MY HOGS WON'T EAT SLUGS!
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OUR HOG FEEDING TRAY INEVITABLY ATTRACTS SLUGS ESPECIALLY WHEN WET – WE WATCHED WITH GLEE LAST NIGHT AS 3 FAT SLUGS, 2 BLACK AND ONE BROWN SLITHERED OVER THE FOOD IN THE CERAMIC TRAY.” READY MADE FOOD FOR HOGS” WE THOUGHT. ONE OF OUR REGULAR HOGS DULY ARRIVED AND DIVED INTO THE TRAY. SHE MUNCHED THROUGH A LOT OF THE DRIED READY MIX HOG FOOD BUT CAREFULLY ATE ALL ROUND THE SLUGS WITHOUT DISTURBING ANY OF THEM EVEN THO THEY WERE RIGHT UNDER HER NOSE!
ARE THEY JUST PICKY ABOUT THE BRAND OF SLUG OR WHAT?!Hi Marion
I’m guessing the slugs you are talking about are the really big slugs. I don’t think the hogs are so keen on those, and prefer the smaller ones – easier to tackle with those small mouths! The good news is that apparently it’s the smaller ones who do most of the damage to plants. I understand that the larger ones are more involved in breaking down of plant matter.
So just be pleased that the hogs are visiting your garden and hope that they might eat a few slugs when foraging on their way through your garden. Although more favourite food items, I think, are beetles, caterpillars and earthworms. But if you have a few hogs around, they are likely to eat some slugs and some people say they have had no problems with slug damage since they’ve had hogs around.
Good evening Nic.
Thanks for the information. I didn’t realise they only ate the small slugs. These were about 2 inches or so long. They do make a beeline for the hog food!
My husband occasionally finds a slug when he is tiptoeing around the patio after dark and lobs them near the Hog route into our garden. We’ll have to look out for some smaller ones in future!Hi Marion
Good luck with finding the small slugs! Although I suspect the hogs might be more efficient at that – more the right sort of height! I have seen a hog tackling a sort of medium sized slug – hard to judge the size – it was on video – but maybe about an inch long, possibly a bit longer. But big enough for two ‘sittings’. It required a certain amount of rolling, presumably to get rid of the slime and the hog ate part of it and came back for the rest a short while later. But definitely requiring more effort than eating hog food, although there was some of that nearby at the time.
Many people consider some of their other favourite foods as garden pests, so they do a pretty good job all round.
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