The message
from Malcolm contains these words:

It's odd, isn't it, that we find slimy things a cause for "yuck". I have
no phobias involving wildlife but I still prefer not to pick slugs up in
my bare fingers.

If you think slugs are horrible, try NZ flatworms :-(.Even slimier. In
fact, don't pick them up with bare hands because their copious slime is
supposed to damage skin...maybe it's starting to digest it, like it does
earthworms.

NZ Flatworms arrived on Arran about 4 years ago. John found our first
one in the garden about a fortnight ago; at full stretch it was 5" long,
dark brown on top, pale and spotty beneath, and, well, flat and wide,
with a distinct topside and underside, not round like earthworms. It
looks far more like a leech than a worm. NZF's are a Bad Thing because
they predate UK native earthworms which are essential to healthy soil.
Following advice I searched every pot inside and out and under every
stone, compost bag etc, looking for more, with no result; so I hoped it
was a one-off which had arrived with a plant, and resolved to be more
careful at checking purchases in future. Apparently they are so
heat-sensitive that 30 degrees C will kill them; so standing a potted
plant in hand hot water for a while should do the trick (I haven't tried
this out yet to see if the flatworms have read the same website).

Today I had a nasty find. A few weeks back, I'd peeled off a lot of
lawn turf to make a new bed, and only got round to shifting the turves
today.First thing I noticed was the very large number of earthworms
active in the loosely stacked turves; most gratifying. Second thing I
spotted was another damn flatworm..then another and another. In the end
I found 12, all curled up on the turf undersides. Unlike earthworms,
they are as slow as slugs and don't seem able to burrow to safety down a
hole, so catching them is easy.

It occurred to me that buying turves for your lawn might be a very
good way of importing NZ flatworms to your garden....so take care.

Janet. (Isle of Arran).