Bloody Immigrants

Please please do not post any more pictures?
I met a banana slug in a rainforest near Seattle and have never really recovered. Gardening equivalent of something nasty in the woodshed.

Stansgran.....can you describe it for us? on the other hand, maybe not.
we used to have slugs squeezing through our back door (wooden) to get at a plate of cat biscuits, this problem was only fixed By changing the door to a man made material.

Rose, Hedgehogs apparently won't eat them, they taste bitter (who the hell tasted them I shudder to think)

I have now decided that both my nest boxes have Tree Bumble bees, fascinating to watch them.

Jud, If you think I am going to waste the Black Stuff on slugs, you need to get to know me better. My local pub has promised me some beer next time he cleans his pipes.

Yes, ( muses)? How on earth do they know they taste bitter? I suppose they have offered them to hedgehogs, and seen them turn their little noses up.

WE have hundreds of frogs (OK, I've not actually counted them), a few hedgehogs and plenty of blackbirds etc. None of them seem to eat them, or if they do, not enough.

Hi GandTea have just seen on other thread where you are, as I am same area, can confirm annual Spanish flamenco convention is going well, the b......... are everywhere, wriggling up my new apple tree as I speak, shall be sorting out their castanets shortly

Uuurgh! I couldn't resist it - I googled banana slugs and this is what they look like!

Do they taste of banana ?

When my DP takes the dog out into the garden last thing at night, they go with a torch and several dog poo bags. He usually collects 2 or 3 bags full of slugs and snails and he just seals them up and puts them in the bin. We seem to have mainly big black slugs up here in Yorkshire, I've not seen many green ones.

I don't favour the salt method as it leaves bodies and, although the dog has stopped eating absolutely everything it sees now it's turned 1 year old, I believe slugs are still quite dangerous to dogs.

What I don't understand is that I have a pot full of dahlias flowering without a problem, but the one spare dahlia I popped in a another pot of cannas next to it, has been shredded. I'm leaving it as a sacrifice to the great slug god at the moment.

GA, that is disgusting!!

Lyndylou you are right, slugs can be dangerous to dogs:

The lungworm, also known as French heartworm, is a parasite carried by slugs and snails that infects dogs and can prove deadly. Dogs can become infected by eating slugs and snails or from a slime trail on grass or a toy or when drinking from puddles and outdoor water bowls.

KL, thanks for letting me know they taste disgusting, I knew someone would have tried them.

Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall in River Cottage, tried to make them edible but failed.

Do slugs and snails create the same slime? <ponders>..

When HFW tried cooking them, he got a great pan full of slime, yuk.

...anyone know an easy way to get slug slime off a hedgehog dish?

Thanks Tizliz, I knew they were dangerous for them to eat but I didn't realise they can pick the lungworm up so easily from slime trails.

GandT and others have you thought about using slug nematodes. You can now buy nematodes which attack all sorts of garden pests. Just Google nematodes.
I have just tried out vine weevil nematodes,but it's too early to judge results.

www.facebook.com/SurreyResidentsNetwork/videos/987342048022518/

Now I am really scared!

OMG

Oh, that's horrible...

We get those here on pine trees. Occasionally on the ground.
It's dangerous to touch them - animals too obviously - because the hairs can become embedded and cause infection.
They build cocoon-like nests in the trees.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_processionary#/media/File:Nest_of_Pine_Processionary_Moth_caterpillars_%28detail%29.JPG

Be afraid, very afraid. Actually if I lived in Surrey, I would be!

I fwd the link to my daughter in Surrey. Her 4 year old is passionate about 'creatures' so it's well to be aware. I also sent her pic of an oak tree. Well, she might not know....