[slow_worm]

I have discovered some slow worms taking up residence in one of my compost bins - becaus of this I have stopped adding green stuff to it a sthey seem to be basking on the top when I remove the lid.  Luckily I have 2 bins on the go!  I have had up to 7 slow worms at one time in there!
Anyone else have a good population?

[richyrich7]

Lucky you I've never seen one  

Found an adder a few years ago that was beautiful  

[milkman]

We have loads of slow worms on our allotment site - they do love basking in the top of full black 'darlek' compost bins - I call it slow worm spagetti when you lift the lid off and there they all are intermingled with each other.  

Slow worms are great because they love snacking on snails - as evidenced by all the empty shells that appear in my compost bins.  Defintely a gardener's friend.

I bet they aren't enjoying this cool wet weather too much though.

[ytyynycefn]

I was doing a study on grey field slugs at uni, and had to trap them in an area of unmown meadow - so I used a handful of horse bran under a terracotta plant pot saucer as bait.  Most mornings in the summer I'd find a well-fed slow worm under one of two of the traps.  I used to collect them and take the home on the back of my motorbike and release them in Dad's garden to hunt the slugs and snails there!  That was 12 years ago, and there's still a healthy slow worm population in his undergrowth  

[mushroom]

Great that you have slow worms in your garden. Must be very clean and free from pollutants there. Amphibians and reptiles are the first to go in a stressed environment. I'd say it was 100% proof you've got a great environment.  

And they eat all the snails and flies (I think they also eat slugs but i'm not too sure on that one)

[Sally A]

please big up slow worms, as I have a phobia to anythng snake like I tend to burst into tears and throw up - but I still can't hurt them.  So please list the plus points of slow worms/grass snakes in the hope that I can restrict my aversion solely to adders.  Meanwhile - I think spiders are great!

[Ann]

And they eat all the snails and flies (I think they also eat slugs but i'm not too sure on that one)

We have a few slow worms in the garden but I don't think they eat slugs, we still have a huge slug population

[milkman]

Slow worms are lovely Sally A and are very unlike snakes.  

Being a lizard they do have the ability to lose their tails in order to make their escape from danger and it can be a little alarming when you see this happen for the first time, as the tail carries on wriggling for some time after slow worm has long since disappeared - it's nothing to worry about though as it's just their defence mechanism.  The tail re-grows.

Aside from snails I'm not sure what slow worms feast on, but I would suspect that if snails are on the menu the occasional slug may slip down too.

My OH has had a thing about snakes ever since he was nearly hypnotised by one in some far off land as a child....

[slow_worm]

We have loads of slow worms on our allotment site - they do love basking in the top of full black 'darlek' compost bins - I call it slow worm spagetti when you lift the lid off and there they all are intermingled with each other.  

Slow worms are great because they love snacking on snails - as evidenced by all the empty shells that appear in my compost bins.  Defintely a gardener's friend.

I bet they aren't enjoying this cool wet weather too much though.

Thats exactly where they are in my Darlek composter, slow worm spaghetti on top... where its dry.
They are wonderful creatures will try and get some pics.

[spinny]

And they eat all the snails and flies (I think they also eat slugs but i'm not too sure on that one)

We have a few slow worms in the garden but I don't think they eat slugs, we still have a huge slug population

Yes, they eat slugs, but a big slug is too much for even a huge slow worm. (as thick as my thumb and about 16" long, which is as big as I've seen them - the slow worms that is!!)  They eat all sorts of insects as well, including woodlice.  We have a healthy population in the garden and on the plot (helped by my imports) and they do an excellent job of eating pests, as do the common lizards that also live there.

They're beautiful creatures....

spinny

[newbiegrower]

the only slow worm or more like part of a slow worm I saw was after our plot had been rotavated and this slow worm got chopped in half and we found the tail end.

[Ian_P]

Yep, we have slow worms also. They bask on the odd block of wood I have left around to hold net and the like down.

In autumn they burrown under the black polythene I sometimes use to keep weeds down in spare ground so I have to be careful when I start to dig it over in the spring.

A neighbouring plot also has lizards with legs, so I guess I have them as well somewhere, but haven't seen them yet.

Ian

[Little Miss Muffet]

I havnt seen a slow worm since i was a kid

[frazzy]

nope me either we get the common lizards which i think are really awsome and the odd grass snake but no slow worms. what a pitty. i,d love to see one.

[kizza]

Slow worms, Wow. Never seen one in real life before. Any chance of a pick anyone???