Who is garden friendly and who is eating who

10 years ago

So after my milipede freak out I have realized I have more centipedes than milipedes. Centipedes are one of my phobias, there's no ick factor, i fear them and wasps, not sure why. If they are beneficial to the garden I will leave them be though.

in my hosta garden at any given time i can find at least 5 toads and probably 10 tree frogs. I know they eat insects but I'm not sure which. I also have lizards and they eat the crickets, not sure if they eat anything else, and i have skinks and i don't know what they eat either.

So i have
milipedes
centipedes
slugs
probably snails
spiders
some caterpillars :(
pill bugs

Just wondering which is not friendly on this list that isn't getting eaten by something that is friendly on my list.

and a pic just for fun

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Comments (6)

brandys_garden
10 years ago
Anything that is a carnivore (milipedes, centipedes, spiders, etc..) LEAVE THEM. They won't hurt your plants. They actually eat the bugs that do hurt your plants. Slugs and snails are the worst. But I don't have a problem with them. All of my planters are slug resistant. I check them every six months when I resoil and never see one. But I bought a Dream Queen that had centipedes in her and I freaked too because I wasn't expecting them. I called my hosta expert friend and he said to leave them that a lot of growers use them as organic slug and pests prevention. I agree, they are creepy and it is a major ick factor!
brandys_garden
10 years ago
The catepillars are probably your worst right now and doing most of the obvious eating. I found a couple of them on my Mama Mia when I was resoiling and repotting her. I just pulled them out and put them in another tree across the way. So far, no new damage.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
if you want to know what tree frogs eat .. or when.. and you promise not to wet yourself.. go out at night.. and look at the walls of your house.. or the nearest vertical surface ... i think they are cool ...

the rest .. but for slugs/snails .. come on.. its natures way .... relish them.. consider them a bonus show in mother nature ....

of course.. every year we have some plague roll thru ... one year.. bad lady bugs.. one year cicada .. one year JBeatles ... so what.. the plagues come and go ...

rarely.. if ever.. if you can come to some understand with your inner freak .... you just let them be ...

the worst for me ... is cleaning up sticks ... and grabbing an otherwise harmless [i really should not be sharing this.. lol].. garter snake .... i have been know to scream like an 8 year old girl and run across the yard like my shorts are on fire ... thank god i have 5 acres.. or the neighbors would have had me committed years ago .. now there is a pretty picture.. lol ...but once the hair on my entire body sets back down.. i just go back to what i was doing.. and the snake.. if not caught in a branch 10 feet up a tree .....is one his way .... and usually all i hear is some snakey mumbling along the lines of... 'what was that all about.. i was just laying here minding my own business' .... anyway.. i digress.. wildly .. apparently ... lol

the real problem.. for an IPM .. integrated pest management standpoint .. is that treating for one thing.. usually throw natures balance all out of whack.. and you might end up creating more problems than you solve ....

relax.. come to terms with it all .. and get over it.. [and please dont repeat that story above.. that is just between you an me.. lol]

ken
jan_on zone 5b
10 years ago
Love that toad. And he loves slugs. Win-win!
Jan
chris-e
10 years ago
When I find a toad anywhere else in my yard, I pick him up and put him (or her) in the one of the hosta gardens. Slugs are bad enough but I am so glad we don't have snails in my region. Those shells freak me out!

chris
LuckyOne11
10 years ago
I wish I could borrow a toad or two to throw in my Hosta garden...maybe it would either eat or scare off whatever is out there. I know I have voles, beetles, centipedes, spiders, and ants, but have not seen any slugs. Would they be on the surface or burrowed into the dirt?