One minute you’ve got no slugs causing havoc across your garden and then, before you know it, you’ve got a complete infestation eating up every plant and vegetable they can find. So, where do slugs come from?
Slugs like to hide in moist and dark places in your garden. This can be under rocks, at the bases of trees, at the edges of ponds and even at the base of plants.
Slugs tend to avoid the sunlight and stay hidden in moist and dark places. This is the reason why the plants you place in the shade tend to be more susceptible to slug damage than the ones in the sunlight.
If you have slugs in your garden or you are trying to keep them away, it is best to get rid of the dark and moist places where they can seek shelter and hide.
Why Do Slugs Appear from Nowhere?
If it has been raining, or the weather has been gloomy, you may notice slugs coming out. Slugs love damp, moist conditions. These pests prefer the shade versus the sun. Slugs will hide away until the night or early morning.
This is why it may feel like slugs appear out of nowhere.
Slugs will keep themselves hidden until the conditions are just right for them. Some common places where slugs can be found are under pots, mulch, rocks, boards, containers, and vegetation.
Slugs do not actually appear out of nowhere, but they just appear when you’re less likely to be in your garden. Chances are, you like to spend time in the garden when the weather is hot and the sun is shining – this is the least likely time you’ll come across slugs.
Answering where do slugs come from isn’t some mystery that needs resolving. They simply come from the dark, moist corners of your garden when you’re not watching. Remember that slugs will usually come out at night.
Where Do Slugs Hide During the Day?
Slugs will return to the moist, dark places that they have made home as the night turns to day where they will remain until it begins to get dark again.
You’ll often find slugs hiding under pots, especially if you use pot feet to keep pots off the ground. They’ll hide under the pot then crawl back out at night to munch on whatever plant is sitting in the pot.
Unfortunately, trying to eradicate these hiding places can be a real challenge. You’re always going to have moist, damp corners in the garden where slugs will love to hide.
The best way to resolve this is to regularly check those areas which are prone to gathering moisture and remove any resultant slugs from the areas. Regularly check under pots, in between rocks and under vegetation that is planted in the shade.
Where Do Slugs Live?
Slugs live away from direct sunlight where there is plenty of moisture. As you’ve probably worked out by now, slugs need a few key features when looking for a home: Damp, shady conditions.
Unfortunately, there are endless areas that match these areas in the garden so trying to remove them all is going to be a near-impossible task. Whether it’s under a bush, at the root of a plant, under fallen leaves, beneath pots and troughs or under rocks.
Much like their lack of fussiness when it comes to what slugs eat, slugs are also not particularly fussy about where they live providing that it’s a little wet and a little dark. There are plenty of those areas in your garden, many of which you won’t be aware of as they’ll be in small crevices and gaps.
Summary
It can be incredibly disheartening to see the slug damage on your plants but not see any slugs. Slugs do not just appear out of nowhere; instead, they hide in moist, dark places. Slugs prefer to be in the shade rather than out in the sun which can actually dry them out.
Therefore, plants in the shade are more vulnerable to slug attacks. However, during the cooler autumnal months when the sun isn’t as strong, slugs will have free reign over your garden and won’t be particularly fussy about the plants they munch away on.
To prevent slugs in your garden, you must eliminate all the moist places that slugs can use as hiding spots. Of course, this isn’t particularly easy. You can remove leaf debris and plant matter. You can check under pots. But some damp areas will always remain the perfect home for a slug.
Ryan is a keen gardener from the UK who’s spent years dealing with countless, common pests over the years so knows the ins and outs of how to deal with pests in the garden
As a gardener, I’m sure that you know that your article is just fluff. People who ask the question “where do slugs come from” are looking for real answers and possible solutions. We already know that slugs like moist, dark places: what we don’t know is how they arrive there. They are living organisms, which means they were live born, hatched from eggs or something. The cycle had to begin somewhere. This season I put in new raised beds, new soil from the garden store and once my plants started growing good, here come the slugs.
It is impossibe to find their hiding places. What worked for me is putting a thin layer of sand all over the raised bed and topping it off with slug bait. They won’t cross the sand because it has glass in it and the slugs how no protective shell. The slug bait is just a backup in case slugs are hiding near or under your plants. This method has been very effective in saving my chinese cabbage (which is a magnet for slugs).