The large fleshy foot that protrudes from the shell of a snail or oyster and on which they crawl, also contains the mouth opening. Gastropods rasp their food. Slugs feed at night except if the day is rainy, cloudy or foggy. Otherwise they remain out of sight during the daytime by hiding under mulch, leaf litter or damp debris on the ground. Slugs feed on a variety of plant matter, living or dead and decaying.
Damage generally appears as large, irregular holes of missing plant tissue.
During mating, two individuals join to accomplish mutual fertilization. Each mated slug proceeds to lay eggs in moist areas, up to 100 eggs apiece. Baby slugs hatch in one to three weeks and immediately begin to crawl and feed. Development to the full-grown adult stage takes from two months to a year or more, depending upon the species. Iowa slugs generally spend the winter as adults and lay eggs in early spring.