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Slugs and Snails

Slugs and Snails

Class Gastropoda

Molluskalso: Slugs, Snails

Soft, slimy mollusks that feed at night and leave ragged holes and silvery trails across leaves, seedlings, and ripening fruit. They thrive in cool, damp, shaded gardens and can wipe out a row of seedlings before you ever see one in daylight.

🔎 How to spot it

Slugs are soft and shell-less; snails carry a coiled shell, but both glide on a single muscular foot and leave a telltale silvery, dried slime trail. They range from under an inch to several inches long. By day they hide in cool, dark, moist spots: under boards, pots, mulch, low leaves, and garden debris. Look for irregular holes with smooth edges chewed in leaves, flowers, and fruit, destroyed seedlings, and the shiny slime trails that confirm it is slugs or snails rather than an insect.

🥀 Damage it causes

Using a rasping, file-like tongue they chew smooth-edged holes in leaves and flowers, shear off tender seedlings entirely, and scar or hollow out ripening fruit such as strawberries and tomatoes. The damage appears overnight and is worst in cool, wet weather.

🛡️ Prevent it

Take away their daytime shelter: clear boards, weeds, and dense debris, and thin heavy mulch and ground cover near vulnerable plants. Water in the early morning rather than the evening, or switch to drip irrigation, so beds are dry by nightfall. Ring beds or pots with a 4- to 6-inch copper band, which gives them a mild shock. Favor plants they tend to avoid, such as rosemary, sage, lavender, and nasturtium.

🧯 If it is already here

Handpick at night by flashlight, or on damp cloudy days, and drop them in soapy water. Set traps: a board raised an inch off the soil that they gather under, or a shallow container of beer sunk to ground level that they fall into. Scatter iron phosphate bait, which is approved for organic gardens and far safer around children and pets than older metaldehyde baits. Diatomaceous earth and copper barriers help but lose their bite once wet.

💡 Good to know

Slugs and snails feed at night and on overcast, foggy days, and are most active right after rain or irrigation, which is the best time to hunt them. They can climb stems, pots, and even trees to reach foliage and fruit. A single missed hiding spot can re-seed the problem, so combine trapping with habitat cleanup rather than relying on any one tactic.

🌱 Plants it attacks

714 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest

Acorn SquashAdirondack Blue PotatoAdzuki BeanAfrican Blue BasilAfrican MarigoldAgapanthusAgeratumAgrimonyAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont Mandevilla🥔All Blue PotatoAlmondAloe VeraAmbrosia CornAmerican BasswoodAmerican Beauty Dragon FruitAmerican BeechAmerican PersimmonAmethyst Falls WisteriaAmish Paste TomatoAnaheim PepperAnemoneAngelique TulipAngeloniaAniseAnise HyssopAnjou PearAnnabelle Smooth HydrangeaAnnual VincaApeldoorn TulipApple MintApril Tryst CamelliaArbequina OliveArizona Sun Blanket FlowerArkin CarambolaArmenian CucumberAroniaArp RosemaryArugulaAshwagandhaAsian PearAsian PersimmonAtemoyaAtlantic Giant Pumpkin🥕Atomic Red CarrotAucubaAugust Beauty GardeniaAunt Molly's Ground CherryAutumn Joy SedumAvocadoBachelor's ButtonBalsam FirBalsam PoplarBanana PepperBarbara Karst BougainvilleaBartlett PearBay LaurelBayberryBeach PlumBeauregard Sweet PotatoBecky Shasta DaisyBee Balm🍅Beefmaster TomatoBenarys Giant ZinniaBengal Tiger CannaBetter Boy Tomato🥬Bibb Lettuce🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBilberryBing CherryBitter MelonBlack BeanBlack Beauty EggplantBlack Beauty ZucchiniBlack Beluga LentilBlack Cherry TomatoBlack CrowberryBlack Currant🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack Kabouli ChickpeaBlack Krim TomatoBlack RaspberryBlack Sapote🥬Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce🥕Black Spanish RadishBlack Tartarian CherryBlack WalnutBlack-Eyed PeaBlack-eyed Susan VineBlood OrangeBloomsdale SpinachBlue Bird DelphiniumBlue Bird Rose of SharonBlue FescueBlue Lake Green BeanBluecrop BlueberryBocking 14 ComfreyBok Choy

For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.