Let me take you to the western extremity of The Pudding Estate. There, amongst other things, you will find a green plastic water butt and four of our compost bins. All very ordinary and unremarkable you might think...
Yes, ordinary and unremarkable until you remove the lids.
Let us peer inside the water butt where approximately thirty five garden slugs reside. I have no idea how they got in there for the lid is tightly sealed and I don't know what they have been feeding on but they have created their own slug community where unmentionable things no doubt happen. It is my own miniature Mar-a-Lago:-
I don't even know for sure what species of slug this is in spite of googling. Perhaps it is a previously undiscovered species that I shall name after Jacob Rees-Mogg, the outgoing Conservative MP for North Somerset. And I also don't know if this particular slug brings benefits to gardening and compost production. It is probably a kind of yellow slug - Limacus flavus.
Let me remove the lid from the middle bin.
Can you see them writhing around in the waste vegetable matter? There must be another fifty slugs in that particular bin but seemingly none inside the first bin you can see.
Slugs are much maligned creatures but I think they must be fascinating for biologists to study. On average, an English garden is home to over 20,000 slugs and it is estimated that an acre of farmland can support over 250,000 slugs. However, only around 5% of the slug population is above ground at any one time, with the other 95% spending their time underground, laying eggs and feeding on roots and seedlings.
My slugs are available for purchase. They make excellent companions and require minimal care. They are competitively priced. Requests should made in the "Comments" section.
Are they a tasty repast for Francophiles, like snails? I LOVE escargot.
ReplyDeleteSlugs can be a vector for transmission of parasitic nematodes that cause lungworm in various mammals, so they are usually avoided by hedgehogs and other mammals when other food is available. In a few rare cases, humans have contracted parasite-induced meningitis from eating raw slugs. Cook well.
DeleteWe have enough slugs here in Washington, thank you. I once stepped on a banana slug while barefoot. It scarred me for life.
ReplyDeleteIt scarred you? I didn't realise that they had such sharp teeth Margaret!
DeleteI'll pass on the slugs ....
ReplyDeleteWho will you pass them on to?
DeleteI am thankful we don't have a lot of slugs here and certainly none that large, at least not here. Vancouver Island has huge black slugs that look like dog turds.
ReplyDeleteI'll pass on your slugs for sale side hustle.
The girl slugs see them as handsome beasts - not dog turds!
DeleteMost people have no idea that these critters are present. Our slugs are very much smaller.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you introduce some bigger slugs Red. Mine are very good at... breeding!
DeleteNo thank you. I have enough slugs of my own and probably they are what is eating my baby rhubarb leaves. I hope the rhubarb survives but don't care about the slugs at all.
ReplyDeleteYou heartless woman Elsie! Show some compassion for the poor little things!
DeleteWell they were put on Earth for some use, but I don't know what for. They decimate young seedlings and have a nifty chew on the courgettes. They are survivors like ants and we should try and learn from them!
ReplyDeleteI am sure that there is much to learn.
DeleteWe gardeners are always fighting slugs and snails. My home made slug pubs filled with beer or pop work wonders .
ReplyDeleteYou are killing them? I shall contact the Cork Gardai!
DeleteI'll have to say no, thank you. They wouldn't survive the 23 hour flight, and while I know we have our own Australian slugs, where I live is pretty well slug free. In fact many of our pest species came from your country, so I won't be interested in any future creature offers.
ReplyDeleteLol at the Mar-a-Lago joke.
Our marsupials came from Australia. Far more of a hazard on the roads than slugs.
DeleteThanks for reminding me of one of the advantages of not having a garden... ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! By the way, if you have a garden you can grow Swedes! See:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga
DeleteI am happy to sell you some of mine. They are about the width of your thumb and about 2 inches long. Brown with orange specks. Horrible blimmin things. Eat all my plants. Although I now have a cunning plan. After my mouse infestation, I was left with a lot of wire wool and, using these in a circle round the base of my most vulnerable plants, I have for the first time in decades solved the problem of them being chewed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wire wool tip. I should have put some of that round myself when I was at university. That would have fended off the damsels.
DeleteIn regard to your kind offer to share your slugs- no thank you.
ReplyDeleteThey could mate with your Florida slugs and create an army of Super Slugs, inspiring a film franchise, children's toys and a slimy sandwich spread.
DeleteDid they vote in the election this week?
ReplyDeleteNo. They were in the election under the label: "The Conservative Party".
DeleteThey will probably outlast us, like what they say about cockroaches...
ReplyDeleteDid anybody ask the cockroaches?
DeleteThey are like people; too many, in too little space. But unlike most people, they don‘t seem to mind.
ReplyDeleteThat's a rather poetic view of slugs Meike! However, I am sure that we don't totally understand how slugs function and how they interact with each other. There's more to a slug than meets the eye.
DeleteI've already got some.
ReplyDeleteAccording to researchers, you have probably got 20,000. Shame they are not cocktail sausages.
DeleteSlugs look like worms, and I have a totally irrational fear of worms. I've learned to appreciate the earthworms in my compost pile since I know that means everything is copacetic, but that doesn't mean I like looking at them. *shudder* Surprisingly, I like snakes.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! Your last remark leads me to the possible conclusion that you are a Trump supporter. Have you got a red MAGA cap?
DeleteLet me put your mind at rest, YP. I've never voted for Trump. Then again, I didn't vote for Hillary or Biden, either. We need better choices in this country than what's been on offer the past few elections. It's disheartening.
DeleteI think we have to go with what is on offer. Get the best of a bad deal.
DeleteI keep a jar of salt water next to my compost bin and drop them right in!
ReplyDeleteYou are a mass murderer!
DeleteThis is the most revolting blogpost I have ever read!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Margaret! It was very sweet of you to say so.
Delete