In message , Gordon H
writes

I think your first paragraph was correct, I have others setting now!

The leaves on one plant have been eaten up to about 4ft from the
ground, but this is close to an untidy rhubarb clump with another broad
leaf plant[1]* adjacent, probably giving the snails a lift!

I have removed snails from bedroom window sills...

I will remember its name when I put down my pen. :-)

I did. Crocosmia. :-)
--
Gordon H

Mary Fisher writes

"K" wrote in message
...
Peter Robinson writes
cineman wrote:


My experience with beans is that slugs and snails go for the stems in
preference to the leaves, felling the entire plant just above the ground.

They've just done that with one of my sunflowers :-(

They love sunflowers. I've given up trying to grow them.
--
Kay

The message
from Gordon H contains these words:

I have removed snails from bedroom window sills...

My Japanese quince is often decorated with yellow and black
twirly-whirly ones.

Where are the mistle thrushes when you need them?

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Gordon H wrote:
Gordon H writes

I think your first paragraph was correct, I have others setting now!

The leaves on one plant have been eaten up to about 4ft from the
ground, but this is close to an untidy rhubarb clump with another broad
leaf plant[1]* adjacent, probably giving the snails a lift!

I have removed snails from bedroom window sills...

I will remember its name when I put down my pen. :-)

I did. Crocosmia. :-)

D'you want some copper, with which to make rings around your plants?

--
AnneJ

On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:49:56 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"K" wrote in message
...
Peter Robinson writes
cineman wrote:


My experience with beans is that slugs and snails go for the stems in
preference to the leaves, felling the entire plant just above the ground.

They've just done that with one of my sunflowers :-(

What I find annoying is when they eat through the stems of iris
flowers!


Pam in Bristol

In message , Anne Welsh Jackson
writes
Gordon H wrote:
Gordon H writes

I think your first paragraph was correct, I have others setting now!

The leaves on one plant have been eaten up to about 4ft from the
ground, but this is close to an untidy rhubarb clump with another broad
leaf plant[1]* adjacent, probably giving the snails a lift!

I have removed snails from bedroom window sills...

I will remember its name when I put down my pen. :-)
I did. Crocosmia. :-)

D'you want some copper, with which to make rings around your plants?

Always looking for an opening, aren'tcha? ;-)

I found the villain this morning, a slug, and the evidence of slime on
leaves almost 5ft of the ground. I tried a different approach, I had
some bran left over from feeding the meal worms which fed the birds, so
I spread some of that round the base of the plant. The slug didn't
seem to be too happy.
--
Gordon H

In message , Rusty Hinge
2 writes
The message
from Gordon H contains these words:

I have removed snails from bedroom window sills...

My Japanese quince is often decorated with yellow and black
twirly-whirly ones.

Where are the mistle thrushes when you need them?

None to be seen here, I'm afraid. Blackbirds don't bother with them,
but maybe the magpies do once I've crushed the shells.
--
Gordon H

Gordon H wrote:

I am growing runner beans for the first time for quite a few years,
have plenty of flowers, but up to now only one tiny bean has "set".
The atrocious weather this week has slowed growth anyway.

Some of the flowers appear to have been neatly nipped off, or else
dropped off for some reason,

Thanks. I am reluctant to snip in this post,

I must be more ruthless!

but I think your first paragraph was correct, I have others setting now!

Good news!

The leaves on one plant have been eaten up to about 4ft from the ground,
but this is close to an untidy rhubarb clump with another broad leaf
plant[1]* adjacent, probably giving the snails a lift!

I have removed snails from bedroom window sills...

Yes, now you come to mention it, I've found one or two in upstair
windows. I suppose their shells means snails can sometimes go where
slugs can't.

Peter

K wrote:

My experience with beans is that slugs and snails go for the stems in
preference to the leaves, felling the entire plant just above the
ground.

Interesting. Are you talking about young plants? Certainly I've lost
several young plants like that this year, but mostly, I sow in pots
inside and only plant out when they're a bit taller. Once they get
established they seem to be able to cope with a bit of 'attention'.

The ones I tried to sow directly were almost a complete loss though.

Peter

Peter Robinson writes
K wrote:

My experience with beans is that slugs and snails go for the stems in
preference to the leaves, felling the entire plant just above the
ground.

Interesting. Are you talking about young plants? Certainly I've lost
several young plants like that this year, but mostly, I sow in pots
inside and only plant out when they're a bit taller. Once they get
established they seem to be able to cope with a bit of 'attention'.

Young plants they go for the lot, older plants (above 18 inches) have
toughened up a bit, but they can still be taken. I haven't had any
damage on leaves of older plants, but I have had them felled. It's
infuriating to have a 6ft bean with flowers and small beans forming,
then come out one morning and find it wilting with the stem rasped three
quarters of the way through.

Sunflowers similarly - it's the stem they go for. And citrus. And young
shoots of Butchers Broom. Citrus and Butchers Broom the stems do look
more tender than the leaves, presumably the same is true (to a snail's
eyes) of french and runner beans. With other plants it's the new shoots
that are vulnerable, notably clematis (a clematis can in effect vanish
simply because any new shoot is eaten overnight before you've even seen
it), and I've just and the central shoot eaten out of an Eryngium. :-(

--
Kay

"Peter Robinson" wrote in message
...

....


I have removed snails from bedroom window sills...

Yes, now you come to mention it, I've found one or two in upstair
windows. I suppose their shells means snails can sometimes go where
slugs can't.


I've picked slugs (only large ones) from the roof of the greenhouse, seen
them at the top of the garage wall and on the outside of the bathroom window
pane. The bathroom is on the first floor of an inter-war house, i.e. it's
not a modern, low ceiling'd building.

Mary

The message
from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:

I've picked slugs (only large ones) from the roof of the greenhouse, seen
them at the top of the garage wall and on the outside of the bathroom
window
pane. The bathroom is on the first floor of an inter-war house, i.e. it's
not a modern, low ceiling'd building.

I'm told that the big (BIG) slugs only eat rotting stuff and algae, so
if you have any pleurococcus (or similar) on your greenhouse, they might
do you a favour.

One of my neighbours has a very aptly-named 'greenhouse'...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Rusty Hinge 2 writes
The message
from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:

I've picked slugs (only large ones) from the roof of the greenhouse, seen
them at the top of the garage wall and on the outside of the bathroom
window
pane. The bathroom is on the first floor of an inter-war house, i.e. it's
not a modern, low ceiling'd building.

I'm told that the big (BIG) slugs only eat rotting stuff and algae, so
if you have any pleurococcus (or similar) on your greenhouse, they might
do you a favour.

New Scientist had an article a year or two back about using slugs to
control bathroom algae. The best were the pretty yellow and grey ones.
--
Kay

The message
from K contains these words:

I'm told that the big (BIG) slugs only eat rotting stuff and algae, so
if you have any pleurococcus (or similar) on your greenhouse, they might
do you a favour.

New Scientist had an article a year or two back about using slugs to
control bathroom algae. The best were the pretty yellow and grey ones.

As long as you don't use pretty yellow and grey soap...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

K wrote:

Young plants they go for the lot, older plants (above 18 inches) have
toughened up a bit, but they can still be taken. I haven't had any
damage on leaves of older plants, but I have had them felled. It's
infuriating to have a 6ft bean with flowers and small beans forming,
then come out one morning and find it wilting with the stem rasped three
quarters of the way through.

Gah! I imagine 'infuriating' doesn't come close! I will count myself
lucky that hasn't happened to me so far.

Sunflowers similarly - it's the stem they go for. And citrus. And young
shoots of Butchers Broom.

And dill, so it seems. I was most indignant to see my carefully planted
out dill slowly disappear this spring. I'd assumed that like other
herbs, especially fine leaved, drought tolerant ones, the slugs would
leave dill well alone.

It doesn't surprise me when that happens to lettuce, peas or whatever,
but igrowing dill from seed for the first time, it hadn't occurred to me
I'd need to protect it from slugs too.

Peter