Slugs are easy to overlook until your hostas are full of holes, your seedlings disappear overnight or you find a slime trail across the basement floor. For homeowners in East Orange, slugs are mostly a garden nuisance, but when they keep coming back or start getting inside, they're telling you something about moisture around your home. Below, we'll explain what slugs are, why they show up, what you can do yourself and when it makes sense to call in help. If you'd rather hand it off, our outdoor pest control service looks at the whole yard and perimeter, not just the plants.
What Slugs Are
Slugs aren't insects. They're mollusks, closely related to snails, but without a shell. Their soft bodies lose water easily, so they need damp conditions to survive. That's why they hide during dry, sunny weather and come out at night, on cloudy days and after rain.
Slugs move on a layer of mucus, which leaves the shiny, silvery trails you see on paths, walls and leaves. They lay clusters of small, clear eggs in moist soil, under mulch or beneath debris, so one damp corner of the yard can keep producing new slugs.
Why Slugs Show Up Around Your Home
Slugs follow moisture and shelter. A few conditions make a yard especially welcoming.
- Damp, shady beds. Areas that stay wet, especially on the shady side of the house, suit them well.
- Thick mulch and groundcover. Deep mulch, ivy and dense plantings give them cool places to hide during the day.
- Clutter on the ground. Boards, flower pots, stones, bricks and leaf piles all make good daytime shelters.
- Evening watering. Watering late in the day keeps the surface wet all night, when slugs feed.
- Leaky gutters and downspouts. Water dumping next to the foundation keeps soil damp right against the house.
Most of these conditions are easy to change once you know to look for them, which is why moisture control does more than any single product.
How To Tell Slugs Are The Problem
Since slugs feed at night, you often see the damage before the culprit. Look for ragged, irregular holes in leaves, often with smooth edges, and seedlings chewed down to the stem. Hostas, lettuce, strawberries and other tender plants are favorite targets. The giveaway is the slime trail, which dries to a silvery sheen by morning. To confirm, go out with a flashlight an hour or two after dark, or check under a board laid on the ground overnight. If you're finding sticky leaves or tiny insects clustered on stems instead, our guide to aphids and scale insects covers those garden pests.
Are Slugs Harmful?
Slugs don't bite or sting, and they don't damage your home's structure. The trouble is the plant damage, the slime on patios and steps and the occasional slug in a basement, garage or ground-floor room. Slugs inside usually point to damp areas and gaps around doors, vents or the foundation. If you handle slugs, wear gloves or wash your hands afterward, and keep pets from eating slug baits.
What You Can Do Yourself
- Water in the morning. Let the soil surface dry out before evening.
- Thin out hiding spots. Keep mulch shallow, clear boards and debris and lift pots off the ground.
- Fix drainage. Clean gutters and extend downspouts so water flows away from the foundation.
- Handpick and trap. Collect slugs at night, or lay boards out and remove the slugs hiding under them each morning. Shallow containers of beer sunk into the soil also catch them.
- Use barriers. Copper strips around raised beds and pots can discourage slugs from crossing.
- Choose baits carefully. Some slug baits are toxic to dogs and other pets. Read the label before using any bait, and follow it exactly.
Why It's Worth Calling The Pros
A few slugs in the garden are easy to live with. Calling a professional makes sense when they come back every year no matter what you try, when they're getting into your basement or living space or when you have pets and don't want to guess about baits. Slugs indoors are usually a moisture and entry-point problem, and that's where EcoFusion helps most. Our NJ DEP-licensed technicians use Integrated Pest Management to find the damp areas and hiding spots driving the problem, and our home pest-proofing service seals the gaps where slugs and other crawling pests get in. Any treatment uses EPA-registered products.
Slugs are a symptom of moisture and shelter. Water in the morning, clear out hiding spots, fix drainage and keep them out of the house. If they keep coming back to your East Orange yard or basement, EcoFusion Pest Control can inspect your property and help fix the conditions behind them.