Overun by foxes?

[peterstorm1985]

Not so cruel aquarius moon. I do a much quicker job of killing them than the resident toad/blackbirds etc and the dead bodies always disappear so something is eating them. I'm just helping nature along. If they would just learn to eat the dandelions rather than my lettuce, I'd build them a safe-house.

[Frankito]

Is it snails or slugs or both that chomp through most garden greenery? Whichever it is, I need to step up my cull as they are having a foodfest at my expense.. >:D

[Salsaboy]

I deal with snails organically.

I tread on them.

[Frankito]

How do you deal with slugs? Nasty littleslimers. One of my friends suggested pouring salt on them which I did one evening and they went all fluorescent and then burst... Borderline trauma, haven't done it since then..

[peterstorm1985]

Don't waste the salt (truly disgusting way to die) - quick nip with the secateurs.

[aquarius moon]

Salt is disgusting.

Frankito, Are you just a dog lover, rather than a lover of all animals/insects etc like myself?

Snails & slugs have just as much right to be here as your dog. The difference is, you feed him dog food, but the snails need your plants to survive.

Peterstorm, Turn a giant flowerpot upside down in your garden (propped up with something one side, so they can get in & out), fill with lettuce leaves from Sainsburys, top up every few days & they will leave your plants alone.

I love snails. They are so fascinating to watch.

Baby ones are about 1mm wide, so it takes ages to become a full grown snail.

Then they are walking on eggshells for the rest of their short lives, trying to avoid being crushed by inconsiderate people walking on them.

Think about this & show them some love, instead of squishing them.

[ClareC]

I too move snails from the middle of the path to stop them being squished..... Have felt soooo guilty when accidentally squishing when walking in the dark :-(

Does the flowerpot snail house method really work? There are loads in my garden, loads of foxes too for that matter, found one curled up asleep on the patio table yesterday in broad daylight!! Clearly very scared of the dog.... NOT!

[Frankito]

A-Moon, I had my own collection of Mosquitos but one day, the alpha male got lary and bit me and since then, I have lost my respect for everything other than dogs. Not strictly try as I also have two kittens, an army of goldfish and a pond full of friendly, noisy frogs. I did consider buying a guinea pig for the dog, as a pet of course, however I decided against it in the end as she is just a bit too interested in them.

More seriously, I am a serious animal lover however not great with insects. My annoyance with the ED population of snails and slugs has it's root in the fact that they are very carefree when it come to destroying the plants in my garden. This lettuce thing you suggests is definitely worth trying, thanks for the tip.

I did use the blue pellets for a while bit when we got the puppy last year, I had to stop as she was eating them and making herself sick.

[EastDulwichRose]

There is a family of foxes living in the back of my shed for the last 3 years, they reared 3 cubs last year and was delightful to see them return this year.

They do keep the rat/mice/slugs population down, although they do scavenge around.

I like them and are a part of urban wildlife.

[karter]

Urban wildlife perhaps. But they are getting out of hand now and over populating, given the chance a fox would enter your home. Keep your babies safe.(!)

[The Minkey]

Even though I back onto the Aquarius and see plenty of fox action, I've found the local cats to be more of a problem sneaking in to spray inside the house, and copious shitting & spraying in the garden - such is the price of having a garden in an urban area, I guess. I still find cats and foxes easier to tolerate than certain people because, unlike the human animal, they can't appreciate how not to be an occasional nuisance.

[aquarius moon]

ClareC Wrote:

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> I too move snails from the middle of the path to

> stop them being squished..... Have felt soooo

> guilty when accidentally squishing when walking in

> the dark :-(

>

> Does the flowerpot snail house method really work?

> There are loads in my garden, loads of foxes too

> for that matter, found one curled up asleep on the

> patio table yesterday in broad daylight!! Clearly

> very scared of the dog.... NOT!

I'm so pleased that you also rescue snails from the pavements.

Yes, the flowerpot thing works for me, although I don't have a lot of flowers in my garden & it's quite overgrown.

I have some broken paving slabs with gaps between them & have put a giant flowerpot upside down on these, so that

the snails can crawl between the slabs to get in & out.

It's nice & dry & secluded so they keep coming back, especially when I put lettuce leaves inside.

Little gem or iceberg is best because it lasts longer, also any left over salad, like tomatoes/cucumber.

When it rains, all the snails appear so I have been known to leave them a whole lettuce & it's gone within a

few days!

[peterstorm1985]

Sorry Aquarius moon but the 'lettuce leaves from Sainsburys' bit lost me. I'm trying to grow lettuces in my garden precisely so that I don't have to buy them from Sainsbury's (financial and a host of other reasons). And no, putting out some sort of buffet for the snails doesn't mean they leave my plants alone - I did try that with a sacrificial crop of baby leaves round the edge of the veg patch but it simply acted as an hors d'?uvre - it tends to encourage them to bring their mates round.

I'm sticking with the squishing method. I avoid the blue pellets because it might make the toad sick.

Cats are a more serious problem though as they crap everywhere and it's considerably more unpleasant poo - at least fox poo tends to be dryish and they leave it on the surface so it's easy to dispose of. There is nothing nastier than sowing a row of something edible then finding a small mound in the middle where some cat has decided to bury it's deposit. Yuk.

[The Minkey]

When I was little, I attempted to create a snail sanctuary, unfortunately they all slipped away overnight.

[Loz]

peterstorm1985 Wrote:

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> Cats are a more serious problem though as they

> crap everywhere and it's considerably more

> unpleasant poo - at least fox poo tends to be

> dryish and they leave it on the surface so it's

> easy to dispose of. There is nothing nastier than

> sowing a row of something edible then finding a

> small mound in the middle where some cat has

> decided to bury it's deposit. Yuk.

Lion's Roar zoo poo is brilliant at getting rid of cats. I think the Dulwich Garden Centre still sells it.

Unless the cats are yours, in which case you are stuffed.

[peterstorm1985]

Thanks for the suggestion Loz. Unfortunately I tried that but the cats that visit my garden are made of sterner stuff. I did once get the real stuff (Fresh Zoo poo including Lion Dung) and it worked amazingly but it stank to high heaven. The sonic devices seem to work but they need a straight line of sight for the detector so I'd need a load of them - too expensive.

[the-e-dealer]

Surely its fewer young!

[ClareC]

There was an episode of Mr blooms nursery and he put eggshells and gravel around his plants that were getting eaten.... Apparantly they don't like or can't slide over the rough surface.

I'm watching far too much Cbeebies :-$

[The Minkey]

Copper bands are supposed to be good - they give the snail/slug a small electric shock when they try to cross - but some sneaky molluscs are able to bridge themselves over the bands. Good for protecting container crops maybe, but as copper is an increasingly expensive commodity to try and construct a ring of copper around one's garden would be a tad impractical.

An effective method of ensuring the demise of your local slugs and small snails are nematodes. Otherwise, as ClareC illustrates, they don't like travelling over rough, gritty surfaces which are likely to adhere to them. This Hosta page has some good ideas (Apparantly, ground horse chestnuts have been shown to work): http://www.hostaplants.co.uk/slugs_and_snails.htm

[Toddinator]

I'm glad so many of you like to save snails too. I collected them all from my garden once in a bucket and emptied them into the grounds of Brixton church.

We need more hedgehogs - they are a gardeners friends. Although only really for those with enclosed gardens minus the foxes!

http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/adopt.htm

Re the foxes, I had the pleasure of watching two on my pathwway last night as I'd put a few cat biscuits down for them (ooops). The male stood guard while the lady ate - so beautiful. Understood that I really shopuldn't encourage them or feed them but one day wild animals like these will be extinct so we should appreciate them while we can :)

[Loz]

I am happy coexisting with must insects and bugs. Any moths or spiders or whatever that get into the house are escorted out again in a glass and put back into the garden.

But snails are the enemy. If I had a bucket of them I'd be adding salt and then disposing. Sorry - take no prisoners.

[peterstorm1985]

the-e-dealer Wrote:

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> Surely its fewer young!

You are of course correct; I am truly sorry for saying such a stupid thing. The idea of foxes giving birth to teenagers is quite horrible.

Toddinator: I think we can all be quite certain that foxes won't be extinct any time soon; they've learnt to adapt so they'll probably outlive humans.

[Sue]

Toddinator Wrote:

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> I'm glad so many of you like to save snails too. I

> collected them all from my garden once in a bucket

> and emptied them into the grounds of Brixton

> church.

>

xxxxxxxxx

I'm sure the gardeners in the neighbourhood of the church were very grateful for your thoughtfulness :))

[Dulwichmudlark]

to meny peaple feeding them need to cull there numbers is what me thinks had no proplums with my chickens thou

[Ridgley]

The not has annoying as slugs hate the little bugger?s :))