Who’s Out There? Sluggishly he goes

I’m traveling in the Northwest this summer, and I keep coming across a familiar creature, but one I haven’t seen since my childhood days in Kentucky.

They’re like the little Buddha vacuum cleaner of the forest floor. They move so slowly and have no desire to hurt anyone. They just rummage about looking for dead plants and logs to eat.

The slug.

Here in Northern Oregon the most common slug I see is the Banana slug. He’s a puke green color, which I guess is appropriate for the way they make most people feel. Along their slimy slim body are random dark spots. And as if to make them even less endearing they have a spiked ‘tail’ which gathers twigs and pine needles as it slimes across the forest floor.

Every time I go for a walk in the woods I cross a few on my path. When I see them I cringe to think of the torture I put them through as an unknowing kid.

They were considered plant demons, especially to our well tended lawn. So our parents encouraged us to pour salt on these poor souls whenever we found one. I remember laughing as they shriveled up. The memory gives me chills to think of the pain that slug must have felt. It would’ve been kinder just to step on him and put him to his death quickly. I’m really not sure why we thought pouring salt on them was a good idea and I regret it now.

They’re not the prettiest of creatures so people often step on them when they see them on a trail.

But slugs are really providing a valuable service to the health of our woods. They eat decaying materials like logs and dead plants. Along with lichens, the slugs are helping keep our forest floor from just being a pile of logs. And believe it or not there are animals that like to eat them.

I know in your garden they can be a nuisance, but it’s easy enough to put up slug barriers around your veggie plants.

Killing a slug for no reason, is like killing an ugly dog, or human just for their looks. It’s one thing if they’re eating your plants but it’s another when they’re in the woods helping keep the forest clean. They do provide a valuable service to our woodlands.

We often don’t know why a particular animal was created, but it’s safe to assume they’re helping keep our planet healthy.

Next time you see a slug on your forest walks, give it a break, and know it’s doing a good thing.