I made two discoveries in my garden over the weekend:
– lots of bindweed
– baby slow worm
The slow worm was under some fabric sheeting over an overgrown veg bed where the bindweed is, and we need to rip up the sheeting and cut the growth back to be able to remove the bindweed. I'm thrilled to have a little slow worm guest (never seen one before and assuming theres probably others there too), and really want to avoid causing it any harm whilst essentially removing its home.
Once the work is done I'll try place some bricks/roof tiles to form little hiding spots for them, but I'm after some advice on if theres anything i could do/avoid doing whilst removing the sheeting and cutting stuff back. Is there a way i can gently encourage the slow worm(s) to leave beforehand, and if so how?
Thanks for any advice!
by Lower-Mushroom2662
7 Comments
Rocks and leaf piles or compost heaps are where I usually find mine. Try and replicate where you found it. You could always repurpose the black fabric so that it traps heat.
Just be mindful when moving stuff, disturb it a bit to give them a chance to move beforehand, and leave a covered quiet area in a corner.
Not much you can do in advance. To keep them happy long terms then you need a variety of areas which will enable them to regulate temperature and plenty of cover. Cool damp areas through to open sunny basking and areas for mosaic basking where there is some cover but sunny patches. Like the edge of a bramble patch which has nearby cover, straggly bits of bramble but open sunny spots and areas of microclimate.
A little baby so cool! Not sure on their litter sizes but might be more in the garden so if you have pets might be worth keeping more of eye out to help the little guys.
Put some hybernacula – like old carpet, felt or tiles, to encourage them move and then carefully clear the area. Try not to handle them – this one has dropped it’s tail, they grow back, but they can’t detach again.
Leave cover for them, like logs and rocks and think about how they can move from one place to another. Cats kill them for fun
You really want them because the do an amazing job on slugs.
You can try making a lot of noise nearby. But I find they just poke their heads out at me quizzically and I have to relocate them myself.
It was under there warming up, probably came from your compost heap.
They are protected and good for eating slugs and other bugs in your garden