Kitchen Garden Forum

Not a good photo but I've just found this patch of tiny white balls, about an inch in diameter lurking under a patch of heather which is a favourite daytime lurkng place for those horrible big brown slugs. Are they slugs eggs? If not can anybody suggest what else they might be?

Look like them to me.

It just seemed a odd time of year for any creature to be entering the reproductive cycle. i would have expected this to be happening in Spring rather than early autumn but maybe slugs' reproductive systems have a mind of their own !

Yes slug or snail eggs. I saw a lot mating a few weeks ago so they are still in full producttion. Not sure how soon after they lay eggs.

Strangely I think this is the first time I've actually come across them.
I was very tempted to sprinkle some slug pellets under the heather plants but I've often found frogs hidden under them so won't risk it. i shall definitely be doing a regular egg hunt under those plants in future though now I know what to look for.

In the past day or two I have spotted slugs "mating". I'm not sure if that word is applicable to hermaphrodites! Eggs are laid only a few days after "mating" and are quite capable of surviving over winter - or even longer.
The link is a couple of slugs "at it"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY4cDj581TM

Hi Ya, Apparently the last few months since last year have been an excellent time for slugs as the mild weather with the rain and very few frost, compared to recent winters, have made it paradise for slugs and snails alike. They have been living as normal and not stopping. They experts are telling us of an increase in the slug/snail population like never before so I am not surprised to hear of you finding eggs. Throw them out into open ground and the birds will soon clear them up. Happy Gardening