Wormcity Forum

In one of my bins I seem to also be breeding slugs. They’re significantly outnumbered by worms, but it’s not really what I had envisaged when I started. I’m worried about using the compost from this bin for anything other than mature plants.
Does anyone have any experience? Or any guidance on how to distinguish between good (eating rotting veggies) vs bad (eating seedlings and living plants) slugs for the garden?
Ta v much!

Hi, slugs are very much part of the composting process in nature. We have over thirty species of slugs in Britain only seven are seriously harmful to our garden plants, that is they like to eat fresh growing green plant material, others prefer dead decaying matter but will eat living stuff if that’s all that’s around.
On the plus side the poo left by slugs is as good for our gardens as the castings from worms, some slugs produce this stuff faster and in greater volume than worms produce castings. But like you I don’t want to risk spreading slugs nor their eggs around my garden.
What are the goods and baddies I’ve tried to learn this but never get very far. I know the big black slug and the small white/grey slugs are joint public “enemy one”. The only good guy I can recognise with any degree of certainty is the “leopard slug” as its name suggests it has blotchy markings which look like those of a leopard, it’s about 3 to 4 inches long when mature. This slug apparently does not eat living plants preferring dead and decaying matter but the big plus for me is the fact that he loves a meal of other slugs and slugs eggs, so win win

Willy

Really?? Wow. Hope they’re the slugs in my bin.
The only thing I found is this https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles ... -allotment step 1 is the “know your enemy”. But it only shows 3 bad ones, and the large black is apparently ok, but one of the bad ones also is pretty black

Link to info on the leopard slug
https://www.opalexplorenature.org/leopardslug

Link to the four worst bad guys
http://www.slugoff.co.uk/slug-facts/bad-slugs

Thanks Willy I’ll try and iD them next time I see them. Hope they’re leopard slugs

The harm of snails to ornamental plants is that they can eat leaves and young shoots, flower buds, causing slow growth or severe damage.