Life
Slug War
I am at odds with the slug.
The author has developed a nightly habit of catching slugs in their garden using a headlamp. The garden, despite its appeal, hosts various critters including fruit flies, red spiders, and numerous gastropods like slugs and semi-slugs. Their goal is to exterminate these pests using methods such as salting, burning, or chopping, as they damage plant stems and leaves.
- #snails
- #slugs
- #mucus
- #pest control
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Recently, I have developed a new habit. Every night, I put on a headlamp and head to the garden to catch slugs.
I usually catch five or six each day, varying in size. The smallest ones are less than 3 millimeters long, while the largest ones can be up to 6 centimeters.
When I rented this house, what attracted me the most was the garden. Although I had mentally prepared myself for the potential critters, the sheer number of slugs was still a bit unexpected.
Current Residents
In addition to common fruit flies, red spiders, and various unnamed small insects, I have found the following animals in the garden:
Woodlice
Centipedes
Millipedes
Various types of ants
Earthworms
Slugs
Snails
Pointed Needle Snails
Lizards
Hercules beetle larvae
Actually, most species are not common; for instance, I have only seen the lizard once. But the gastropod snails and slugs are overly abundant, and I can catch several waves of them in one night, continuously streaming out.
Slugs Are Snails, Snails Are Slugs
In most people's minds, snails look like this:
Slugs look like this:
Actually, snails and slugs are relatives from the suborder Stylommatophora, meaning their eyes are located on those two slender "tentacles". Shell-less slugs evolved from shelled snails.
Some even have shells that are halfway degenerated, appearing shell-like but not retractable, known as semi-slugs:
To put it this way, from having shells to being completely shell-less, you can find corresponding types at each stage. Classification can be very confusing, as it's not simply having a shell to be called a snail and no shell to be called a slug.
Appearance matters
By nature, slugs are essentially "snails," but they suffer from not having a house. This leads people to feel quite differently towards them compared to snails.
Some people keep snails as pets, and some even eat snails; but slugs only give a feeling of disgust.
The difference lies in the shell. Both secrete mucus to breathe and move, but snails, with most of their body hidden in the shell, appear much better, while slugs, fully exposed, appear like a streak of mucus, just as their English name "slug" suggests. When disturbed, they secrete even more mucus, making it hard to pick them up even with tweezers.
Whether it's snails or slugs, they both nibble on stems and leaves all day, so once discovered, they need to be exterminated. The world is just this cruel to the proletariat.
Three harsh methods
It's impossible to get rid of them all with the naked eye; these things can lay a batch of eggs every two days, hiding in the soil crevices. They only come out at night.
I once tried metaldehyde. Blue granular material. Scattered into the soil, it attracts snails and slugs to nibble on through its smell, causing them to dehydrate and die.
Initially, I saw many dead slugs. Over time, the effect weakened. After all, it is a pesticide banned in some countries and has some side effects. So I stopped using it.
Currently, I go out every night to catch slugs. After watering, if the soil is moist, slugs will come out to forage. This is when I can scoop them up and implement the harsh methods.
At first, I liked sprinkling salt; within a few minutes of sprinkling salt, slugs would dehydrate massively and die.
Later, I preferred using a flame thrower, burning their mucus into char.
Now, simplicity rules. I just use a hoe to chop the slugs in half.
Even so, I can still find a few fat and big slugs every day. This war is bound to continue.
Let's stop here for today; I need to go catch some slugs.