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Slugs

Stylized illustration of slugs

By The Pest Guide Team · Updated
Edited by Fellipe Antequera · Editorial policy

These soft-bodied creatures share a total lack of an external shell, wings, and legs, relying instead on a single muscular foot that leaves a glistening, silvery trail of slime behind them. Because their permeable skin makes them intensely vulnerable to drying out, you will rarely see them wandering about in the afternoon sun, choosing instead to wait out the daylight hours in damp hiding spots beneath rotting logs, flat stones, or overturned flower pots before emerging at night to chew holes in your garden greens.

You can easily tell true slugs apart from the creatures they are most often confused with by looking closely at their anatomy and habits. Snails look nearly identical at a glance, but they always carry a hard external spiral shell on their backs, whereas true slugs have nothing of the sort. Meanwhile, those pesky rose slugs stripping your rose bushes during the day are actually insect sawfly larvae with distinct body segments and tiny legs, and caterpillars or cutworms possess real head capsules and prolegs rather than a smooth, unsegmented, slimy body.

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Questions about slugs

SlugsHow do you get rid of slugs in the garden?Learn how to effectively identify and get rid of slugs in your garden using safe, approved methods.SlugsHow do you prevent slugs in a garden?Learn how to prevent slugs in a garden using cultural sanitation, proper moisture management, physical traps, and safe bait application.SlugsHow do you get rid of slugs on hostas?Learn how to get rid of slugs on hostas safely and effectively using integrated pest management, cultural sanitation, and baits.SlugsHow do you get rid of garden snails?Learn how to effectively get rid of garden snails using safe and practical methods, from manual removal to proper baiting techniques.SlugsAre slugs good for a garden?No. Extension services class slugs as plant pests. They chew ragged holes in leaves, cut young stems, eat roots and ruin ripening fruit.SlugsAre slugs poisonous?No. Garden slugs have no venom, stings or toxins in their flesh, so touching one with bare hands will not poison you.SlugsAre slugs dangerous?Slugs pose almost no direct danger to people, but they wreck plants. Toxic slug baits are often the bigger risk for pets and wildlife.SlugsAre slugs mollusks?Yes. Slugs are mollusks in the class Gastropoda, alongside snails, and related to clams and octopuses. They simply lost the outer shell.SlugsDo slugs have shells?No. Garden slugs have no outer shell, at most a tiny internal remnant. That is why they dry out easily and feed at night or in rainy weather.SlugsAre snails and slugs the same thing?No. Snails carry a coiled shell big enough to hide inside. Slugs are close relatives whose shells are lost, reduced or internal.SlugsCan chickens eat slugs?Yes, chickens eat slugs they find, but they prefer insects and are active by day while slugs hide, so they rarely control slugs well.SlugsAre leopard slugs poisonous?No. Leopard slugs have no venom, fangs or stingers. Touching one leaves sticky mucus that washes off with soap and water.SlugsWhat are black slugs?Black slugs are shell-less mollusks that hide by day in cool, damp places and come out at night to eat leaves, stems and fruit.SlugsWhy are slugs in the house?Slugs come indoors looking for moisture and dark shelter, squeezing through gaps or riding in on potted plants brought inside.SlugsSlugs in a vegetable bed: where should you look first?Learn where to look for slugs in your vegetable bed during the day, how to identify their damage, and practical ways to manage them safely.SlugsHow do you protect seedlings from slugs without relying on a single method?Learn how to protect your garden seedlings from slugs using a practical, multi-layered approach that goes beyond single remedies.SlugsWhat does rose sawfly larva damage look like on rose leaves?Learn to identify rose sawfly larva damage on rose leaves, understand their feeding habits, and find practical ways to manage them safely.SlugsRose sawfly larvae vs rose slug sawflies: what naming difference matters?Discover why the name difference between rose sawfly larvae and rose slugs matters for effective garden pest control.

Research sources

This page was researched with publications from these institutions, then written and reviewed by The Pest Guide Team: