"pollinators" - NightTime Pollinators

rolion

Hello,

Took me a while to decide to post or not, but over couple of last nights i just lost it... too many living creatures invading the boundary... the "permaculture growing" principles have been violated...
These small "pollinators" creates more damage and i just dont see the end of it.

I have few outdoors containers,in each i have trees and /or flowers.
In couple of them,i dropped coffee from the machine,after been used.Seems to me as making a difference.
Needed to go deep at the root level,move softly the flowers,the buds and the leaves to reach the soil ,to the botom of the flower or the plant itself...

But what intrigues and makes me wonder how do they work their magic to end up so high, on so thin leaves and branches of th eapple tree ...and even on the shinny plastic surfaces they slide like a pro...

Im i doing something wrong here !??

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't follow what you mean at all.

rolion

Containers that had coffee dropped and spread out.
Not sure what they dont like here but no one to see there... like in the last one.

rolion

Some of the flowers looked ok but after i move the green foliage and checked deep inside the flower, the little creatures were fully exposed.

rolion

Same,some of the strawberry,redberries / blackberries leafes were beaten and missing big pieces out of the normal shape.
Looked for the usual culprits but actually found some nasty sticky flies that were doing massive damage to the plants.

GreeBo

I think the OP needs help............ with slugs and snails.

rolion

I have more photos here...
i'll just upload five more funny ones... that may explain the qustion why my plants today are fine and over night / tomorrow looks different...

rolion

And lastly,one from inside the greenhouse.
I have planted few seeds of courgettes isolated in plastic containers,for protection.
I cannot figure out how that little one got on top of the plant... no ideea,no traces on the supports...



And this green bed is the only way i can enjoy salad finally in my GH for the past 2 years.
It just keeps the little buggers away from the sweet tasty salad leaves.

Lumen

Get yourself a duck.

I picked up a couple from a poultry sale a couple of weeks ago. They're mad for slugs. Super poopy though.

Dr_Colossus

We had a resident hedge hog who was quite aged so suspect he's deceased as haven't heard or seen him in a couple of years and ever since have been overrun with slugs and snails. I don't sow vegetables or salad leaves but after a wet night can often pick 20+ snails from a single bush (can post a pic later of one such harvest).
Have heard a duck can do wonders alright but requires more space and maintenance while the hedgehog was discreet and independent. Anyone heard a means of adopting another nightly visitor to hover up all the critters that damage/destroy plant life as alternatively I'll have to resort to slug pellets.

fryup

can you purposely introduce a hedgehog to your garden...keep him/her as a pet...is it possible?

my3cents

GreeBo wrote: »

I think the OP needs help............ with slugs and snails.

And a few vine weevil in post 5.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

So, it's slugs, snails and weevils you have; not pollinators. There's absolutely no evidence that coffee grounds are an effective deterrent to slugs. Good for the soil though. .

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

fryup wrote: »

can you purposely introduce a hedgehog to your garden...keep him/her as a pet...is it possible?

That's an absolute No. Hedgehogs are wild animals, not pets, and travel up to 3Km per night. One garden would not feed a hedgehog, only 5% of their diet is slugs or snails, they would clear an average garden of beetles and other beneficial insects in a couple of days if confined to a single garden.

my3cents

Slug pubs for the slug and snails https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snail-Simple-Traps-Chemicals-Garden/dp/B01MQER7GT/ but you can make your own easy enough
Copper tape around pots to keep slugs and snails off https://www.amazon.co.uk/Defenders-Barrier-Natural-Deterrent-Repellent/dp/B000QVPIQ4/
Nematodes for the Vine Weevil https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gardening-Naturally-Nematop-Natural-Control-Nematodes/dp/B07D9MWKQV/

Above links are only to get you started.

magicbastarder

do you know if there are frogs in your area? if so, dig a pond and give them somewhere to stay. they will help with the slug problem.

my3cents

Lumen wrote: »

Get yourself a duck.

I picked up a couple from a poultry sale a couple of weeks ago. They're mad for slugs. Super poopy though.

Chickens are equally good, they aren't so keen on larger slugs and snails but love the eggs so stop them at source also a lot less poopy.

Lumen

my3cents wrote: »

Chickens are equally good, they aren't so keen on larger slugs and snails but love the eggs so stop them at source also a lot less poopy.

Don't they scratch at the base of plants though? There's almost nothing left growing in my chicken run.

my3cents

Lumen wrote: »

Don't they scratch at the base of plants though? There's almost nothing left growing in my chicken run.

I should have said we let the chickens out in the veg garden during the winter at this time of year even one escaping now can cause devastation.

macraignil

There is something wrong in the title of this thread, but also some great photography of slugs, snails and some vine weevils. I like the idea of providing a pond for slug eating frogs to make a home, and another idea I have tried is to grow some slug eating nematodes at home as explained in this article. Also have a visiting hedgehog so they may be helping control them in my garden as well but it is still always worth checking the underside of pots and other hiding places and be ready to chop them in half as I don't think there is any way to eliminate them completely. Beer traps work a bit and you can also collect them if you just put out something they will naturally use to hide under like a length of DPC plastic.

uck51js9zml2yt

GreeBo wrote: »

I think the OP needs help............ with slugs and snails.

He just needs help...

Get yourself a frog pond - you won't have to worry about snails or slugs again

New Home

Lumen wrote: »

Get yourself a duck.

I picked up a couple from a poultry sale a couple of weeks ago. They're mad for slugs. Super poopy though.

They also LOOOOOVE lettuce.

fiacha

My neighbour got ducks for her poly tunnel. they ate / pulled apart every plant they could reach !

They were great crack to have around the garden though, so maybe worth the price

fiacha

rolion wrote: »

snip

But what intrigues and makes me wonder how do they work their magic to end up so high, on so thin leaves and branches of th eapple tree ...and even on the shinny plastic surfaces they slide like a pro...

Im i doing something wrong here !??

Pair of gloves, a bucket with a lid and a torch. 5-10 minutes in the garden each night and you'll keep the numbers down to a manageable level. Empty the bucket out on a bird table the next morning and the birds will love you.

fryup

fiacha wrote: »

My neighbour got ducks for her poly tunnel. they ate / pulled apart every plant they could reach !

They were great crack to have around the garden though, so maybe worth the price

thats not my idea of crack

rolion

total WAR declared against those little creatures... waited months for the berries to get red and now...i am left watching how they become the breakfast of the sticky ...hmmm...That place is on top of two wooden poles and pipes,over 2m height...
I had a 2 metres cherry tree,full with flowers and potential fruits...after a week,some dark flies invaded, all gone, all lost, only curved leafes and thank God,tree still alive,ready i hope,with a learned lesson,for next year.

Lads,thanks for sharing ,i am not gonna need that type of "help" but i just talk to my plants,they sometime talks back to me and one of their call out is "protect me" against the invaders,eating,destroying the leaves and / or roots.
I could be happy sharing some of the fruits with the small earth creatures and stay in harmony but boundary is boundary and plants are on top of the pyramid.
Can't share the amount of time and passion and expectation i have from the plants and trees after so much work done...and now,what,all gone ?

Thud

Leia Future Pocketful wrote: »

That's an absolute No. Hedgehogs are wild animals, not pets, and travel up to 3Km per night. One garden would not feed a hedgehog, only 5% of their diet is slugs or snails, they would clear an average garden of beetles and other beneficial insects in a couple of days if confined to a single garden.

We have a hedgehog in our garden, he's definitely not eating all the slugs
I'm trying nemaslug around the veg beds, hopefully will reduce the number of slugs.

magicbastarder

a hedgehog should reduce slug numbers anyway; scratching up the ground will expose slug eggs to dessication or predation.

jaffa20

Those ducks are so cute. Can't see them lasting long with cats around though.

New Home

:rolleyes:

Graces7

jaffa20 wrote: »

Those ducks are so cute. Can't see them lasting long with cats around though.

ducks are a match for cats any day; I had both and the ducks won every time..

Graces7

OP an old remedy. If the plants are in pots or on eg ledges? we used to use what the called grease bands on apple trees. Literally greased material to go round trunks or round pots. Worked well. They cannot pass it

I found a large heap of dead grey slugs outside my door last week. No idea what killed them, and only a few tinies around now.