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I still have them in my garden :-D
I was a little worried as new neighbours (albeit 6ft below me - I live on a hill) covered their whole back garden in Tarpaulan when they move in, in late 2013. Last year he started putting decking over it, then pulled the rest up - at which point I pointed out that there would be sloworms underneath - and they're a protected species. He looked a little abashed, and later told me 'others' he had found, he'd put them in the garden behind. Not a good idea, as they think they're snakes :-(
Anyway, he's now built a shed - 2 layers of breezeblock, with insulation, wood cladding and a wood-burning stove, and the rest of the garden is breezeblock walls with squares at the corner for a plant, and gravel. Not exactly a haven for sloworms.
Now, he has two cats. They can't 'do their business' in his garden, so they've taken to pooing ON my grass - they don't even attempt to dig a hole under the shrubs :-| I chase them off.
I have cats, they're trained to use a barked area (where nothing grew, and not too suitable for sloworms), and they even dig a hole!!!
With all the upheavel, I never saw one slowworm last year, and was a little concerned.
Moving some bags containing wood, that had lain around the bottom of the compost heap for a couple of years, I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of empty snail shells, and the most beautiful slowworm, about a foot long, slowly slithered away under the shrubs. :-D
I'm hoping they've taken refuge in the bottom of the compost heap.
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OMG - I'd just die if I found one in my garden :-S
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Ann, they eat lots of 'nasties' that ruin your plants.
Maggie, I'm glad to hear that they still favour your garden.
I've never seen one in our garden, but daughter was alarmed to see what she thought at first was a snake in her garden. On describing it, I suggested it might be a slowworm, although it did sound much larger than any I'd ever seen.
One day I saw it for myself., - quite a big chunky slowworm and long, whereas any I'd previously seen were very thin. Daughter is happy to let it eat any slugs/ snails it wants from her garden, but does admit she doesn't often peg out the washing now without wearing shoes.
Gwyn
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Slow worms are lizards and can be in many colors ... one in my mother's garden is gold. They are 100% harmless and indeed a gardener's friend 'cos they eat slugs. Imho they are very beautiful.
Not only are slowworms highly protected but so is their habitat which might give yr neighbour food for thought. Maybe gardens are exempt.
Personally I would have all decking removed and burned it is having a terrible environmental impact in the UK.
We have lots of wild life nearby and I assume lots of slow worms as chief cat often brings them home along with frogs. Somehow he manages this without harming the creatures. It is easy to release the slowworms but catching the young frogs can be challenging.
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Ann, they're beautiful!!
Gwyn, now I'm on the look out for the hedgehogs - which will eat sloworms, but there are plenty of slugs and snails to eat instead..
The neighbour's garden is very 'precise', and I'd question whether the 'shed' was a 'shed' or a chalet! I don't believe gardens are exempt from the law. I hadn't previously, but am now going to report my 'find' to the Hampshire Wildlife Trust.
Hopefully they're still behind my shed, in the 'wasteland' where the garden goes into a corner - and my shed doesn't!!
A neighbour's shed felting flew off many years ago and landed behind the shed. Two years ago, I carefully lifted a corner - and found 15 sloworms :-D
As I'm going to de-bramble the area, demolish my shed and put up a new one, I'm going to create a small temporary alternative area for them.
My 3 cats have been encouraged to leave them alone. I did this by just silently grabbing the cat, removing the sloworm, and taking it away. Only Betty is now likely to pick them up, but brings them in alive. She also brings in (live) frogs - is there a type of cat that likes non-furry creatures? She also once brought in a live dragonfly, that was beating it's wings in her mouth - the noise coming from her head was incredible!!
I removed the ivy from the wall and changed the air vent near the ceiling in the living room earlier this year. Last Autumn, a sloworm managed to get up the ivy, and through the air vent, falling to the floor like a snake from 'Raiders of the lost Ark'! :-0 It was okay.
I'd forgotten about that one - the only one I saw last year.
Oh, and I found a Leopard Slug :-D
They eat dead foliage and other slugs :-D :-D :-D
It also eats crops - but I don't grow any of those.
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