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#1
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climbing slugs
Hi
We have a peanut feeder which was hanging from, and resting against, a full height larchlap fence panel. We got slugs climbing up the fence to get at the peanuts, so last weekend I put a block on the fence so the feeder free-hangs about 3/4" away from it. Got up this morning to find two slugs on it, one with it's back half on the fence, leaning across the gap, with its mouth parts grabbing a peanut through the wire of the feeder ! Much as I admire their tenacity and effort, what can I do to discourage them, without annoying the family of mice that live in the Ivy on the next fence panel, and run along the top of the wall so they can hop down on to the feeder ? (I've put another freehanging peanut feeder up elsewhere so the birds can get a look in !) |
#2
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"Mike" wrote in message ... Hi We have a peanut feeder which was hanging from, and resting against, a full height larchlap fence panel. We got slugs climbing up the fence to get at the peanuts, so last weekend I put a block on the fence so the feeder free-hangs about 3/4" away from it. Got up this morning to find two slugs on it, one with it's back half on the fence, leaning across the gap, with its mouth parts grabbing a peanut through the wire of the feeder ! Much as I admire their tenacity and effort, what can I do to discourage them, without annoying the family of mice that live in the Ivy on the next fence panel, and run along the top of the wall so they can hop down on to the feeder ? (I've put another freehanging peanut feeder up elsewhere so the birds can get a look in !) I've always admired slugs' alpinist talents, though baffled by why they climb up featureless twenty-foot walls with no food in sight. Surely the mice will survive anyway? I imagine you've ruled out a hanging-basket bracket on the fence and hanging the feeder with a bit of nylon for their sake. If it's true that slugs won't crawl on copper -- and I rather doubt the claim -- maybe you could build in a copper something: perhaps hang the feeder from a bit of wire, or a bracket made of copper pipe? This wouldn't worry the mice. I love this problem: tell us more as it happens! Mike. |
#3
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Cheers
a bracket that hangs further out with copper tape on it might be the way to go. I'm just a bit concerned it may be a bit to exposed for the mice - I haven't seen them on the feeder since I moved it last weekend . Mike |
#4
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"Mike Lyle" wrote in message ... I love this problem: tell us more as it happens! Mike. don't know if it's just weather related as I've not had the opportunity to put any copper tape up, but there's been no signs of the slugs this weekend and the mice have definately returned ! |
#5
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The slugs seem to have given up, the mice are back, and for the first time
since spring we actually had tits (blue & great) on the feeder this weekend. Whatever next ? "Mike" wrote in message ... "Mike Lyle" wrote in message ... I love this problem: tell us more as it happens! Mike. don't know if it's just weather related as I've not had the opportunity to put any copper tape up, but there's been no signs of the slugs this weekend and the mice have definately returned ! |
#6
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"Mike" wrote in
: Much as I admire their tenacity and effort, what can I do to discourage them, without annoying the family of mice that live in the Ivy on the next fence panel, and run along the top of the wall so they can hop down on to the feeder ? 1) are you really sure you want to go on feeding the mice? They may be cute now, but if you supply an unlimited quantity of high-fat nutritious food, there are soon going to be an awful lot of them! 2) get some copper tape and attach it to the fence where the slugs need to sit to get at the feeder. This really does work, unlikely though it seems. I had the same problem with slugs climbing into my rabbits' house and pinching their food. Copper tape around the edge of the bowl stopped the problem completely and immediately. You may find your mice have a similar tendency to my rabbits and will strip the copper off over time (the peeling action seemed like fun to them!) However, I found that the slugs 'learnt' their lesson, and did not return even though the bunnies had peeled off most of the tape after a few months. Now, a year or so later, I am starting to find slugs in the bowl again occasionally, and must get round to to applying another layer of copper tape. Actually this poses interesting questions about the intelligence of slugs: I must say I had assumed that learning would be beyond them, but I can't think of any other explanation, barring a freak series of accidents, and your account suggests your slugs had 'learnt' the location of your peanuts too. There used to be about 6 that would turn up in the bowl each night (and be flung away by me in fury in the morning): I originally assumed these were random wanderers, but now I wonder if they were actually the same slugs every night? Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
#7
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"Victoria Clare" wrote
2) get some copper tape and attach it to the fence where the slugs need to sit to get at the feeder. This really does work, unlikely though it seems. I had the same problem with slugs climbing into my rabbits' house and pinching their food. Copper tape around the edge of the bowl stopped the problem completely and immediately. It is a very cheap and rough larch lap panel, so I wonder if the copper tape will adhere for any length on time - got to be worth a try though ! As for the mouse population, there are enough (too many !) cats in the area to control that Mike with a garden in Wigan, facing rainclouds in every direction |
#8
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"Mike" wrote in
: Copper tape around the edge of the bowl stopped the problem completely and immediately. It is a very cheap and rough larch lap panel, so I wonder if the copper tape will adhere for any length on time - got to be worth a try though ! Maybe cut a bit of copper pipe in half, flatten, and nail to the post then? I don't think the 'tape' element is important! Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
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