PesthighApr–Oct

Spanish slug

Arion vulgaris

This description was machine-translated.

How to spot it

The Spanish slug is the most feared omnivore in the vegetable bed. It feeds at night and in damp weather, eating irregular holes into leaves, and often clears young lettuces or seedlings completely. The silvery shiny slime trails the next morning give it away. Soft, freshly planted batches are especially at risk.

Prevention

Collect the slugs early in the morning or after rain and lay out boards as daytime hiding places, from under which you can gather them purposefully. A slug fence 3–5 cm high around vulnerable beds keeps them out reliably, as does a dry strip of sheep's wool or sawdust. Encourage hedgehogs, ground beetles and toads with dead wood and leaf piles, and water in the morning instead of the evening, so that the beds dry off at night.