EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SLUGS AND HOW TO CONTROL THEM

Common UK Slugs:

• Garden slug (Arion hortensis): Up to 3 cm in length. Very dark blue/black on top, and orange/brown underneath.
• Great grey slug (Limax maximas): Up to 20 cm in length. Light grey with dark markings on their back.
• Large black slug (Arion ater): Up to 15 cm in length black with coarse wrinkles on their back.  

All about slugs:

A slug’s trail might be unpleasant, but it has a number of purposes. It contains fibres that aid their movement through ‘adhesive locomotion’. This is a series of muscular waves and suctioning that allows slugs to move at speeds of about 0.6 mph.  This slime also provides slugs with a grip when climbing vertical surfaces. Additionally, it prevents any abrasion injuries to their skin. 

Slug facts:

Slugs are hermaphrodites which means they have both male and female genitalia and can reproduce by themselves; however, they are also capable of mating with another slug which is presumably more pleasant! They can lay up to 500 eggs each year.  

Not having a shell and skeleton allows slugs to reconstruct their body shape. This means they can stretch to approximately 20 times their normal length to fit into the smallest cracks and crevices.

The top set of tentacles on slugs are used for sensing light and smell, while the bottom set are used for taste and feel.  These can be grown back if lost but will take roughly 8 weeks.

The damage:

Slugs are omnivores, which means they will eat both vegetation and animals. Slugs are a huge nuisance when they devour plants and vegetables, reducing growth and yield.

Slug’s radula (tongue) has roughly 100,000 teeth-like projections, allowing them to pulverise their food before digestion. This action causes the visible holes that are familiar on plants and crops up and down the country.

On top of this damage, a slug’s slime trail can cause infections. These infections are commonly carried in other animals, but because of the slug’s bottom-feeding habits. This will then be transferred to the slug and subsequently to their slime trail.

Slugs are most active in the autumn and are commonly found in damp and cool habitats because of their vulnerability in dry conditions.

Our solution:

Thankfully for you, we have numerous non-lethal remedies available which can be applied to help rid your home or desired target area of slugs. The uses of a range of our products have been explained below:

As Slugs are sensitive to rough surfaces and can become irritated easily. Wool is a fantastic, natural slug repellent:

Defenders Slugs Away® Wool Pellets

Defenders Slugs Away® Wool Mat

Copper reacts to the mucus within their slime and produces a small current which will deter them through a small electric shock:

Defenders Slugs Away® Barrier Tape

Additional other methods are also listed below:

Defenders Slugs Away® Plant Protection Guard 

Defenders Slugs Away® Barrier Gel

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