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Glow worms and slugs and snails

I heard once that there are not many glow worms in the UK anymore because people use so many slug pellets and glow worms eat slugs.  Does anyone ever see them and does anyone know how to encourage them? I saw one the other night in a pile of wood, in France - and there is a Uk site called glowworms about where and when they have been seen. But what do you think about how they can be compatible with gardens - when what they need is a supply of small snails (I think for the larvae not the adults) and people try to get rid of snails in their gardens - or is that changing?  

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    Not a subject i know much about and cant ever remember seeing one -- but on reading up it seems very tricky to establish them or create an environment for them - seems they like alkaline soil areas - chalklands and chalk meadows / woodlands. So its probably agriculture thats caused the decline on top of them requiring very specific breeding areas. Seems they really only eat small snails not larger ones - so whether slug pellets have anything to do with it or not is unclear. Being a bettle i think they like stoney areas and rotting wood -- so im guessing you would need a semi wild area that has both rocks and decaying wood - small snails and low growing meadow grasses etc -- I do this already and would love glow worms -- the map does seem to show they are very widespread but in low numbers - so i guess theres no harm trying to attract them ! 

    • Yes that is interesting, you wonder why, if the right conditions are there - they do not just appear. Maybe they need really clean air too or other factors. Infact I think the website says that there is a lot that is still to be found out about them. I saw that the National Trust does walks to see them at the top of Figsbury Ring in Wiltshire and I can see an article in a newspaper saying there are some on Jersey. Maybe also it is hard to know they are there. I read that that female only moves a couple of metres during her whole life so fragmentation of habitat could have had a big effect too 

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