Slugs Slugs Description and Life History. There are many species of slugs capable of causing economic damage to greenhouse crops and field crops such as crucifers, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, tomatoes, beans and lettuce. Most species survive the winter as eggs or adults. A single individual is capable of producing up to 500 eggs, which are deposited in batches of one to several dozen under stones, debris or in the soil. Eggs usually hatch in the spring or early summer.
Slugs are nocturnal feeders, hiding during daylight hours.
During wet growing seasons, large numbers of slugs survive the summer months and may move into cultivated fields from weedy borders, drainage ditches or other moist, sheltered areas. Crop damage is usually most severe in late summer or early autumn of cool, wet growing seasons, especially when preceded by a mild winter. Sizable slug populations may build up in fields previously in no-till corn, alfalfa, potatoes and strawberries. Damage and Scouting. Slugs feed by grating away the surface of the plant tissue with a tooth-covered radula, which works like a rasp.