Snails, Katydids and Lizards!


I found this guy in my alocasias moving along from leaf to leaf at a much quicker pace than one would suspect for a mere snail!  When I picked him up, he stretched his neck out in every direction much like a fighting conch at the beach would.  This is a far cry from the round shelled snails that I would find as a kid in Germany!  Back there they would use a different method for controlling the populations of snails and slugs than the familiar salt trick; Germans would leave out stale beer and the snails and slugs would then get drunk and die of alcohol poisoning. 
I didn't see any reason to get rid of my snail though, since it didn't seem to be doing any damage.



These katydid nymphs actually are doing a lot of damage to my plants... these are the ones that killed the morning glories, butterfly weed and have been damaging my species cannas!  I'm refraining from killing them though, since they do have a place in my little ecosystem and will help feed my lizards, frogs and snakes.


Like this guy here, who was lounging on a leaf next to the snail!

4 comments:

  1. You are brave leaving the snail and katydid nymphs alive. I think I would have dropped them both in soapy water. My lizards have been very busy catching wasps. They are certainly good guys in the garden.

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  2. I wish I could convince the cat to leave the lizards alone. She must think they're her personal snack attack supply. So far the pests around here have been concentrating on the veggie garden, but yesterday my husband found some of those leaffooted bugs on the blueberries. I grabbed the hose and blasted 'em away!

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  3. Garden creatuires are so fun to watch! That snail is really different looking...we mostly see the round ones here too!

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  4. It's a difficult choice, choosing between the life cycle and sacrificing beloved plants. The lizards are definitely my favorite...they're so fun to watch.

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