Something invisible has eaten my cucumber plant - I'm very cross! any advise please

[TimeForMe]

I have a little plastic greenhouse and in it i had my cucumber plant (which was growing very nicely ) and my tomato plants.

I noticed that the leaves on my cucumber plant were disappearing before my eyes but for love nor money could i see anything on it. Then the remaining leaves went all limp and dead like so i removed them yesterday thinking that would be the end to the invisible muncher. Today i find that the tiny little cucumber shaped thingys have gone too so ive now taken the plant out of my greenhouse for fear that whatever it is is going to start on my tomatoes!

All i noticed was the faintist bit of 'shiny' looking stuff, not sticky or slimy, just shiney.

So my question is, should i now spray my tomatoes with something and if so, then please could you tell me what to use.

I am now greiving the loss of my lovely cucumber and i thank you in advance for you advise

murderers...

I know, i loved that little cucumber

Help!

Sounds like slugs if there was shiney stuff? They are sneaky little beggers who come out at night and there is no sign in the morning.

Try sharp gravel or broken egg shells or something that someone else will wander along and suggest any minute...

sounds like slugs to me - they run away and hide when it's dry and come out when it's wet.

slugs!

Do they climb? My little cucmber was on a shelf about a foot off the ground!

Will they be after the tomato plants too then?

How dare they

slugs

definitely

they can climb, they can hide, they look like they move slowly but while you turn their back, they slime like the wind the little sods

Right! This is war! They are going to be in for a shock when they come out tonight!!

I will be ready for them!

I feel for you. Ours come out quite late at night. If you go to bed late, you might catch them as they are starting to creep out of their hidey holes.

Hi Time, good luck, definitely slugs. We lost most of our cucumbers to them.

If the plant's small enough you could put a plastic bottle over the top of it overnight perhaps. They can't climb over the cut edge of it.

I kill them with scissors and also use slug pellets to protect young plants

don't let Franny see this. She is slug phobic.

You could put down salt or coffee at the door to the greenhouse but they are probably hiding it in somewhere. Perhaps you could circle the plants with coffee granules.

in it innit not it in

They probably stay up later than me!

My cucumber plant is now just a stalk, theyve eaten everything off it!

Do you think it might grow new bits with a bit of TLC and a bottle over it???

And what about my toamtoes, will they be safe

TFM - the tomatoes will be the next target - you need to take action

Hiding in it! Oh YUK! This is terrible!

now we are overrun with slugs but they've never liked my tomatoes.

However, due to your present disappointment, I would err on the side of caution and bring them inside.

Our slugs come inside (grrr) but I reckon you're probably OK. I don't think your slugs are as clever or devious as ours (yet).

Either that, or put something around your tomatoes.

Right! Tonight it will have to be salt. Thats all i've got to hand. They are NOT having my tomatoes as well!

I bought some organic granules (look just like cat litter) for my outdoor cucumbers and tomatoes, but found so many big fat slugs lurking in my grow bags that I'm afraid I resorted to pellets

[Panic Emoticon] My dear little basil plant has gone the same way! And what about my little baby tomato plant. Eeek.

Pellets you say?

Pellets it is! I'm off to the garden centre first thing in the morning!

We have a lot of snails around here at the moment, as well as slugs but, i never thought they could climb

I did notice a week or so ago that a square hole about an inch square has been bitten through the plastci at the bottom of my greenhouse. They wouldn't have done that too would they? Surely not! Have they more intelligent than I have ever given them credit for!

i meant intelligence as you can tell, i am still upset

Oh no - Super Slugs! They'll be eating through house bricks next! Definitely pellets!

I might stop up late tonight, I could even camp out. They would get a right shock when i shone my torch into their beady little eyes before I stamped on em in me size 7 wellies!!!

Actually, forget that. Pellets sound much less messy

If you go out at about dusk time or a touch later with a torch, you will see them everywhere. Pick them or scoop them up and put them in a bowl of salted water. Slugs generally don't go for tomato plants as they appear to not like the taste as much. They are little shits, aren't they. They have munched through 36 of my runner bean plants in the space of two days and they are lovely this really CRAPPY weather at the mo. I have a neighbour who mows his lawn at night just to cut them up and get rid of them, but I don't think it does the frogs much good!

Sorry, that shouldd have been 'loving this really CRAPPY weather'