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Hedghog delight
I was dreading this year in the garden with reports of a slug
and snail explosion.
after a shaky start I noticed loads of cracked open snail
shells on my lawns etc, then one night saw a Hedgehog
doing the rounds.
After this sighting the damage subsided greatly but now I am
happy to report he has got a friend,so now I am one happy
gardener.
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Posts
Great news. I combine them with blackbirds who also eat slugs + frogs + slow worms.
Yes I do. have Thrushes and Blackbirds and have seen them enjoying a good meal.
I try to encourage wildlife into the garden as much as possible.
I also have frogs and toads around the pond so every little bit helps.
I do love a tidy garden in the main but do leave messy bits also it stops me using chemicals.
Oh I didn't know blackbird ate slugs. What happens if the slugs have died from pellets? Would blackbirds eat those and is this safe for blackbird? The reason I ask is because I saw some dead slugs one day after putting pellets (sorry!!). I didn't put the dead slugs in the bin and the next day they have disappeared so I am wondering what ate them.
Am not lucky enough to have hedgehogs, all garden is enclosed :-(
Ouch, probably wasn't a pleasant end for the bird as it's essentially poison
I know it's all to easy to give up and use a few pellets - I've done so myself in the past but I found wildlife was a lot more effective at clearing them up - I've had hardly any casualties since Spring. You could talk to your neighbours and create a 5" highway for the hedgehogs to pass through
http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/link-your-garden.html
I will make sure I pick up the dead slugs in future, thank you. My neighbours aren't into plants or wildlife..they have totally barran gardens. :-(
Hi Wakeshine I did not say the birds ate slugs I recon the Hedgehogs did that but it was mentioned
that birds can crack snail shells also.
My garden though has access so they can come and go but I suspect they may have settled
in for a while.My neighbours on the whole are quite keen gardeners so we all help one another
which makes for a pleasant life but I realise not everyone is so fortunate.