Grow It Eat It: Maryland's Food Gardening Network

Slugs
garden slug slug Limax
Gray garden slug Yellow spotted slug

Slugs:
Gray garden slug - Deroceras reticulatum  
Tawny garden slug - Limax flavus
Spotted garden slug - Limax maximus      
Brown garden slug - Helix aspersa

Appearance Eggs: BB-sized, white, opalescent, and gelatinous, typically in clusters of about 25.
Adults: 3-5" long, slimy, brown-gray, fleshy body that tapers at both ends; extended eyestalks; do not have a shell.
Life Cycle/Habits
 May overwinter in all stages in soil. Prefer cool, wet environments, and are active primarily at night or on heavily overcast days. Seek shelter during the day under debris or objects, where it is cool and moist. Less active in hot, dry weather. Although hermaphroditic (both male and female organs occur on each slug), they must cross fertilize. Up to 200 eggs are laid, usually in small clusters, about 1" deep in damp, loose soil or debris, during the wetter months of spring and fall. Hatch occurs in 30 days when soil is damp enough; development is suspended if weather gets too hot and dry. Adult size is reached in 3-12 months. Life span is up to several years.
Host Plants Soft-leaved herbaceous plants, especially  asparagus, leafy crops (i.e., beets, cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach), and solanaceous plants such as eggplant, pepper, potato, or tomato. Will feed on strawberries, especially seedlings.
Signs/Symptoms Slugs feed on every part of host plants. They can consume entire small seedlings as well as tender stems, and chew ragged, small to large holes primarily in leaf interiors, instead of along the edge. Slugs also damage emerging asparagus spears and make holes or rasped patches on fruit of solanaceous plants. Slugs typically leave silvery slime trails wherever they are active.
Monitoring Watch for slime trails on leaves, stems, soil or any other surface. Look for leaves with ragged holes primarily in the leaf body, not along edges. Scout for adults at night. Turned soil may reveal eggs. Place shelters such as folded, moistened newspapers or boards in the garden for slugs to gather under; check beneath the shelter for the presence of slugs.
Prevention/Control
  1. Slugs avoid dry or jagged surfaces, so create borders of gravel or sand around plants.
  2. Encourage good air circulation; expose area to sun.
  3. Evergreen groundcovers, mulch, and watering systems can encourage slugs.
  4. Sanitation is important: remove low-growing weeds, debris, rocks, and any other object slugs may hide beneath.
  5. Use floating row cover to protect seedlings.
  6. Encourage predators: toads, birds, turtles, predaceous beetles.
  7. Handpick slugs at night or attract to traps.
  8. Spray slugs directly with vinegar (5% acetic acid).

For many more tips, see:

HG#92, “Slugs and Snails."
FS 822, "Managing Slugs in the Garden and Beyond." 

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For more information, contact Jon Traunfled

Last updated: 01/24/2012