I use the skewers to hold plants in place in a box for shipping. I push them through the box, wrapped rootball, box leaving about an inch on the outsides of the box of which I bend them over and tape them to the box .. they keep the plants from sliding around.

Learned all sorts of new things from this idea and the comment thread!
Glen - I think I might have to try that "pointy end outward" thing -- although I use the skewers for keeping my tomato and pepper seedlings straight in the greenhouse, never thought to do that!

Lubbers -- (thankfully) never heard of them either, ugh!! This is why I live in the far north...

Lizards and cats -- also not a problem here, but good to know!

poisondartfrog said: . They also make excellent slug skewers; gross but satisfying.

Another weapon against slugs! BRILLIANT

flaflwrgrl said:Lubber grasshoppers Marilyn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R...

Thank you for the link ~ I was going to ask the same thing. I have seen these at my Mom’s place in Texas. I had nooooo idea there was such a huge buggy creature! I have been talking about that ever since I saw it in person. AMAZING. So far, knock on wood, I haven’t seen these in Oregon

Yep, I'm not usually afraid of insects but one day while walking with my kids in a nature park in central Florida one of those colorful lubbers jumped onto my shoe - I thought we were being invaded by creatures from outer space. Screamed for all I was worth. My kids won't let me forget it!

You can actually HEAR those lubbers mandibles crunching the plants!!!! I had on flip flops (90% of the year here) & was next to a croton bush, just about to step through a door (a very old door) that had jalousie windows all the way down it which were open at the time. Pointy corners. Well, a lubber picked that moment to jump right on the top of my foot! I totally freaked & flung my foot to get it off. In the process, the top of my foot hit the corner of a jalousie & let me just say that I had one heck of a hole in the top of my foot. Should have gotten stitches but poured peroxide in it instead. That was the second time I screamed bloody murder that day. Had a scar for many, many years.

Goodness, I am glad we do not have lubbers here. That was very interesting about lizards and cats Greene. I also have read that they get parasites from them.

Well, there are many other useful ideas I didn't think off here for satay sticks.!

WOW! I had just removed these sticks from a couple of my young bromeliads the night I read this tip. Meant to come back and post that I also use them to prop plants till roots are established. Thank you Glen!

Humored by reading through this thread but getting the heck out of here before this thread gets skewered!!!

Toni said: I had nooooo idea there was such a huge buggy creature!

These are bigger:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J...

Had one in my motel room in the Sacramento Valley once. I turned the ice bucket over on top of it, weighed it down, and left it for the maid.

2 inches? The lubbers are 3 to 4 inches. but I have to say the cricket is way uglier. Ewwwwwwwwwwww!

More like 6".

Well, I can't prove it.
Perhaps "Jerusalem cricket" isn't the right search term.....
I'm still looking!
That thing barely fit under the ice bucket!
(ew)

Oh my Gosh!!!!!! Shudder, shudder.....

I slept in the room though.

Creepy but if they are native there, then there's not much point in going anywhere else. At least you knew you had the one you knew about under the ice bucket.

AND I've seen it online too, but can't find it now.