Vicky Carder is a Shelbyville native. In 1991 she founded Walden's Puddle Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Nashville. There she served as Executive Director for more than 12 years. The Center is the largest wildlife hospital in Middle Tennessee. She has published in wildlife national and international journals. Now she wants to share her knowledge of native wildlife and some of the experiences she had while working with wildlife.

Slug War

Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2013, at 3:52 PM

Some of my slugs!

I was amused by the posts on my last blog. I never expected a blog about the word "endanger" could turn into The Mussel War. It made me think of another one of my personal favorite outdoor creatures. So I wanted to see if you would weigh in about gastropods.

Many people seem to dislike slugs. I have an abundance of them that climb on my house in the evening. They live beside a giant hosta plant. I have never noticed my hosta being eaten by anything - is that just a myth?

The slugs we have in our area are known as Leopard slugs. The babies are interesting to see - I have seen some that are only 1/2" in size. They actually serve a purpose - the food chain - and are eaten by mammals, birds , amphibians, and insects.

It doesn't bother me to pick them up for a closer look. They are sticky and cold to the touch, which is a little weird. Initially the tentacles will retract, but if you hold one for a short while the tentacles will come out again. They seem to look about curiously.

I found some interesting information about the mating habits of slugs. I laughed until I cried. I won't mention it here but if you need a laugh look it up!

Comments

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Wonder how they taste in a butter sauce?

-- Posted by mytaxesaremine on Wed, Jun 26, 2013, at 3:55 PM
There may be a better source of food, but slugs will eat plants. They seem to love lettuce but I do not grow much lettuce, so maybe that is why they don't give me a particular problem.

Now talk about squash bugs, or cabbage loopers and I will jump right on them. Squash vine borers, grrrr but slugs are no real problem.

Maybe that is because we encourage frogs. toads. non-poisonous snakes, birds, etc. Anyone that wants to eat our detrimental bugs, snails, etc. is welcome.

-- Posted by stevemills on Wed, Jun 26, 2013, at 4:11 PM
Hmm, butter sauce. Somewhere I seem to remember that slugs disintegrate more than snails, but it sure cannot be confirmed by me.

Last time I had snails was when I was I grammar school and my grandmother fixed some with spaghetti sauce. I seem to remember that they were good, but.....

-- Posted by stevemills on Wed, Jun 26, 2013, at 4:15 PM
Steve thats salt that dissolves snails, not butter.So salt them after they are cooked LOL.

-- Posted by mytaxesaremine on Wed, Jun 26, 2013, at 4:54 PM
Aah, you speak with knowledge, so where do you get live snails around here? (The size worth eating)

Have you ever tried slugs? (I won't tell. LOL)

. :-)

-- Posted by stevemills on Thu, Jun 27, 2013, at 7:17 AM
You would have to order live edible land snails(escargot)from a food purveyor or amazon.com snails from our gardens are not vary appetizing but some can be eaten...I have served a lot of snails in country clubs in my life...mainly a french dish lightly sauteed fresh out of a can with garlic white wine and butter with puff pastry buttons...there is a plate made just for serving them, but they are normally out of the can...if served in shells they are not the shell like you would think it too is normally made for buffet serving and the shells are open and normally recycled....slugs...yuck...they are like eating slimy okra...I couldn't do it! eww!

-- Posted by chefgrape on Thu, Jun 27, 2013, at 9:12 AM
I have never tried slugs.I can't even bring myself to order snails when at fine dining establishment .Reminds me of the movie The Jerk when Steve Martin told his wife not to look there were snails on her plate,and told the waiter to take them away.That being said I have eaten some strange things,but thats another story.

-- Posted by mytaxesaremine on Thu, Jun 27, 2013, at 11:40 AM
Vicky,

Slugs LOVE hosta. Some very thick leaved varieties are considered "slug proof" but in reality they're only so thick the slugs don't get too far with mutilating them. Perhaps you find yourself in the fortunate circumstance of having hosta plants of significant heft to defy the slimy critters nocturnal binges.

I've read that slugs, like snails, also have shells. Theirs are internal and flexible; however, I'd not wager on that since I've never felt any compunction to dissect one.

As for eating them--I hope I'm not invited to dinner.

-- Posted by dmcg on Thu, Jun 27, 2013, at 4:14 PM
Please, someone look up the mating ritual of slugs.....you will never consider eating them again.

I have plain old green hosta - wonder why they aren't eating that?

This blog goes to interesting places - I didn't even know I could write a blog about fine cuisine...

-- Posted by wildwoman on Thu, Jun 27, 2013, at 5:42 PM
Maybe you have something even tastier than the hosta. At our house, they prefer coleus to hosta, but when I neglect to plant coleus near the hosta they literally consume the old green ones. Go figure. I don't plant any thin leaved varieties anymore.

Their mating is revolting, isn't it? Don't worry too much about the fine cuisine aspect of the blog. I don't think slugs count. LOL

-- Posted by dmcg on Thu, Jun 27, 2013, at 9:41 PM

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