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Slugs and snails gradually chew away plants, sometimes killing them.
Fortunately, they are easy to control.
Identifying snail and slug eggs helps you catch the problem before it becomes too severe.
Apurv Jadhav / Getty Images
What Do Slug and Snail Eggs Look Like?
Slug and snail eggs look much alike.
Creamy-white, yellow, clear, or opaque, they are oval-shaped and usually about 1/8-inch in diameter.
They are laid in clusters of 20 to 30 or as many as 100.
The eggs are laid in a gelatinous mass, usually in dark, damp places.
They are prevalent incompost piles, soil, under pots or trays, and bags.
When you compress a slug or snail egg, it will squash and flatten.
It will not pop or emit fluid.
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How Slugs and Snails Harm Your Garden
Slugs and snails feed on plants.
A mild infestation may only affect the appearance of the plants.
However, a severe infestation can impact the health of the plants, especially with young plants and seedlings.
The output of fruit- andvegetable-bearing plantscan be reduced.
Presence
Slugs range from 1/4-inch to 2 inches long and are gray or brown.
Snails have a coiled brown, gray, yellow, white, or blue coiled shell.
Slugs and snails are found more at night than during the day.
When it’s light, they hide in the shade.
They like to stick to vertical places like trees, fences, or rocks.
Mucus Trails
Slugs and snails leave slime or mucus trails that look shiny after they dry.
The mucus trails are usually found on flat surfaces but sometimes they are seen on plant leaves.
The chew marks are irregular.
They chew both the ends and the middle parts of the leaves.
You’ll find them on and under leaves or around rocks and fallen limbs.
Drop them in a bucket of soapy water to kill them.
Early each morning, check under the traps.
Hand-pick the slugs and snails and drop them in soapy water.
Dispose of Them
Bury plastic buckets in the ground to the rim.
Slugs and snails are attracted to the odor of fermentation and will fall into the buckets.
Strain out the buckets every morning and change the mixture once a week.
It takes about 10 days for slug eggs to hatch in warm weather.
Slugs lay eggs throughout the year.
However, they tend to lay more eggs during warm and moist periods.
The snail that lays pink eggs is the freshwater apple snail.
Slugs & Snails on Ornamental Plants.
North Carolina State University Extension.
Slugs in Home Gardens.
University of Minnesota Extension.
Pest Management Fact Sheet Bulletin #5036: Slugs.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Hawaii Invasive Species Council.
