Monthly Archives: August 2008

Arion… What?

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Slug Eating Snail

Will you just look at it?! If this is not a killer slug I don’t know what it is. But – I found information today that explains that what we here in Denmark normally refer to as killer slugs are NOT Arion lusitanicus. So the one in the picture is not Arion lusitanicus. I don’t know the Latin name for it if there is one at all.

Sabine from Aarhus University in Denmark did a study comparing the Red Slug (Arion rufus), Black Slug (Arion ater), Iberian Slug (Arion Lusitanicus) and the species shown in the above picture. I believe her supervisor was Dave Parker.

She found that:

  • The Iberian Slug has 24 chromosomes
  • The one in the picture, Red Slugs and Black Slugs have 26 chromosomes

She talks about the following studies:

  • Quintero et al 2005
  • Breugelman et al 2007
  • Maristella 2007 (chromosome analysis)

I know three things:

  • I don’t know what species the one in the picture is
  • I would like to grow food for humans, not slugs. Please.
  • The bullet function in WordPress is great

9 Ways To Fight Killer Slugs

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Killer Slug

  1. Collect them late in the evening and boil them for a quick death
  2. Put out iron phosphate that will make them sick when they eat it
  3. Use copper strips to form a keep-out barrier around beds
  4. Construct an angled fence around your beds
  5. Put out crushed eggshells which they will not cross
  6. Cut them in half with a pair of scissors
  7. Infect the killer slugs with nematodes
  8. Keep a group of frogs to eat the slug eggs
  9. Raise ducks to feed on the slugs

Other ideas? Please post them in the comments.

Killer Slugs On Copper

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Slug Eating

Annie from Edifice Rex posted a tip on controlling killer slugs by using copper. Apparently copper will short circuit their body due to some electrolytic effect, and they will stay away since they will get an electrical shock when they try to cross the copper. I’ve been reading reviews of this method and it seems to be working well. Unfortunately copper is expensive and the commercial strips sold is often too narrow and the slugs will cross anyway. The copper also has to be kept clean in order to work as short circuit, but I think it’s one of the better methods I’ve seen.