Kathryn Palumbo

Did you know that snails and slugs are part of the same species? The term ‘snail‘ is a common name used to describe land snails – terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. The term snail encompasses the thousands of species of sea snails, freshwater snails and the snail-like animals that lack an external shell but have an internal shell called slugs. There is also snails, called semislugs who carry a shell too small to retract into.

Since 1999, my husband and I have walked our Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs in the beautiful wooded trails of British Columbia; in torrential rain or shine! Our kids learned how to walk and ride their bikes on these same trails (in rain or shine), memorizing their way around the trails and getting in touch with the delicate ecosystem in the process.

On many occasion the kids and I counted more than fifty slugs on one walk. And have occasionally come across giant slugs and a family of many baby slugs.

After a few years of observation we decided that we wouldn’t pick them up. Aside from eating leaves and garden plants we observed that slugs like to eat the dog waste that irresponsible dog owners leave behind on the trails for others to step on.

We also learned that if you do pick up a slug and have slug slime on your hand, that the best course of action is to wipe the slime off with a cloth or allow it to dry before brushing it off. Adding water and soap makes it impossible to wash it off.

Slugs and snails are pretty easy to deal with in the garden, because they move so slowly and don’t bite. Some gardeners use a copper strip to discourage the Gastropods from entering a flower bed or from climbing a fruit tree. Others just pick them up and relocate them.

#Compassion for all beings.