All About Slugs and Snails

Facts about Slugs and Snails

SLUGS

Facts

• Slugs are in the Mollusks class of Gastropoda, which is the second largest class in the animal kingdom (the largest class is insects).

• Slugs weigh about 300 milligrams – weight of 1 penny = 9 slugs!

• Slugs can stretch to 20 times their normal length enabling them to
  squeeze through tiny openings to get at food.

• The most notorious garden slugs are the gray garden slug, the spotted garden slug and the tawny garden slug.  They do the most damage to plants in the United States.

Reproduction/Life Cycle

• The life cycle of a slug consists of three stages: egg, immature adult and adult. 

• Eggs usually hatch in about three weeks, but slugs need moisture and the right soil conditions to survive so eggs can lay dormant for several years before hatching.

• Once eggs hatch the immature stage lasts for less than a year and the adult can live for up to 2 years.

• Slugs are hermaphrodites; they can mate with any other slug. One slug can produce over 400 eggs per year.

Diet

• Slugs must live in moist environments in order to survive since they don’t retain moisture well.  Besides drinking water,

  

  they can also soak up water through their skin.

• Slugs munch on green flowering plants, flowers, strawberries, cabbage, lettuce and other ve getable plants.

• A small slug can eat as much as it weighs and sometimes twice that amount in one night.

• When slugs’ teeth wear out new rows move forward and replace them, conveyor-belt style.

Habitat

• As most gardeners know, slugs love gardens. 

• These nocturnal pests hide under rocks and in the earth. 

• They can also be found under ivy and similar low, ground-covering. 

• Since mulch helps retain moisture, slugs find this a favorable environment.

• They have a great sense of smell and can find their way back to a site by following their slime trail. 

• Slugs feed in cycles.  There is never more than 5% of a slug population above ground at one time.

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SNAILS

Facts

• Snails belong to the Mollusk class.  The brown garden snail causes much damage in gardens.  

• Like slugs, they must live in moist environments in order to survive.  They may dig down several inches in mulch or soil to reach moisture and keep from drying up and dying. 

• Most snails will emerge at night, although they may come out on cloudy, damp days as well.

Reproduction/Life Cycle

• The life cycle of a snail consists of three stages: egg, immature adult and adult. 

• Snails are hermaphrodites; they can mate with any other snail. 

• With both male and female reproductive organs in its body, the snail still needs to have another snail fertilize the eggs.

• Eggs usually hatch in about three weeks, but eggs can lay dormant for several years before hatching.  They wait for moisture and the right soil conditions to hatch. 

• Once eggs hatch the immature stage lasts for less than a year and the adult can live for up to 2 years.

Diet

• Snails require a moist environment in order to survive since they cannot retain moisture well. 

• Besides drinking water, they can also soak up water through their skin. 

• If the environment gets too dry for a snail, the snail will close up its shell, basically sealing itself inside.

• Foods they enjoy include green flowering plants, strawberries, cabbage, lettuce and other vegetable plants.

Habitat

• These nocturnal pests hide under rocks, in mulch, and in the earth. 

• They can also be found under ivy and similar low, ground-covering. 

• They use a large foot-like aperture to move about. 

• They have a great sense of smell and can find their way back to a site by following their slime trail.

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specific slug and snail control needs.