Tiger slugs are among the lesser known snails, although they are widespread and can be found in almost every garden. This is due to their special way of life. They are wrongly equated with the dreaded slugs. They prove to be real helpers in the garden.

Tiger slugs keep the garden clean

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Tiger Slug - Attitude
  3. attracting and settling
  4. Tiger slug in the garden
  5. Characteristics
  6. Types of slugs at a glance
  7. frequently asked Questions

    8. the essentials in brief

    • Tiger slugs can easily be bred in the terrarium. They need high humidity, protein-rich food and enough space. Animals can be found in special online stores.
    • The snails do not need to be settled in the garden as they are widespread. Tiger slugs can be attracted by laying out food. Dark and damp places to hide are important.
    • Tiger slugs perform important tasks in the garden and are not dangerous to crops or humans. Some specimens look similar to the dreaded nudibranch.
    • The invertebrates have an interesting reproductive behavior. They can be differently colored and patterned, making them easily confused with other species.

    Breeding tiger slugs

    Tiger Slugs can be bred at home

    Tiger slugs are widespread in Central Europe. Hardly anyone knows this invertebrate animal, because it is mainly nocturnal and hides during the day. Anyone who takes a closer look at the way of life of these terrestrial snails will recognize the advantages of this species. Since they rarely cause damage in the garden and rather take on useful tasks, they are bred by garden lovers and nature lovers.

    Preliminary considerations for attitude

    If you find tiger slugs in your garden, you should not capture them for breeding. You take the snails from a balanced ecosystem and run the risk that they will not survive in the terrarium due to unfavorable conditions. Purchased slugs can be bred if you can offer the animals optimal conditions. There is a great risk that the climate will change and mold or yeast will develop. Rot gases from rotten wood can also have a negative impact on the health of slugs.

    Buying a tiger slug - makes sense?

    You can buy slugs online, although this option is more suited to those interested in breeding. The prices for an adult and sexually mature animal vary between 15 and 20 euros depending on the provider. When you order tiger slugs, there are risks involved in shipping. Therefore, pay close attention to the delivery conditions so that the animals reach you alive.

    You should pay attention to this:

    • Shipping time no longer than two days
    • Delivery only up to temperatures of 25 degrees
    • no shipping over weekends or holidays

    Tips for a successful breeding

    Tiger slugs feel comfortable at room temperature and prefer high humidity, which should be around 90 percent. Occasional dry periods cause fewer problems for the animals than permanent dampness, as this increases the risk of mold growth. The housing is furnished with moss and leaves of beech, oak or chestnut.

    A large plastic box is sufficient for animals that are kept temporarily. If you want to breed the snails, you should keep them in a terrarium that is at least 50 centimeters high. Tiger slugs have interesting mating behavior and require upward space. During mating, they attach to a thread of slime that can grow up to 43 cm long.

    Suitable feed:

    • Mixture of plants and protein-rich food
    • fresh leaves and tree mushrooms
    • Algae and moss from rotten wood
    • Tiger slugs thrive on carrots and potatoes
    • Cucumbers, tomatoes or kohlrabi are readily accepted

    The terrarium should be cleaned in the morning when the slugs are in a deep sleep. You can put the bark and the snails aside. Be careful not to touch the snails. They have a layer of mucus that is not only used for locomotion but also to ward off bacteria and germs. This protective layer is rubbed off by touch and the animals suffer unnecessary stress.

    Release tiger slugs

    Tiger slugs should be released in a damp place

    If you have bought tiger slugs and release them in the garden, you will not notice any major changes at first. Tiger slugs retreat and go about their work unnoticed. However, it takes more than a summer for a population to develop. A female can lay up to 200 eggs, most of which rot. The development of the hatched young depends on the weather conditions and the conditions in your garden.

    Important instructions:

    • Tiger slugs need moist hiding places such as rocks or wood during the day
    • Be patient and do not take any slug control measures
    • many young animals die from rainfall or predators

    The ideal time for exposure is autumn. Shortly before winter, the animals look for a place to hibernate. In spring they are among the first beneficial insects in the garden. As soon as they crawl out of their winter quarters, they go in search of food.

    Attract and settle tiger slugs

    Make sure that the animals feel comfortable in your garden. Instead of ordering specimens over the Internet, you can use simple means to lure tiger slugs into your garden and settle them permanently. The species is widespread in Central Europe and may already be in your garden or on your neighbor's property.

    Do I have to settle tiger slugs?

    If you already have slugs in your garden, the tiger slug is often not far away. Bring a little patience, because the first activities of the tiger slug are usually already evident in the following summer. A population develops automatically when the food conditions are optimal. The snails are considered site-loyal and will not leave your garden that quickly.

    Tiger slugs usually come all by themselves if your garden is designed in a natural way and offers ideal hiding places.

    Attract with treats

    Tiger slugs love mushrooms

    It has been shown that tiger slugs are particularly fond of certain foods. These include carrots and potatoes, but oatmeal is not scorned either. Food should be made available within easy reach. If you already know where the slugs are in your yard, you can leave some treats there. Otherwise, choose dark and damp hiding places and stock the environment with food.

    How to encourage tiger slugs:

    • Distribute chopped mushrooms in the garden
    • provide shady and moist hiding places
    • distribute rotten wood and hollow stones

    Provide suitable habitat

    Tiger slugs colonize compost heaps and woodpiles. They withdraw into piles of branches and leaves or hide under roof tiles and cavities between patio stones. A natural stone wall offers the beneficial optimal opportunities to withdraw. Shrubs and trees provide sufficient shade during the day. It is important that Limax maximus is allowed to spread undisturbed in its habitat.

    Garden design tips:

    • Loosely stack perforated bricks and cover with brushwood and moldy leaves
    • Place shards of clay pots in the center of the kitchen garden and enhance them with pieces of bark
    • Plant shady shrubs and perennials

    In order to offer the beneficial insect an undisturbed habitat, you can make your garden snail-friendly. It is normal for slugs to feel at home in the garden after these measures, as they have similar requirements to slugs. Their radius of movement usually extends over two to three and sometimes up to ten meters. Therefore, place several hiding places in your garden that can be conquered by the slugs over time.

    Tiger slugs live in the garden

    The fact that large slugs do not enjoy a good reputation is mainly due to the Spanish slug. It often occurs in large numbers and, as an introduced species, has few enemies. One of them is the tiger slug. If you have this terrestrial snail in your garden, you should not fight it but protect it. Tiger slugs are often found in cultivated landscapes close to settlements.

    Tiger slugs live here:

    • original inhabitant of the forest floor, who has developed into a cultural follower
    • in structurally rich field woods with hedges and bushes
    • in gardens and parks or brownfield sites
    • in cemeteries, in compost heaps, vegetable beds and greenhouses

    Useful or harmful?

    Tiger slugs have a wide range of food. In order to reach sexual maturity, the invertebrates need protein-rich prey. A tiger slug hatchling cannot feed exclusively on plants because it cannot fully develop. Therefore, the snails hunt related species and their clutches.

    Tiger slugs help against snails in the garden. They prove to be effective hunters and can overwhelm specimens that are nearly the same size. In addition, slugs are important decomposers of dead organic matter. They keep nature clean and ensure that the compost turns into good soil.

    Meal plan of a tiger slug:

    • main food: droppings, fungi, decaying plant matter, carrion
    • occasional food: young slugs and their clutches
    • exceptional food: fresh shoots and leaves

    Glasshouse

    In the greenhouse, the little animals can nibble on the vegetables

    It may happen that you meet tiger slugs in the greenhouse. Here the humidity is often high and there are many shady hiding places. If you plant tomatoes or cucumbers there, the beneficial insects will gratefully eat the harvest. While they don't do much damage, they shouldn't necessarily live in a greenhouse. Instead, put the animals on the compost heap or in a woodpile. Grab the snails with a large leaf so you don't get the sticky slime on your skin.

    Are tiger slugs poisonous?

    Tiger slugs, like all slugs, secrete a foul-tasting slime. This serves as a protective layer that keeps the body moist. In addition, the slime has an antibacterial effect and prevents potential predators from attacking the snail. The secretions have a bitter taste and are extremely viscous, so that predators' mouthparts or beaks can easily stick together. However, Limax maximus is not poisonous to humans.

    digression

    Snail slime secrets

    Snail slime is a miracle of nature. Its consistency varies between solid and liquid depending on the pressure. When the snail rests, the mucus becomes viscous or hardens. Only through the movements and the resulting pressure on the mucus does it liquefy again. It adheres well to a substrate and is extremely elastic.

    However, its production requires an extremely large number of resources, which is why slugs are dependent on moist biotopes. Because they take so long to form slime, they move slowly. Already existing traces of slime are often used for locomotion, because this saves the snail a lot of energy.

    Tiger Slug vs. Nudibranch

    Tiger slugs and nudibranchs can be distinguished by the breathing hole

    Sometimes you don't recognize tiger slugs by their typical markings, because these can vary greatly. Occasionally monochromatic light or dark specimens occur. Like slugs, tiger slugs have a mantle shield that takes up a third of the body length. This protects the vital organs. The animals have a cream-colored sole.

    An important distinguishing feature is the position of the breathing hole, which is on the right side in both snails. In tiger slugs, the breathing hole with a dark border is located behind the middle of the mantle shield, while the Spanish slug has its breathing hole in the front half.

    Identifying characteristics of the tiger slug:

    • 21 to 26 furrows between median line and edge of mantle shield
    • relatively short keel, which occupies only the last third of the back
    • colorless and viscous mucus

    Where do tiger slugs winter?

    Adult snails can live two to three years, so they have to hibernate several times. They withdraw into sheltered niches where they are not threatened by frost. When the outside temperatures drop, the metabolism slows down. Heartbeat and respiration slow down so that the snail consumes as little energy as possible until spring. The eggs can also overwinter.

    tips

    Tiger slugs like to retreat to damp basements to hibernate. If you find the patterned snail there, you should release it in the garden in spring. Often the beneficial insects cannot find their way out again.

    Characteristics

    Tiger slugs are known by the Latin name Limax maximus. Colloquially they are also known as the big slug, tiger slug or big slug. The invertebrates reach a length between ten and 20 centimeters. They are now found in temperate latitudes around the world.

    courtship

    The hermaphroditic animals mate during the summer months and do not need a partner of the opposite sex to reproduce. Copulation begins with a chase. Once the pursued has found a suitable place for reproduction, it stops and forms a harmonious circle with the pursuer.

    This is usually formed on a vertical surface. The animals move in circles and secrete a lot of mucus, creating a circular spot on the ground. Shortly before the actual act, the snails shorten, so that the front body is very swollen.

    reproduction

    Their mating is like an acrobatic act and lasts about an hour. After the foreplay, the partners wrap themselves around each other in a spiral and secrete a reddish-yellow thread of mucus. With violent movements, both partners detach themselves from the ground so that they hang upside down on the slime thread. This twists and stretches strongly up to a length of 20 to 45 centimeters.

    The actual copulation:

    • tube-like and bluish-white genitals expand to up to four centimeters
    • Sperm packets travel through the tubes to the top
    • The tips of the penis form a bluish ball and are reminiscent of a "lamp bell"
    • Sperm packets emerge and are attached to the other sex organ

    The slugs stay in this position for a while without moving any further. The animals then separate from each other. One partner often falls to the ground while the second snail crawls up the thread of slime and eats it.

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    egg laying

    Tiger slugs lay eggs for the first time between July and August. A second oviposition follows in the coming year between June and July. In one laying period, two to four clutches are produced, each containing 100 to 300 eggs. The number depends on the size and vitality of the animal.

    Detect Eggs:

    • spherical to elongated
    • completely transparent and crystal clear
    • four to five millimeters in diameter

    development

    Depending on the temperature, it takes between 19 and 25 days for the first young to hatch. In unfavorable conditions, the development can extend to 45 days. Eggs laid just before winter survive until spring. But not all eggs can develop.

    A large proportion fall victim to parasitic infestation by mites, nematodes or flies, while other eggs rot under too humid conditions. The young tiger slugs are pale white and only get the first stripes after about a week. It takes about a year and a half for young tiger slugs to become sexually mature.

    tips

    Tiger slugs eat conspecifics when they need protein and other food resources are scarce. When keeping them in the terrarium, make sure you have a balanced diet.

    enemies and threats

    On the one hand, humans provide the tiger slug with a habitat and, on the other hand, ensure that such important niches are lost. In tidy gardens, the molluscs usually do not find optimal living conditions. As soon as you take action against slugs and distribute slug pellets (7.49€), you also destroy the tiger slugs that live in secret.

    Sandy and dusty surfaces also put an end to the animals, because they are dependent on damp environments. The natural enemies primarily include birds such as ducks and chickens, but also songbirds and crows. Hedgehogs only eat the slimy snails when they can't find any other food.

    Types of slugs at a glance

    The black tiger slug, as the name suggests, is quite dark

    There are numerous species in the slug family that can be confused with the tiger slug because of their striking coloration.Identifying features are not only the different sizes but also the typical distribution of the respective species. Most slugs are not cultural followers.

    scientific Happen size
    tiger slug Limax maximus widespread in Central Europe ten to twenty centimeters
    Black slug Limax cinereoniger rarely in cultivated land, forest dweller larger than 20 centimeters
    Spotted slug Limacus maculatus British Islands up to ten centimeters
    beer slug Limacus flavus rare in Central Europe up to nine inches

    At the beginning of the 20th century, it was not yet clear to researchers that many black-colored slugs do not belong to the tiger slug species. This assumption is based on the fact that the snails have very variable color patterns or appear completely monochromatic. Studies have shown that some specimens do not mate with each other. The results led to a species split.

    tiger slug

    The species is characterized by a light basic color on which a variable and dark pattern of stripes or spots is formed. Specimens with an intense drawing can appear very dark. In all individuals, the sole of the foot is monotonous and cream-colored. When expanded, the genital tube reaches about half the body length. They always mate while hanging from a thread of slime that is produced at an elevated position.

    Black slugs

    This related species has a dark basic colouration, although individuals of other colors can also occur. Typical is the sole of the foot, which appears dark at the edge and is light colored in the middle. The species is not a cultural successor, but inhabits natural forests. Mating is similar to the act of tiger slugs. They hang down from a tree trunk with the tip of their tail, their genitals can be extended to body length.

    color varieties:

    • grey-brown or black-grey to black
    • often with faint and dark longitudinal bands on the sides
    • partially black or lightly spotted to striped
    • bright unicolored, red or tabby specimens are possible

    frequently asked Questions

    Where can you buy tiger slugs?

    Many nature lovers breed the beneficial insects and offer excess tiger slugs from their own keeping on Ebay classifieds. The offer varies according to the season. During the breeding season between June and August you will be able to order more eggs, while newly hatched or growing young are offered from spring. You can also buy the animals online in special shops such as the snail farm.

    Why do I have numerous slugs in the garden despite my tiger slugs?

    It takes several years for an independent population of tiger slugs to develop. Large masses of slugs cannot be fought sustainably by using tiger slugs alone. Even if you settle several populations of beneficial insects in the garden, you will always find slugs. It is therefore not advisable to settle masses of tiger slugs. Much more you should ensure an ecological balance and promote the natural enemies of the slugs.

    These are enemies of the slug:

    • Black mold beetle
    • starving hedgehogs
    • toads

    Are tiger slugs endangered?

    The species was originally native to southern and western Europe and was able to settle throughout Central Europe due to human displacement. It is now widespread, but the populations are declining in some areas. In Schleswig-Holstein and Upper Austria, the species is considered potentially endangered.

    What do tiger slugs eat?

    The species is an omnivore and feeds on living invertebrates as well as remains or dead plant parts. On the menu are mushrooms, fresh leaves, as well as carrion and organic waste on the compost. A tiger slug eats other slugs to cover its need for protein. The animals need the protein to reach sexual maturity. They can overpower conspecifics or slugs almost the same size as themselves. Eggs are not scorned either.

    How do I recognize slugs?

    A typical distinguishing feature of slugs is the dorsal keel, which runs as a more or less clear edge from the tip of the tail to the middle of the back. Like slugs, slugs have greatly reduced their shells. Slugs have a flat shell plate underneath their coat shield, but this is not visible from the outside. Slugs and slugs have a breathing hole located on the right side of the mantle shield. Unlike slugs, this opening is in the back half of the shield in slugs.

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Animals in the garden