Unfortunately, We May Be Facing An Influx Of Slugs Again This Spring
Do you remember the great slug influx of 2024? In the words of the iconic Gemma Collins: “It’s hell in there, it’s horror. You have to be a certain type of person to survive.” It was gruesome. I stepped on a slug IN MY HOME in my BARE FEET.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shares on their website: “Mild, wet weather across the winter, spring and summer resulted in the highest number of calls to the RHS advisory service since records began in the 70s.
“13% of all enquiries to the entomology team related to slugs and snails. This is thought to be as a result of slugs being active earlier, increased breeding and more persistent activity with the absence of any prolonged warm, dry spells forcing them back underground.”
I’ll tell you something, none of my plants survived that summer.
So, will there be a surge of slugs this spring?
Writing for The Conversation, Christopher Terrell Nield, a Lecturer in Chemistry and Forensic Science at Nottingham Trent University advises: “Although flooding can kill overwintering eggs and adults, a mild wet winter will have reduced slug mortality. It may also affect slug predators… Flooding also creates lots of ready food for slugs from plants that have died in the water, a potential slug fest as it dries in spring.
“With a global temperature above 1.4°C, compared to pre-industrial levels, the Met Office predicts a warm 2026. In addition, the UK government’s Environment Agency predicted a drought in 2026, before the winter’s heavy rainfall.”
He shares that, thankfully, our upcoming conditions point towards increased slug populations but probably not as bad as 2024.
Was anything as bad as that?
How to prevent slugs from destroying your plants
The RHS has a guide to preventing slugs with some of the tips including:
- Choose plants that are less palatable to slugs and snails, such as woody plants, those with thick or waxy leaves and some herbaceous plants known to be less appealing to them
- Torchlight searches can be carried out on mild evenings, especially when the weather is damp, hand-picking slugs and snails into a container. They can then be placed in another part of your garden, such as the compost
heap or areas with less vulnerable plants, or left out for predators to take - Water in the early morning rather than the evening as evening watering provide ideal conditions for them to move around at night
Good luck and happy gardening this year!