Just the word “ slug ” tends to conjure disgusting mental figure of speech of slimy , gelatinous creatures that leave a trail of garden destruction and glistening mucus in their wake . The more you know aboutslugs , the better chance you have of controlling some of the negative cuss metal money that can make an entire meal of the new seedlings in your vegetable garden .
Identify The Offending Slug
Like your friendly octopus and squid , slug are sort out as mollusk . Along with snails , their closely related cousin , they ’re considered tellurian gastropod — slugs are basically snails that have reduced shells or no cuticle at all . flaccid - incarnate creatures , they have a dense covering of mucous secretion all over their body and two pairs of tentacle , the larger twain for the eye and the smaller duad for smell and speck .
Slugs ’ mouths moderate singular rasping parts used to scratch irregularly shaped hole in tender leaf and flowers while feed . The rough unorthodox form of the holes in vegetation are a good marker of slug damage . They enjoy eating a wide range of cultivated vegetable and fruit flora , but it ’s the tenderseedlingsthat most slugs will tend to feed , often causing major outcome for these crops .
Hot On The Trail
slug have no legs and move around their environment with the help of a single muscular foot that secretes mucus , countenance the creatures to track a wide range of terrain . Everywhere a slug goes , it leaves a lead of mucous secretion behind , which it utilise to help return to desirable feeding locations . When that mucous secretion dry out it train on an opalescent silvery luster that permit you , the observing nurseryman , to observe its presence .
Trolling Your Garden
To survive , slugs require cool damp environments . Because of this , most slug coinage are nocturnal so as to take reward of the cooler , humid nighttime condition . To avoid the heat and sun of the daylight , they take shelter under rocks , yard , folio debris and planters , making them surd to find . One of the unspoiled way to gauge a slug universe is to take several nightly censuses in your garden with a torch to catch the creature when they are most combat-ready .
There are hundreds of tellurian slugs species ascertain in North America . Most are aboriginal species , but with increased globalization , many invasive slugs are jeopardise to take hold or have already . Different coinage of slugs change in people of colour , sizing , and markings with most taking on tan , chocolate-brown or yellowish camouflaged earth chromaticity . One of the most coarse slugs institute in the garden is the capably nominate grey garden slug ( Deroceras reticulatum ) , which is a well - established pestilence species in North America , having been bring in from Europe centuries ago . The pesky greyness garden slug rise from 1 to 2 in long and has various coloration that range from yellow or clean to virtually black .
Kevin Fogle
