sown a row of peas direct into the soil as I've run out of space in my mini plastic greenhouse and am wondering now whether I've just provided a hearty supper for the little blighters, even though I've put slug pellets down.
Hopefully a light layer of volcanic ash will upset their ingestions and their slimy ability to crawl around.

[ken]

I agree with a lot of of the recommendations, including organic slug pellets and copper tape round containers. I also like the green plastic slug collars from Organic Gardening. Fine for small-scale gardening. They do protect young plants very well - the trouble comes when the leaves get big and droop over the side. Expensive, I know, but my daughter buys them for me for Christmas, so I've built up a collection. She, meanwhile, now owns some battery rescue hens which just love slugs and can't believe their luck!

[glallotments]

I suspect that if you actually feed Hedgehogs then they will not do for you the job you expect them to do!
If you give them the option of eating something other than slugs, which they have to search out and eat, then you will not be decreasing your slug population.
I'm afraid I do not hold with the feeding of wild animals because there is plenty of natural food available for them and then they become dependant on the food you give them and they become lazy and then when you cease feeding them they will find life pretty difficult.
Best left to their own devices, unless in times like the extreme weather we experienced this last winter, then, and only then, is when food is needed but not at any other time.
JB.

Hi JB - The amount of food given to them would amount to a small biscuit in human terms - they just lick up what the balckbird leaves and it is very much a he who comes first gets the lots - we a have a few hedgehog visitors - not enough to stop them foraging or become reliant on us.

The only time I put out more is when it is coming up the hibernation time and the young need to pile on as much weight as possible.

[DebbieP]

I also agree with a lot of the methods here. I prefer not to kill them if I can though and have had a lot of success in the past with granite shards. At least they're also safe for my kids who are always messing about in the garden, and other wildlife too.

I've got them from this site before:

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/pest-c ... 4_311.html

The Eco-Charlie make is a good one, I think. The company selling them does other types of anti-slug stuff too, so you might find something even better on there!

Hope it helps anyway!

[Nature's Babe]

My ducks would say Yum Yum, what a treat ! LOL

[Galatea]

I also agree with a lot of the methods here. I prefer not to kill them if I can though and have had a lot of success in the past with granite shards. At least they're also safe for my kids who are always messing about in the garden, and other wildlife too.

The Eco-Charlie make is a good one, I think. The company selling them does other types of anti-slug stuff too, so you might find something even better on there!

I'm not keen on using slug pellets in the garden, even the "organic" variety...I just don't like the idea of all of those thrushes, blackbirds, hedgehogs and groundbeetles (not to mention the dogs) hoovering up poisoned slugs and snails, it can't be good for their long-term survival. Plus pellets dissolve in heavy rain, just when they are needed most!

We do use nematodes here, but I'm never too sure how effective they are - mollusc numbers are so dependent on the weather on any given day. I do like the "barrier" approach best though, since you can actually see the plants/beds etc. being physically protected and it's much longer-lasting and more durable.

Like Debbie I like the Ecocharlie slug & snail deterrent - it's made from ground-up ceramic shards and is spiky (like granite/egg-shells etc.) but it also absorbs their mucous trails to stop them from getting across it at all - a double whammy....

It's definitely also good to use snail and slug traps (beer traps, stones & wood) outside the barrier to collect the slugs since that's where they'll congregate during the day or in drier weather.