Slugs... Sickly or Sexy???

[gazzawazza]

Last night, I was on the computer till the early hours typing answers which just wouldn't appear.... There I was crouched in front of the screen, Answerbanking away until I eventually succumbed to the need for sleep. At 2.15am I went into the kitchen and was horrified to find two slugs on the floor. One big fat one and a tiny ickle baby one, but even the ickle baby one was disgusting.

Out came the salt quick as you like, but it got me thinking, are they the most repulsive creatures on earth? Has anyone got a good word for slugs? Is anyone going to fight their corner? And if they aren't, what are???

There you go, four questions for the price of one!

[gazzawazza]

Sorry, the long question has hidden the "submit" button. Click on the answer screen, then drag down till it comes into view.

[gazzawazza]

By the way, this reminds me of a story my sister told me. One night, her ankle-biter was crying for a drink so she had to come downstairs to the kitchen. They were having problems with slugs at the time, and when she put the light on she was expecting the worst, but what she saw made her laugh out loud... a solitary slug waving its head around frantically trying to shake off a sugarpuff!!!

[honkytonkman]

I know it sounds rather twee, but I think slugs have as much right as anything else to live. If I see them nibbling the plants on te rockery, I just scoop them onto a little trowel and put them in the shrubbery at the end of the garden. It seems that as I get older, I can't bear to terminate any little bug's life. Perhaps I'm destined to become a Buddhist...?

[gazzawazza]

Aaaah isn't that nice, someone speaking up for them.

You are, of course absolutely right honkytonkman and I may rethink my method of dealing with the horrible little things...

[Cetti]

I cannot think of anything else that is quite so revolting as slugs gazza, and they have no redeeming features. Birds eat snails but won't touch slugs, so what use are they? The Hag Fish is another slimy and equally revolting creature. Getting back to slugs, not long after we moved into our present house, coming down into the kitchen one morning we found 3 huge black 'things' that had slithered under the skirting boards, up the walls and into a bowl of sugar!!!!

[WendyW]

We don't have slugs in our garden .... the Cat eats them!!!. Now that really is revolting.

[wildwood]

Slugs (snails without a shell) are just another link in the evolutionary chain. They are an essential intermediate host for many parasitic intestinal worms. Parasitic worms are one of Nature's ways to control overpopulation of some herbivorous species. [animals are not on this earth to accommodate humans]. Yes, they also make excellent nutritious food for many bird species including Thrushes.
I am really stretching it here to find more redeeming features for slugs.
If you want to get rid of slugs in the house in a kind way, put low saucer of beer in the place where they are usually found. That way they are happy before they drown in the amber liquid. Another effective way is to put a solution of worming agent [available from your vet] on the saucer, but than they won't die happy. The salt method is very effective of course, but there you have to apply it directly to the beasties, they won't approach it by themselves.

[brawburd]

I tend to walk about in barefeet including in garden, and have high arch, so slugs get well curled around after being stood upon! First few times I didn't realise this was the reason for the moistness on my feet. But slugs have a particular "feel" - they don't disentigrate on mashing, they kind of give a fleshy fight first! And cats, wendyw, who I would normally defend to the end - mine will bring in huge birds and families of mice , but steps over a slug!

[brawburd]

the slug with a sugarpuff - what a picture!!!!

[sddsddean]

I lived in a 2 up, 2 down slum in my final year at college with two of my mates. They had the upstairs bedrooms and we used the 'lounge' as my bedroom. After the first couple of nights , I woke up in the morning to find slime trails over the floor, walls and up onto the chair over my clothes. This, of course, meant war!! The next day I bought some slug pellets. When I went to bed that night, I put down a ring of pellets round the bed etc., followed by an inner defensive ring of salt. Woke up the next morning with 4 congealed blobs on the carpet (one had made it to the salt!). Then had the problem of cleaning the carpet!! Used some car upholstery cleaner, which sort of foams and lifts the dirt/slug off the carpet. I think the slug community learnt their lesson, as they didn't come back again.

[paulz]

i rate slugs along with wasps, god's idea of a joke or he had a hangover that day [sorry Rev C]. One night after a few tinnies my big brother & I were induldging in a bit of slug catching & chucking [trying to see who could throw them the furthest] some were those repulsive brown ones that are the length of a finger. The snag was afterwards trying to get the gunk of your hands. [bruv said what an excellent lubricant it'd make - take note Castrol!] We ended up using scourers even now i can still feel that slime. We've now got several resident frogs and the occasional hedgehog who keep their population in check - save wasting beer on the little sh*ts

[incitatus]

most disgusting? no, see hagfish or Margaret Thatcher. They are good food for hedgehogs, which are cute.

[Taurwen]

First of all Hagfish are going to be very important in the future I think. When scared they throw out a kind of goop that's almost exactly like 3D spidedr web and in a couple years may replace styrophome, and many other materials that cause problems but it will be biodegradable.

[Taurwen]

And second. I love slugs. I don't know why. All kinds of slugs. But if you want a reason to like slugs look up some sea slug pictures. Some of the most interesting creatures I have ever seen.