Slugs look like snails that have misplaced their shells. Snails look like slugs in mobile homes. Both are mollusks with soft bodies. Slugs usually hide in cool, damp places during the day and come out at night or in rainy weather. They use file-like mouthparts to scrape irregular holes in leaves, flowers, and fruit. Seedlings are especially easy for them to damage.
The two long feelers on a slug’s head carry its eyes. A shorter pair below helps it smell.
Make the garden less comfortable for slugs
- Water plants in the morning so the soil surface can dry before slugs become active at night.
- Aim water at the root zone instead of wetting leaves and fruit.
- Thin crowded plants and raise low leaves off the soil to improve airflow.
- Remove extra boards, flat stones, containers, and thick piles of leaves where slugs hide.
- Check under leaves with a flashlight in the evening. Ask an adult to help drop collected slugs into soapy water.
Make a simple hiding-place trap
Lay a flat board, shingle, or damp newspaper near damaged plants in the evening. Slugs may hide beneath it by morning. Check the trap every day and ask an adult to remove the slugs. Repeat until new damage slows down.
Copper barriers
Copper foil or bands can discourage slugs if the barrier is wide enough for the whole slug and has no gaps or plant “bridges” across it. This is most practical around a container or small raised bed. Some copper products have sharp edges, so ask an adult to install them.
Diatomaceous earth loses its effect when wet and is generally not a reliable slug barrier. Kitchen powders such as ginger are also not a dependable substitute for changing the damp habitat and checking plants regularly.
Toads Love Slugs
Toads, ground beetles, birds, snakes, turtles, and other animals eat slugs. A healthy garden with shelter and no unnecessary pesticide use can support these helpers. If you add a shallow water dish for wildlife, keep it clean, refill it with fresh water, and place a stone in it so small animals can climb out.
Fascinating Facts!
- Slugs and snails are gastropods, a large group of mollusks.
- Slime protects a slug’s skin from drying and helps it move. A silvery trail is a clue that slugs were active.
- Many garden slugs overwinter as eggs in protected soil, plant debris, or mulch.
- Low or moderate feeding may only affect a plant’s appearance, but heavy feeding can seriously injure seedlings.
- Slugs are part of the garden food web and also feed on decaying plant material.