Missmuck1's Inbox

I can vouch for the sonic cat scarer too - I got mine fromhttp://www.primrose-london.co.uk/cat-repeller-40-p-402.html
Worth every penny, I'm no longer finding poo all over the lawn!

You are welcome! We all try to help each other on GOY!

No probs ;-)

best part of gardening is pottering around,, best time to really view the garden. mind you pottering around the local garden centre is always fun too

I thought I was the only one who pottered with a pair of secateurs. Problem is you never know what you'll find, and it's always interesting.

Hi,

I know this is going to sound a bit silly but you have to try and put yourself in the birds shoes (so to speak). Try placing your bird table in an open position, away from any ambush points, fences etc. Give the birds a 360 degree field of vision and room to react to any danger and you should see good results. Just to test, place it right in the middle of your lawn and they should start to visit very quickly. Then keep moving it nearer to where you actually want it, they will let you know with their absence, when they feel unsafe.

I know this because in my past life, I was a Goldfinch!

Dont have to be a brilliant gardener or this site wouldnt be what it is! Set up by Peter and Ajay and Peter esp has trouble with anything other than veg his favourite plant probably a cauli flower . So they didnt set up site as experts - in order for anyone with a passion to join in .
Enjoy your pottering.

Yes, you are so right. Pottering is very therapeutic.

Sometimes I go out intending to wander around the garden for 3 minutes, and come back in 3 hours later !

Nice to have you on the forum, Missmuck1.

Certainly is! Pottering is good for you - you see what's going on in the garden. If you take your secateurs and small trowel around with you, you can snip a bit and dig out the odd weed, too! It all helps to keep things ticking over.

I'm going to jump in with my nematodes again! They really do work very well, but you have to start in the spring and apply them about every 6 weeks - so, for next year, perhaps..? Green Gardener and eBay (as well as others) have suppliers.

Improves the flavour does it Andrew?
Missmuck - you could just try planting things that are not prone to slug damage - don't know what the conditions are like, but lavender is never touched, Phormiums, Camellias, Euphorbias, Cistus, Lychnis - the list is endless.

Ditto all the above, but I would just add: at this time of year there is quite a lot of 'natural' food about - loads of insect life and plants producing seed, not to mention trees bearing fruit. Maybe your birds don't need supplemental feed just yet? I bet they will come in droves once winter sets in :-)

I could be from a really big slug. Do you use slug pellets? If so, when they're dieing, big slugs produce enormous quantities of mucus. This can sometimes dry out and then when it rains, it gets rehydrated and the stuff reappears. Yuck....

they add it to some compost its like crystals when dry and swells up just like clear jelly when wet. check your packet it should say if its added

If the pieces are cup shaped and approximately a centimetre across it is probably a Fungus like the one which comes up in one of my paths, after they have flooded either from over watering or excessive rain., in which case it may appear again

Just wondering if its from your bags of compost because it could be water retaining jelly. Or do you think its something else?

I have magpies pigeons and seagulls in the garden but they dont come to table because it has a roof. I think they cant land. I put out mostly sunflower seeds and attract tits finches and robins. (And we have a cat) It brightens my winter days to see them. In the summer i put the table away and in the winter when im not using garden so much i place it right in front of our sitting room so we can watch them from the sofa. (but not too near the window incase they crash into it).

B O O M Andrewr lol

Putting a pinch of salt on a slug is very satisfying

Genuisscuffy is right about those bird tables with a sort of house on top. I have one of these and sometimes the little birds even use it for sheltering from bad weather.

Yes, Bonkersbon. Starlings do have their appeal ! When lots of starlings land in my birdbath, they look very comical flapping about, and the sparrows sit around the edge, taking advantage of a free shower.

It's been an odd day. Here I am answering a bird question on the gardening forum, and just now I was commenting about gardens on a birding forum.

We have a wide variety of birds visit our garden and noticed that pigeons and larger birds often prefer the corn based bird mix.Although more expensive try the feed specifically for smaller birds.You can also purchase feeders that only small birds can negotiate.Niger seed feeders will attract goldfinches and visiting migrants in the winter .As for starlings have you seen those amazing roosting displays where hundreds of thousands of them swoop and swirl in unison? Think they deserve a bit of food for that!

I agree it does take time for them to find you! Also I found putting a little house on the top of the bird table stopped the pidgeons from eating all the food and the smaller blue tits and sparrows can get in and out easily.

That is good and you are correct it does sometimes take awhile for the birds to feel safe entering one of these feeders, but they are the only way to exclude the larger birds

i think that someone said that anything that is hard for them to crawl over.....stuff like egg shells are pretty good.

Hi. I have this problem in my garden, with the starlings chasing away smaller birds.

Only yesterday I fixed up two squirrel-proof feeders. These are globe-shaped cages with tubular feeders up the centre.

This means the small birds can go inside the caged part, but starlings, other large birds and squirrels can't get near the food. I have one designed to hold seeds and another for peanuts.

I think it will take a while for birds to become accustomed to these feeders, but I'll be reporting back, either on my blog or in the questions section.

These globe-shaped feeders are quite expensive. I was lucky in that two friends each bought me one as early Christmas gifts. Well, why not ? This wintry weather certainly makes it seem like December !

The feeders seem very sturdy, so should last a long time and be easy to clean.

I am sorta working in the dark cause I'm in the US but here goes, the main reasons that people have poor show with bird feeding are:

1 not attractive seeds, a cheap seed mix sometimes just does not have enough of the most desirable seeds
2 cleanliness, esp. if you are having a lot of rain the seed could be developing rot very quickly.
3 predators, with cats around some birds just find it safer not to come, esp. if food is available nearby that they consider safer.

The ways you might solve these problems are to find a specialty store for birders and buy what they recommend as a good seed mix for your area.
Clean your bird feeders and tables with a bleach solution and allow to dry well before reusing
Put a bell on your cat and suggest it to your neighbors and as you say put it up higher, also remove any overhanging tree branches so that the birds can see any predator coming.
None of these is a cure all but I have found the most important is to have the right kind of seed and that it be fresh and clean.
There are other ways to attract some birds but are more involved. Certain types of trees, water for bathing, and brush piles for hiding and nesting in will bring in some birds that are very shy.
Hope this is helpful, but if you are having the same problem of too much rain like so many in UK, that may be the cause also!

Have a look at my blog on Snails and Slugs
hope this helps.
Kev

If the leaves are turning yellow with black spots, it could be a fungus. I get something from B&Q called Fungus Fighter. You have to remove all the damaged leaves and spray the good ones. It's best to use it as a preventative throughout the summer if you know your roses are prone to get it.

I can vouch for the sonic cat scarer - it does work

Don't forget to empty it out in the morning - at a distance from the roses!