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Something ate my cacti!

WurzWurz Posts: 6

Hi,

I've grown these cacti from seed.  It seemed clear they were not getting enough light in the window as they were attenuating.  I put them out on the patio during the summer and just discovered this! (see photos)  What in the UK would eat these cacti?  They are not native UK species so I figured they would be safe...  How do I protect them?  If I don't know what the predator is I don't know what to do.  It is very upsetting after growing them for more than a year to see one destroyed...

imageimage

Posts

  • Slugs (most likely) or snails.  They will eat just about anything, native or not.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • WurzWurz Posts: 6

    Thanks for the reply BobTheGardener.

    Slugs again.  They took all my lettuces didn't guess they'd eat cacti!  There's a lot of ants in the garden but I don't think they eat plants.  I see a lot of woodlice also, will they eat plants?

    I'm gonna look at non toxic ways to deal with slugs. I don't want to use pellets.

    Last edited: 13 September 2016 20:16:26

  • Woodlice will feed on plants already damaged by something else but generally only feed on decaying matter.  Their mouth parts aren't strong enough to pierce the outer surface of most plants.  I sometimes find them inside soft fruit like strawberries but you can bet your bottom dollar that a slug or a wasp made the initial hole.

    I've had good results using nematodes (Nemaslug) to reduce the slug population here.  They seem expensive but not when you consider they only cost the price of a couple of decent plants.  You need to use them twice a year to be effective.

    Last edited: 13 September 2016 20:25:19

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • It is not only the SS that eat cacti!  image

    https://danielmiessler.com/images/cat-eating-cactus.jpg 

  • Hehe, I remember my dog destroying a similar cactus many years ago, Alan!

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • WurzWurz Posts: 6

    Haha. Cats eat cacti!

    Our garden has a lot of slugs and wasps so that would seem the likely culprit.

    I'll go to Homebase tomorrow and buy some nematodes.

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