Normally, slugs are not very popular with gardeners, after all, these pests like to eat the beds bare. An exception, however, is the tiger slug, also known as the tiger snail, because this predator prefers to eat other snails.

The tiger slug is a useful slug

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Tiger snail - a beneficial creature
  3. Recognize tiger snail
  4. way of life and reproduction
  5. Attract and settle tiger slugs
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • The tiger slug or tiger slug looks like a slug, but is a snail-eating beneficial insect in the garden.
    • Characteristic is the eponymous spot pattern, by which one can easily recognize the species.
    • Tiger snails are nocturnal and therefore very rarely seen. They are omnivores and also feed on dead plant matter, carrion, algae and fungi.
    • You can buy the animals in specialist shops - for example at a special slug farm - and specifically settle them in the garden. However, they are not suitable as the sole measure against slugs.

    The tiger snail - a voracious beneficial creature in the garden

    Tiger slugs only eat dead plant parts, carrion and pests

    Anyone who sees the tiger slug - or tiger slug - for the first time will probably first classify it as a slug and thus as a pest. The opposite is the case, because the mollusk with the characteristic appearance is related to the well-known slugs, but also likes to eat them. The animals are very effective and even hunt specimens that are larger than themselves. Tiger snails also like to eat

    • mushrooms
    • dead plant parts
    • carrion
    • snail eggs

    On the other hand, tiger slugs rarely go to fresh green. The animals have a high protein requirement, especially as young animals, and only reach sexual maturity when they can meet their requirements. All of the young tiger snails that were fed purely vegetarian food for experimental purposes soon died.

    Ergo, it's a good idea to bring a couple of tiger slugs into the garden to combat the nudibranch plague. For this purpose, you can collect the animals in forests and parks or buy them from specialized dealers.

    digression

    Is the tiger snail poisonous?

    Tiger snails are not poisonous. So you don't have to worry if your dog or cat accidentally eats one of these specimens. However, you should refrain from touching the slugs - not because they might be poisonous, but because doing so is extremely stressful and harmful to the animals. After all, the tiger slugs in your garden should be doing well so that they are busy devouring other slugs.

    Recognizing tiger snails and distinguishing them from other species

    "Tiger snail eats snail - have you seen that before?" These mollusks prefer to eat other slugs and are therefore very useful.”

    As a rule, tiger slugs can be distinguished from other slugs quite well due to their characteristic appearance. The species does not bear its name without reason, after all, the light-colored body is adorned with distinctive markings with black spots and stripes. In contrast to the name, this is more reminiscent of the typical leopard pattern.

    The tiger snail in profile:

    • Latin designation: Limax maximus
    • Alternate names: Tiger Slug, Greater Slug, Greater Slug
    • origin: originally Southern Europe
    • distribution: almost worldwide in temperate climates, common in Europe
    • Happen: humid and rather warm habitats, needs humidity for respiration
    • size: adult animals on average 13 centimeters, up to 20 centimeters possible
    • coloring: variable, mostly light brown, light gray or yellowish, underside cream
    • pattern: black or brown spots that can condense into regular stripes

    The tiger snail originally comes from southern Europe

    In addition to these, there are also spotless, monochromatic dark and white varieties, which are very rare. The latter are tiger snails with albinism. Also typical of the tiger snail is the cone-shaped body, which is narrowly rounded at the rear edge. The mantle shield covers about a third of the body length, whereby there is a special feature here: tiger snails have a calcareous shield about 13 to 15 millimeters long, which is the evolutionary remains of a shell.

    To make it easier for you to distinguish them from other slugs, we have put together an overview for you here.

    Black slug Spanish slug Reticulated field slug Gray field slug
    Latin designation Arion ater Arion vulgaris Deroceas reticulatum Deroceras agreste
    Alternative designations Greater Slug, Greater Black Slug Red slug, Greater slug, Nasturtium none Monochrome field slug
    size 10 to 13 centimeters 7 to 12 centimeters 4 to 6 centimeters 3 to 4 centimeters
    coloring jet black with dark sole different, mostly reddish to light brown variable, mostly light brown to cream-colored different, mostly light grey
    pattern none, one color none, one color darkly spotted, reticulated none
    Alternate colorings rarely dark brown or grey also dark brown to black specimens also dark brown to slate gray, sometimes lacking the reticulation yellowish to dark brown colors are also possible

    One thing all slugs have in common is that they all need a rather humid habitat with numerous hiding places to survive.

    way of life and reproduction

    Tiger slugs are nocturnal and tend to come out of hiding around midnight. This means that you rarely see the animals - after all, they hole up during the day and only hunt at night. So you can already have the snail hunter in your garden and not even know about it.

    The animals are hermaphrodite, so they have both male and female sexual characteristics. During mating, two individuals exchange their seed packets and thus fertilize each other. However, self-fertilization has also been observed in captured specimens, so these slugs are not dependent on a partner for reproduction.

    oviposition and juvenile development

    A single snail can lay up to 1000 eggs

    The subsequent laying period lasts for almost a year, during which a single snail lays up to four clutches of between 100 and 300 eggs each. The first oviposition usually takes place between July and August of the first year, the second, however, only in June or July of the following year. The eggs are quite small, averaging four to five millimeters in size. The small, still white and inconspicuous tiger snails hatch after about 19 to 25 days, i.e. about three weeks. They gradually darken over the course of their development and develop the typical pattern by the time they reach sexual maturity at about one and a half years. The first spots and stripes appear about a week after hatching.

    Tiger legs live for about two and a half to three years, provided they do not fall victim to a predator or a disease beforehand. The clutches are also very susceptible to parasites and predators, such as beetles, nematodes or mites. That is why tiger snails only hatch from a few eggs. However, you can increase the reproduction rate in a targeted manner by breeding in the terrarium and thus ensure plenty of offspring for your own garden.

    digression

    The unusual behavior when mating

    Tiger slugs show a very interesting mating behavior: the hermaphrodites - that is, each animal is both male and female - mate namely looped around each other, dangling in the air and only hanging on a slime thread up to 40 centimeters long. However, it will take some time before that happens. First of all, an animal crawls behind its chosen one for hours. If this is finally persuaded by this expression of interest, the snails circle each other and finally look for a higher place for the actual act.

    This is how you settle the tiger snail in the garden

    In suitable habitats, tiger snails are site-loyal and form regular colonies over time. In order for you to settle and keep the animals in your garden, it is important to set up suitable shelters. The nocturnal animals retreat into these during the day. Ideal for this purpose are:

    • moist, shady places under shrubs and other woody plants
    • stack hollow bricks and old wooden boards here
    • cover them with leaves and brushwood

    Since the animals are always around five to ten meters from the roost, you should create the shelter as close to endangered beds as possible or in the center of the kitchen garden. Furthermore, it makes sense to create several "nests" to cover larger areas. If you offer the tiger snails good living conditions - i.e. a garden that is managed in a natural way with sufficient damp areas - then they will reproduce well and form a stable population over time. You can also feed newly settled specimens, for which they should use protein-rich food. This includes, for example, mushrooms such as mushrooms from the supermarket, which you cut into slices and distribute at the dwelling.

    tips

    In order to establish tiger slugs in the garden, you should avoid slug pellets. This kills not only the slugs, but also the useful slugs.

    This article shows what else helps against voracious slugs in the garden.

    youtube

    Can you also buy the tiger snail?

    If you want to settle the tiger leg in your garden, you can buy the animals in specialized online shops or from specialist dealers. The best time to do this is in spring, when it's getting warmer outside and frosty nights are less likely. Depending on the region, you can buy the slugs between mid-March and mid-April as well as into October and put them straight into the garden. The cold-blooded animals spend the winter well hidden under piles of leaves, in compost or in rotten wood.

    However, you need a lot of patience, especially if you have masses of slugs in the garden. In order to fight them effectively with the help of tiger snails, you would also need a lot of them. However, you cannot buy all of them, but acquire some of the animals, which then gradually multiply thanks to your careful tending and care. However, until a snail-active population has grown from this, it can take a few years. Also, factors beyond your control (such as the weather) can deplete or support your tiger snail population.

    In any case, tiger slugs are not suitable as the sole snail fighters, since the omnivores also eat other food and do not constantly hunt conspecifics. For effective control, you should rely on a mix of tiger snails, other predators and other, of course, non-toxic measures.

    Tiger snail in the aquarium?

    The tiger snail described in this article is a garden dweller and does not do well in an aquarium filled with water (whether freshwater or saltwater). On the contrary, the country dweller would simply drown there. However, some aquatic predatory snails are also referred to as tiger snails because of their strikingly colored shell. However, the correct name is Clea helena. Sometimes these animals are also commercially available under the names of predatory tower snails or Helene.

    frequently asked Questions

    Can you also confuse the tiger snail?

    Basically, it is not possible to confuse the "normal" colored tiger snails with other slugs. The only problem is the differentiation of the rare dark monochromatic individuals, which can sometimes look very similar to the black slug (Arion ater). A distinction is possible by the sole, which is usually light in tiger snails and dark in slugs. At the latest when you put a suspected black tiger snail next to another slug, you can make a clear distinction - the tiger snail will sooner or later nibble on its fellow slugs, but the slugs - because they are vegetarians - will not.

    It can also be confused with the netted field slug, because this type of slug is also light brown to greyish in color and has a characteristic net pattern - sometimes you have to look very closely.

    Does the tiger snail have natural enemies?

    The tiger snail has many enemies

    Although the tiger slug is one of the natural enemies of other slugs, it is not safe from predators itself. Many birds and mammals such as hedgehogs and shrews, but also frogs, toads, blindworms, lizards and snakes feast on the large and easy-to-catch snails. Insects and parasites such as fungi can also be dangerous for the eggs.

    How else can I fight the Spanish slug?

    The best remedy against voracious slugs such as the black slug and the Spanish slug is still a natural garden that is designed to welcome all kinds of beneficial insects such as songbirds, blackbirds, crows, magpies, as well as hedgehogs, shrews, ground beetles, frogs, toads and slowworms. You can also protect garden beds with particularly endangered plants by taking appropriate security measures. These include a snail fence or mulching the soil with coarse material, such as straw or bark chips. Even in a raised bed, plants are usually housed quite safely.

    Does the tiger snail actually eat snails with a shell?

    In general, the tiger slug mainly preys on other slugs. Shell snails such as the garden snails or even the large edible snails are usually uninteresting - after all, they can quickly withdraw into their shell and are therefore at least safe from predatory relatives (but not from birds, hedgehogs and the like). Only when these animals are dead do they become interesting for the scavenging slug.

    tips

    Incidentally, Roman snails love to eat slug eggs, which is why they are also very popular in the garden. In any case, shell snails cause only little damage in the beds and on plants - in contrast to the shellless slugs.

Category:

Animals in the garden