Slug eggs or the white jelly-like slimy ovules on the surface of your soil indicate that you have a garden enemy on the loose.
You may also notice slime trails on the pavement or mysterious holes on the foliage that vary in size. Slugs and their eggs are gardeners’ worst nightmare but fear not. This article is here to help you win the battle with our D.I.Y garden rescue guide.
Contents
Why Is It Important to Remove Slugs and Their Eggs?
It is important to remove slugs and their eggs from the garden because they can be devastating to your plants. Slugs like to feed on the foliage and the roots of the plant leaving them weak and dead. The eggs must be removed before they hatch.
How To Identify Slugs and Their Eggs
One of the best indicators to identify the slug problem is the slimy trail on rocks or pavement that these creatures leave behind. Knowing that they are super smart and good at hiding, you might not see them during the day, therefore they remain active at night and feast on your plants.
Slug eggs, on the other hand, can be identified as slimy jelly-like eggs on the surface of the soil. They start off as very delicate transparent clusters then turn white as they mature. These are slippy and usually hidden. Pick them up with care when you must.
How Long Does It Take To Hatch?
The slimy eggs can take two weeks to a month to hatch after turning white. Its growth depends on environmental conditions. Sometimes it takes five months to hatch in winters. Eggs are usually stored by slugs in the late season that is after October to hatch in Spring.
Slugs mature in about five months, and that may be too late to control their population. Follow the guide below to find the eggs before it’s too late.
Slugs and Slug Eggs: Troubleshooting Guide
To get rid of slugs and clear slug eggs in your garden, you must remember that they like moist conditions and avoid sunny, bright areas. Here are a few steps you can take to prevent their colonies:
Start by picking up items like toys, buckets, empty pots, and others that could provide shelter for the slimy slugs. Then, turn over the soil that has been left untouched for a long time.
What you have to do is clear the garden from the wood that is left behind to prevent slugs from taking refuge under or around it. If you have piles of organic matter in your garden, it is a good idea to rake it. Lastly, scrape off the egg clusters if you find them. Wondering how to find eggs? Continue reading.
– Finding Slugs and Their Eggs
Slugs like to live and lay their eggs under debris or places that are safe and moist for them to thrive. Since they come out at night, you can easily find the mature slugs, but for eggs, you will have to look harder. A flashlight helps in finding the slug eggs at night. Check under the foliage, on the soil, and on grass.
– Getting Rid of Slug Eggs in Soil
Since the eggs are very fragile and are left on the top of the soil surface, you must take precautions while lifting them. Use a shovel to make sure you get all of the eggs without dropping any. They are also slimy, so do not forget to use gloves for this process.
Once you find the slug or snail eggs, you can use salt water to eradicate the problem. Alternatively, you can put the eggs in soapy water or use tweezers to break them. Gardeners also use bleached mixed in water to get rid of the slug eggs.
Slug Control: Tips and Tricks
One of the methods for slug control is to get slug baits from the market. This is the most effective method. Alternatively, you can hand-pick mature slugs at night. Once you collect them, put them into a bucket full of soapy or saline water.
It is best to use gloves or a towel to pick up these beings. You can also use a shovel. Fruit rinds also attract slugs out from their hiding spots. Slugs will also like to feast on pet food.
For a more permanent solution, you can line your garden beds with copper tape that will keep slugs away. Diatomaceous earth and crushed eggshells also repel slugs. If you love birds then you will be happy to know that ducks and chickens like to dine on these slimy creatures, and maybe your perfect natural solution to control slugs in the garden.
You can pick one, or choose a combination of these solutions according to the intensity of the problem, and the resources available. We hope that the guide above helped you in increasing your knowledge about slugs eggs and helped you find solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
– Can a Slug Self-Fertilize Eggs?
Yes. Slugs have both male and female reproductive organs and can fertilize their own eggs like other hermaphrodites. If needed the slugs can mate and produce fertilized eggs to propagate genetic variation in their species. This means that even a single slug can start its own family and cause havoc in your garden without a mate.
– How Many Eggs Can a Slug Lay in a Season?
A single slug can produce hundreds of eggs that will soon be feasting on your plants. Typically, a slug will lay five hundred eggs in a season. That is why it is crucial to get rid of slugs as soon as possible before they get out of hand.
Conclusion
Slug eggs in the garden can be a sign of a big concern for the gardeners, but with timely prevention, you can avoid the problem.
- Remove extra debris and tilt untouched soil from the garden to prevent slugs from populating.
- Slugs like moist, dark conditions to grow and come out at night only.
- You can handpick slugs and use one of the methods above to destroy them.
- Eggs can be searched for, picked up with precaution, and destroyed by placing them in bleach, salty or soapy water.
- Keep in mind that a single slug can self-produce eggs and does not need a mate. Each slug can lay 500 eggs in one season and multiply the problem.
If you allow eggs to hatch, slugs will quickly ruin your garden by feasting on roots and leaves. It is best to follow the guide above and keep our garden protected.
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