What are these?

Hi,

newbie here! I have found around 30 of these on my paving slabs after some heavy rainfall. Are they leather jackets or slugs? Thanks in advance!

 

Hi @Liam134 , They are slugs.

 

Thank you, live in a new build and read so many bad things about leather jackets!

 

Leatherjackets mostly damage lawns/grass @Liam134 , whereas slugs - well they destroy almost everything! You'll often see evidence of l'jackets at this time of year, or even earlier, when crows and starlings etc are pecking holes in the grass to get them out.

If you have plants which have nice soft new juicy growth, they're an absolute magnet for slugs unfortunately.
Hopefully - you'll still get a decent garden though. The joys of gardening

 

Thank you! I do have a few bald patches on my lawn but I’m putting that down to it only being laid 6 months ago and we all know the quality of new build gardens!

 

Yes - they can be a real minefield @Liam134 . It's often poor quality soil/ground that gets compacted, and then they just chuck a wee bit of soil on top and lay turf. That's one of the most common reasons for bare patches.
Hopefully, with a bit of TLC, you can get it looking decent.