slugs !!!!!!!

[Bat]

Just noticed a few slugs in my pond, is that ok?, will they eat my plants?, will they harm the water quality?, shall i remove them?

cheers
simon

 

[BBK]

Slugs in the water?

They won't hurt anything and if your fish are big enough, they will eat them.

 

[stroppy]

ive never heard of slugs going into ponds ... i would have thought they would drown ... are you sure there slugs ?

 

[BBK]

That is what I was getting at.

 

[Bat]

they're slugs alright !

 

[DrCase]

You can kill them by taking a can of beer, drink 3/4s of it put the rest in a small saucer on the edge of the pond....
repeat till the beer or slugs are gone :icon_mrgreen:

 

[BBK]

I bet you have some drunk chipmunks around now LOL

 

[stroppy]

Lol

 

[Robyn]

Not to doubt you...

But are you certain they are not ribbon or tiger leeches? The eggs can come in on plants... or possibly even birds can transport them. They can look an awful lot like slugs. They will hang out on plants.

 

[oldmarine]

If they can live under water, they aren't slugs. Slug will drown in any liquid, especially beer. They are attracted to the yeast in the beer, that's why beer makes a good bate for slugs.

 

[Robyn]

Here are some rather sluggish looking leeches JIC:

And this one is great... but HUGE:
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/pictures/showphoto.php/photo/72088/size/big/cat/

 

[oldmarine]

Robyn, great pictures of leaches. I'm glad we don't any leach problems here in the Northwest.

Early spring I had new hatch of slugs infesting the Scotch Moss, and Wooly Thyme around my pond. After introducing three small bull frogs, (2" to 5") to my pond, I haven't even seen a slug trail.

 

[Robyn]

Robyn, great pictures of leaches. I'm glad we don't any leach problems here in the Northwest.

Early spring I had new hatch of slugs infesting the Scotch Moss, and Wooly Thyme around my pond. After introducing three small bull frogs, (2" to 5") to my pond, I haven't even seen a slug trail.

Those were mostly UK leeches... which is where the poster said they lived. Most UK leeches it seems eat aquatic snails. I would not mind any that stayed small enough to leave the fish alone... pond snails are out of control at my place! LOL

No disease has ever been found to be carried and spread by a leech. I thought that was interesting as well.

 

[oldmarine]

Obviously you have the wrong kind of snails in your pond.

 

[gardenplanters]

Wecome,
They will eat dead plant and animal materials, thus cleaning the tank. ... Water quality problems and temperature extremes may cause the snail to stay holed up as well. .... Empty trapdoor snail removed from my 1800 gallon pond on 2/13/05. ... have ordered from them and can vouch the service and animals were okay.