Where have my slugs gone?

JudyN · June 2020

My garden has always been overrun with slugs. You name it, we've tried it, but most plants got munched out of existence. Last year, I couldn't garden much at all because of a knee injury, and hubby didn't have the time because he had to take over dog-walking duties. In some ways, the garden looked better because I wasn't hoicking out plants that were trying to take over and then struggling to get something to grow in their place.

So I decided it wasn't going to be a garden so much as a wildlife refuge, and the plants were there to feed the wildlife (I had more time to stare at the plants and discovered 6 different species of hoverflies in a few weeks!).

This year, the borders were a mess but, as the plants started to emerge and I expected to have to protect the heleniums and salvias to get them through spring... they've thrived! I've had hardly any slug damage to anything!

Has this been a particularly slug-free year, or is it just me? I'm pretty sure we haven't got a hedgehog and though we have a pond, it attracts newts much more than frogs.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just curious!

Nanny Beach · June 2020

They are here in my garden, do you want them back?

JudyN · June 2020

No thank you Nanny Beach - they should only be making essential journeys at the moment and will have to stay put

Ladybird4 · June 2020

The hot, dry weather will have reduced their numbers.

B3 · June 2020

I've only been finding the odd one under well-watered plants. They're lurking out there somewhere. They haven haven't gone away - unfortunately.

Dovefromabove · June 2020

And newts will prey on the smaller ones just as frogs will .., and eat their eggs of course.

Astro · June 2020

Yes it would seem the unusually hot and dry weather might have had an impact. This year's slug/snail damage for me has been minimal so far . Last year was the opposite and they ravaged many of the plants that have been untouched this year, to the extent some didn't have a chance.