Oh right- then I have nothing to worry about- that rose on the watering can is as rough as Peckham in the 90's!
Sanjy67, I read that leopard slugs are omnivores so they eat other slugs (as well as fruit, carrion, etc.) but they do also eat plant matter, particularly young plants/seedlings. I'll try not to intentionally harm any if I don;t have any seedlings about but I'm afraid my nematodes wont be so discerning!
Its mucus is sticky and this species is a low risk to agricultural crops.Leopard slugs don't damage living plants, but eat other slugsincluding species that can damage garden plants and vegetables. They also eat dead and rotting plants along with fungi and this recycles nutrients and fertilises soil.
I just watered in round 2 of the nematodes. Rounds 3 and 4 are for the allotment but I'm about to go outside with the torch to see if any more of those caterpillars have emerged to besiege my sea holly and foxglove.
I have a tub of Neem oil to get busy with- has anyone had success with that? Apparently it doesn't kill pests through toxicity but by chemically altering their behaviour: they stop eating and reproducing. Is it effective?
I like the idea of scattering bird food for the blackbirds in the flowerbeds.
I was recommended a product called Strulch to put round my new plants, it is a straw mulch that claims to deter slugs and snails. Seems to be working okay so far, plus it smells lovely so extra bonus.
I'm too squeamish to chop them in half. I chuck them in the brown bin and then I think they cook on a hot sunny day...
Some slugs are edible. Many years ago one of my colleagues was Spanish, and her mother came over and stayed in our student building (about 20 of us usually lived there). On seeing the slug population in the arboretum next door she was really pleased and spent a couple of hours gathering large black slugs. We smiled and nodded and wondered if this was a peculiar Spanish custom.
At the dinner table that night she presented her contribution to the meal, slug stew. Those of us who had been by the kitchen earlier all unaccountably had other plans, of the few remaining, many professed to be vegetarian. Of the four (2 Spanish + 2 English) who ate the stew when asked what it tasted like they said 'Just like slug'.
If anyone would like to try it, I would be fascinated to hear what it really tastes like.
Errr.....no way! Just no way.....I've eaten snails (escargot) but they were specially farmed for the purpose, PURGED for the purpose, etc. Don't slugs and garden snails potentially carry harmful parasites? I leave them to the blackbirds and thrushes.
I know that I am pandering to the stereotype at the expense of logic but I struggle to get past the imagery of the slug...ughhhh!!!
Posts
Oh right- then I have nothing to worry about- that rose on the watering can is as rough as Peckham in the 90's!
Sanjy67, I read that leopard slugs are omnivores so they eat other slugs (as well as fruit, carrion, etc.) but they do also eat plant matter, particularly young plants/seedlings. I'll try not to intentionally harm any if I don;t have any seedlings about but I'm afraid my nematodes wont be so discerning!
hi anomander, this is from 'slugwatch'
Its mucus is sticky and this species is a low risk to agricultural crops.Leopard slugs don't damage living plants, but eat other slugsincluding species that can damage garden plants and vegetables. They also eat dead and rotting plants along with fungi and this recycles nutrients and fertilises soil.
Thanks for the pictures. I've been chopping them in half -
I only plant things that are slug proof or pretty much slug proof now as I have wasted so much money on slug food in the form of nice plants.
I miscalculated this year as they ate all my daffodils and hyacinths and I'll have to grow those in pots in future.
I am about to find out if they like lobelia, I haven't tried those before.
I have a tub of Neem oil to get busy with- has anyone had success with that? Apparently it doesn't kill pests through toxicity but by chemically altering their behaviour: they stop eating and reproducing. Is it effective?
I like the idea of scattering bird food for the blackbirds in the flowerbeds.
I was recommended a product called Strulch to put round my new plants, it is a straw mulch that claims to deter slugs and snails. Seems to be working okay so far, plus it smells lovely so extra bonus.
I'm too squeamish to chop them in half. I chuck them in the brown bin and then I think they cook on a hot sunny day...
Some slugs are edible. Many years ago one of my colleagues was Spanish, and her mother came over and stayed in our student building (about 20 of us usually lived there). On seeing the slug population in the arboretum next door she was really pleased and spent a couple of hours gathering large black slugs. We smiled and nodded and wondered if this was a peculiar Spanish custom.
At the dinner table that night she presented her contribution to the meal, slug stew. Those of us who had been by the kitchen earlier all unaccountably had other plans, of the few remaining, many professed to be vegetarian. Of the four (2 Spanish + 2 English) who ate the stew when asked what it tasted like they said 'Just like slug'.
If anyone would like to try it, I would be fascinated to hear what it really tastes like.
Perhaps edible just means it won't poison you not that you would want to eat it
I know that I am pandering to the stereotype at the expense of logic but I struggle to get past the imagery of the slug...ughhhh!!!
What's the difference? Slugs are just easiier to peel