Gel on driverway

[Eddie Wall]

This "gel" has turned up on a driveway that has not been used for at least a couple of months.

it is green / dark blue in colour and is deposited rather than grown. It feels like latex/gel easy to break with finger pressure and hollow. Irregular shapes and

1-3mm wall thickness. Very slippery underfoot... shapes vary from approx 10- 15 mm to 30-40mm. The ares covered is approx 20M x 6M. Any ideas ?

Eddie

[Andy Burns]

How are you so sure?

[Andy Burns]

Could it be a slime mold?

See

some similar ...

[Eddie Wall]

It could indeed, the very stuff.... thank you...

Eddie

[Andy Burns]

Not sure how you'd get rid of it, spray with a suitable fungicide?

Sorry about the mould->mold spelling, but google gives more results for the American spelling ...

[Eddie Wall]

I contacted "an Expert" and he advises....." It is not a slime mould. Looks more like an alga than a fungus but I'm afraid I couldn't give it a name. "

Back to "square one"!! :-)

Eddie

[The Natural Philosopher]

Nevr mind what it is. Slosh some brick acid/patio cleaner over it and hose it away.

[Eddie Wall]

I would prefer to find out what it is EXACTLY first. If for instance it is slime mould it is impossible to eradicate and best to leave alone and it will disappear over time. Blasting with flame / water / other agents simply spreads the problem... I also try to avoid using any chemicals, in general and certainly not until I know exactly what I am dealing with and what is the proven solution...

Eddie

[Pete C]

Hi,

This web site might help, (if not it's an interesting read...):

there is a lot of runoff onto the drive or the ground is boggy, digging a ditch or putting sand onto the drive to improve drainage and make it less slippery might help.

cheers, Pete.

[Andy Dingley]

But it's _fun_ !

I was almost about to ask for a culture sample and see if I could grow some myself. The perfect Christmas pet - forget Sea Monkeys, now you can have your very own Blob.

You could try asking Steve McQueen or Natalie Wood how to kill it ?