Among the creepy crawlies in the garden are a few slimy creatures that many people shy away from. Slugs are like nothing else in British wildlife. Their bodies produce slime making them difficult to pick up let alone eat and they have an insatiable appetite. These animals are often seen in large numbers after recent rain, although even they struggled with last year’s deluge (2012). But where do slugs come from?
Slugs are part of a group of invertebrates called molluscs. These are boneless, soft bodied creatures that include slugs, snails and octopuses. Molluscs are often found living in water and have much thinner skin than ours. As a result, they have no control over the movement of water that makes up most of their body. If left out in the hot sun, they would simple dry up.
For water living molluscs this isn’t such a big problem but for land slugs, this is a huge obstacle. To survive on land, slugs spend most of their time underground. Beneath the surface, they are protected from the sun, predators and there is more water available. Once the sun goes down, slugs rise to the surface to feed in the cool of the night. If you head outside with a torch after dark, you probably find slug trails all over buildings, pavements and rocks.
When looking for a cool place to rest, slugs do sometimes find our homes very appealing. They’ll enter our basements, garages and even kitchens if the conditions are right.
However you feel about them, slugs are a great example of adaptation. A water-bound creature able to survive on the land, who can produce slime from it’s body and has hardly changed in over 500 million years! Next time you see one, get the magnifying glass out and have a closer look at these amazing little creatures.
Don’t forget…
Leave a question or comment below about your garden slugs and you could be featured in next week’s blog! You can also send your wildlife pictures to:
[email protected]
Also remember to subscribe to our blog at the top right of the screen for updates on events, your pictures, wild files and much more.
Take care, and stay on the wild side.
Hi. Just wondering if slugs return to the same “home” every morning or if they are constant wanderer,s??
Hi Wendy, slugs do indeed move quite a bit at night. But a few years ago an apparent ‘homing instinct’ was discovered, that does indeed mean that slugs may return to the same spot every day!
We recently had the gas company come out and run a new gas line in our backyard. They had a large hole open in the backyard for several days and I noticed there were some large slugs in there. The hole was covered during the day with a board. Recently, the gas department came back and finished the job and filled in the hole with dirt and I’m very worried about the Slugs! I’m afraid that they’ve been buried alive and I want to go dig the hole up and try to find them, but I read that they live underground and can burrow through the soil. I don’t know what to do. Have they been buried alive or are they going to be okay and can they come out of a hole that’s 3 or 4 ft deep? I do care about slugs and every living animal, which is why if they need help, I will go dig the hole up again. Thank you so much for your time!
Tanya
Hi, just wondering if you can help me… I’ve moved into a new home & it has a balcony & EVERY Single time it rains there are maybe 15/20 Slugs & there on my window ledge trying to make there way in! 😱 I’m quite scared of all creepy crawleys. Can you please give me some advice asap as I’m at my wits end & don’t know what to do??? 🙆 🙅 I pray you get back to me please 🙏 It’d be very much appreciated, Thanks